Viral infections in the young lung- the vinyl clinical consortium- data analytics and coordinating center (dacc)

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute awarded the University of Utah a cooperative agreement totaling $785,953 on September 1, 2026, under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837) to establish and operate a Data Analytics and Coordinating Center (DACC) for the SPIN VINYL (Systematic Phenotyping and Endotyping in Viral Infections in the Young Lung) consortium.

The DACC will lead disciplined coordination and administration for a multicenter research platform enrolling 1,500 children aged 0–24 months hospitalized in the U.S. with viral lower respiratory tract infections, with deep phenotyping during hospitalization and longitudinal follow-up through at least age 4–5 years. The consortium will harmonize clinical, exposomic, and multi-omic profiling across sites to define clinical and molecular endotypes of acute illness; quantify how host immune programs, microbial communities, therapeutic interventions, and environmental exposures shape recovery trajectories; and identify predictors of long-term pulmonary, neurocognitive, sleep, and functional outcomes. The platform will also leverage contemporaneously enrolling control populations for comparative analyses to determine the specific impact of viral lower respiratory tract infections on primary study outcomes.

The period of performance runs from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2033. Place of performance is Emigration Canyon, Utah. The University of Utah's Office of Sponsored Projects is the recipient organization.

Abstract

Viral lower respiratory tract infections (vlrtis) are the leading cause of hospitalization and death in infants and young children. Most children recover, but a substantial subset develop severe acute disease and later seque- LAE - including recurrent wheeze, asthma, impaired lung growth, sleep disruption, and neurocognitive effects. The biological and environmental drivers that separate resilience from vulnerability remain poorly defined. Our central hypothesis is that early-life immunologic, microbial, environmental, and social exposures interact to estab- lish molecular phenotypes that determine both acute severity and long term risk. The spin vinyl (systematic phenotyping and endotyping in viral infections in the young lung) consortium will unite coordinated multicen- TER enrollment and deeply harmonized clinical, exposomic, and multi-omic profiling to uncover mechanisms and enable prediction. We will build a consortium-wide cohort of 1,500 children aged 0-24 months hospitalized in the U.S. With vlrti, with deep phenotyping during hospitalization and longitudinal follow-up through at least age 4-5 years. This platform will define clinical and molecular endotypes of acute illness; quantify how host immune programs, microbial communities, therapeutic interventions and environmental exposures shape recovery TRA- jectories; and identify predictors of long-term pulmonary, neurocognitive, sleep, and functional outcomes. We will leverage contemporaneously enrolling control populations for comparative analyses to determine the specific impact of vlrti on primary study outcomes. Delivering on this vision requires disciplined leadership and coor- dination so that each component performs optimally and contributes to a coherent, high impact program. This coordination will be led by the data analytics and coordinating center (dacc). The dacc will incorporate the combined expertise of the university of utah data coordinating center (DCC) and the university of colorado departments of biomedical informatics and biostatistics. The dacc will work closely with the clinical coordi- nating center and associated sites to implement the spin-vinyl consortium by establishing the infrastructure to perform deep phenotyping of children with viral infections and follow them longitudinally (aim 1); lead spin- vinyl data management and analyses (aim 2); and build and sustain the vinylome: a public-facing data, biospecimen, and imaging repository (aim 3). With over 20 years of experience in the design, implementation, and analysis of pediatric clinical studies, the university of utah DCC and experts at the university of colorado are uniquely qualified to support the accompa- nying UG3/UH3 application and to successfully implement the spin vinyl study. Completion of these aims will deliver (1) an integrated national network capable of deep phenotyp- ING across diverse pediatric populations; (2) longitudinal analyses linking multi-omic, clinical, and environmental data to outcomes; and (3) a publicly available data resource that transforms understanding and management of early-life respiratory disease.