Project Grant K99AI201871

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded The Leland Stanford Junior University $180,929 on September 1, 2026, under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) to model immune and microbiota development in predicting child health outcomes.

The research integrates longitudinal immune and microbiota monitoring to predict beneficial immune states associated with strong responses to routine immunization in children. The project leverages existing datasets from two independent clinical trials in East Africa—MICDROP and PROSYNK—which enrolled birth cohorts and generated extensive clinical documentation through thousands of clinic visits, plasma proteomics data, and stool metagenomics data. The recipient will combine these existing datasets across studies, generate multiplexed serological data measuring responses to childhood vaccination, and apply machine learning methods to integrate gut microbiota and plasma proteomic data to predict key health outcomes: growth, neurocognitive development, and vaccine responsiveness. The work will test previously defined molecular signatures predictive of immune health in independent U.S. cohorts through a partnership with Kaiser Permanente and leveraging publicly available data.

Work is performed in Palo Alto, California. The period of performance runs from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2028. The assistance type is a Project Grant.