Federal Project Grant Award Summary

New York University School of Medicine received a $245,782 project grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) under the Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.865), awarded February 1, 2026, with completion scheduled for January 31, 2029. The research project, "Human Brain Connectome Changes Across the Birth Transition," will establish a cohort of 90 high-risk pregnancies to investigate how maternal immune activation (MIA)—a prenatal insult associated with preterm birth and neurodevelopmental disorders—alters fetal and infant brain development during the critical birth transition period. Using advanced neuroimaging techniques, maternal inflammatory biomarkers, and objective infant behavioral assessments, the research will deliver findings addressing two specific aims.

The deliverables include identification of brain regions sensitive to MIA and characterization of disrupted brain development trajectories across the birth transition, with particular focus on attention, salience, and limbic networks (Aim 1), and investigation of whether MIA-related brain disruptions mediate the relationship between maternal inflammation and developmental outcomes (Aim 2). By integrating neural, biochemical, and behavioral data, this work will uncover mechanisms by which maternal inflammation shapes neurodevelopment, identify early biomarkers of child risk, and provide evidence-based information to inform interventions improving outcomes for high-risk pregnancies.