The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has awarded The Regents of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) a $781,129 Project Grant under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855). The grant, with a performance period from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2029, will support a prospective, multicenter cohort study of 400 critically ill children with acute respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation.
The key objectives are to: 1) independently validate the performance of UCSF's existing Integrated Host/Microbe (IHM) metagenomic diagnostic approach for accurately diagnosing lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) and identifying causative pathogens; 2) develop a novel host gene expression classifier to rapidly rule out bacterial LRTIs and reduce unnecessary antibiotic use; and 3) create IHM-based predictive models to forecast LRTI outcomes, including prolonged mechanical ventilation and acute respiratory distress syndrome. The results are expected to inform future clinical trials evaluating the impact of advanced IHM diagnostics on patient management and outcomes.