Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) awarded Massachusetts General Hospital a $642,161 Project Grant under the Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.865) on February 6, 2026, with a completion date of January 31, 2031. The award supports research aimed at advancing neurodevelopmental outcome prediction in children exposed to HIV (CHEU) through analysis of clinical features and placental imaging. The project leverages an ongoing multi-country birth cohort of 1,200 participants in Uganda and South Africa, paired with a linked placental biobank, to identify which clinical, placental histological, and placental stereologic features predict adverse neurodevelopmental and growth outcomes in CHEU.

The research deliverables include state-of-the-art three-dimensional (3D) placental stereology analysis, artificial intelligence classifier models designed to predict CHEU child health outcomes, and comprehensive causal inference and mediation analyses to determine whether placental features mediate relationships between clinical/laboratory characteristics and child outcomes. The project's innovation derives from simultaneous collection and comparative analysis of CHEU and HIV/antiretroviral-unexposed placentas and children, complementary methodological approaches combining 3D stereologic imaging with histopathology, and application of advanced statistical methods to identify key modifiable features that could improve care for pregnant people with HIV and their offspring.