Federal Grant Award Summary

Massachusetts General Hospital received a $751,726 Project Grant award from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) under the Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.865), effective February 9, 2026 through January 31, 2031. The award supports a multidisciplinary research initiative investigating the mechanistic intersection between placental vascular development and newborn neuronal development in children who are HIV-exposed but uninfected (HEU). The research addresses a critical health gap, as more than one million HEU children are born annually to pregnant people with HIV (PPHIV) and experience poorer early-life outcomes and increased neurodevelopmental risks compared to HIV-unexposed peers.

The research team will deliver integrated research products and analyses including spatial transcriptomics analysis, immunostaining studies, flow cytometry characterization, and mouse model-based investigations to elucidate how maternal HIV infection and antiretroviral (ARV) medications affect placental and neural development. Leveraging an ongoing multi-country birth cohort and associated placental biobank across HIV-affected African regions, the interdisciplinary investigator team—comprising experts in HIV and birth cohorts, placental immunology, mouse models of ARVs, spatial transcriptomics, and computational analysis—will identify shared vascular abnormality mechanisms between the placenta and fetal brain and determine gene expression changes linked to adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. The research is designed to identify intervenable mechanisms that can inform improved clinical care for PPHIV and their offspring.