Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The University of California, San Diego received a $663,493 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 June 4, 2026, with a completion date of March 31, 2031. The grant funds investigator-initiated biomedical research examining the immune cell-placenta-serotonin axis in peripartum depression (PPD) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) therapy. The research addresses a critical knowledge gap regarding how serotonin dysregulation and SSRI treatment affect the maternal immune system and placenta during pregnancy, with the objective of improving clinical management and informing safety assessments for pregnant women experiencing antenatal depression (AND).

The project will comprehensively investigate the mechanisms through which pregnancy-induced serotonin flux changes immune function and how SSRI therapy restores immune and placental system function. Research outputs will include scientific findings on the contribution of circulating CD4 T cells to modulating depressive symptoms during AND and SSRI treatment, advancing understanding of the maternal-placental serotonin-immune systems and generating evidence to support informed clinical decision-making for pregnant women with depression. The research is conducted at the University of California, San Diego's La Jolla, California campus.