This $5.1 million project grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the Department of Health and Human Services, supports research under the Mental Health Research Grants program (CFDA 93.242). The Massachusetts General Hospital will utilize its existing biobank of over 800 maternal blood and neonatal cord blood samples linked to clinical records to characterize the impact of maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection on fetal neurodevelopment. Researchers will analyze immune...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders (CFDA 93.853) program, will fund a study to develop a hamster model to examine the neurological and behavioral impacts on offspring born to mothers infected with SARS-CoV-2. The $240,000 award to the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston aims to: 1) Assess the direct effects of maternal SARS-CoV-2...
This Project Grant award from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), under the Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.865), provides $117,226 to the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth (UNTHSC) over a 2-year period from March 1, 2025 to February 28, 2027. The grant aims to investigate the role of gestational hypoxia, a characteristic of gestational sleep apnea, on maternal...
This Project Grant award from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), under the federal Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.865), provides $607,274 to Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) from August 1, 2025 to May 31, 2030. The funding supports a longitudinal study examining brain development trajectories, from birth to early adulthood, in individuals born very preterm (VP) compared to those born...
This $6,439,263 federal Project Grant awarded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (CFDA 93.279 Drug Abuse and Addiction Research Programs) aims to determine the impact of maternal substance use on maternal immune activation, placental function, and offspring neurobehavioral development. The project will leverage the Healthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) study to perform maternal immune profiling, placental and cord blood analysis, and novel neuroinflammation imaging on 400 pregnancies...
This Project Grant award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), under the Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders (CFDA 93.853) program, aims to investigate the mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 infection causes neurological damage, leading to a syndrome known as Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) or "NeuroPASC". The total award amount is $634,622.00 over the project period from December 1, 2024 to November 30,...
This federal Project Grant award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) supports a research study to identify newborns with in-utero SARS-CoV-2 infection and assess their immune response and clinical outcomes. The study plans to screen 3,600 newborns using cord blood testing and other methods to detect in-utero infection. It will also conduct longitudinal follow-up on a subset of 100 infected...
The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) awarded a $424,875 Project Grant (CFDA 93.865 - Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research) to the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) to investigate the role of placental serum amyloid A (SAA) isoforms in response to sub-chronic maternal inflammation and explore whether inhibition of the SAA2 isoform using small interfering RNA (siRNA) can alleviate preterm birth and adverse fetal outcomes. The project aims...
This Project Grant award from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), under CFDA 93.865 Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research, will fund a $2,146,691 study to assess the effects of the prenatal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) prefusion F protein-based (RSVpreF) vaccine on neonatal, lactation, and child health outcomes. The study will leverage electronic health record data and state immunization information systems across...
This 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) provides $178,000 to investigate the effects of maternal genetic risk factors for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) on birth and childhood outcomes in offspring. The research aims to distinguish the contributing roles of the intrauterine environment and transmitted PCOS genetic factors on adverse birth and...
CHARACTERIZING THE EARLY CHILDHOOD NEURODEVELOPMENTAL IMPACT OF INFANTS EXPOSED TO MATERNAL SARS-COV-2 INFECTION DURING PREGNANCY - PROJECT ABSTRACT PREGNANT PEOPLE ARE UNIQUELY SUSCEPTIBLE TO SARS-COV-2 INFECTION, WITH RISKS OF SEVERE MATERNAL COVID-19 ILLNESS AND OBSTETRIC COMPLICATIONS. HOWEVER, FAR LESS IS KNOWN ABOUT THE LONG-TERM IMPACT OF PREGNANCY- ASSOCIATED SARS-COV-2 INFECTION ON DEVELOPING INFANTS. GIVEN THE GLOBAL BURDEN, IT IS ESTIMATED THAT MILLIONS OF PREGNANT PEOPLE HAVE HAD SARS-COV-2 INFECTION. PRIOR WORK BY OUR STUDYING NOVEL INFECTIOUS PATHOGENS IN PREGNANCY (SNIPP) RESEARCH TEAM HAS IDENTIFIED DISTINCT TYPES OF SARS-COV-2-ASSOCIATED INJURY TO THE PLACENTA, SUCH AS MATERNAL VASCULAR MALPERFUSION AND COVID PLACENTITIS. FURTHER, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED UNIQUE INFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE ALTERATIONS IN PATIENTS WITH SPECIFIC TYPES OF PLACENTAL LESIONS FOLLOWING SARS-COV-2 DURING PREGNANCY. MATERNAL INFECTION AND INFLAMMATION CAN HAVE A COMPLEX IMPACT ON EARLY BRAIN DEVELOPMENT AND NEURODEVELOPMENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES. HOWEVER, THERE HAVE BEEN VERY LIMITED STUDIES WITH DIFFERING CONCLUSIONS ADDRESSING NEURODEVELOPMENTAL OUTCOMES OF INFANTS BORN TO MOTHERS WITH SARS-COV-2 IN PREGNANCY. THE EXISTING LITERATURE TO DATE UTILIZES METHODS LIMITED BY ASSESSMENT OF INFANTS TOO EARLY (12 MONTHS) AND WITH DIAGNOSIS CODES RATHER THAN DIRECT EVALUATION OF THE CHILD. WITH CONTINUED VIRAL EVOLUTION AND A GENERATION OF INFANTS AFFECTED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, IT REMAINS CRITICAL TO LEARN IF AND HOW SARS-COV-2 INFECTION IN PREGNANCY IMPACTS CHILDHOOD NEURODEVELOPMENT HEALTH AND RISK OF FUTURE DYSFUNCTION. OUR CENTRAL HYPOTHESIS IS THAT PREGNANCY-ASSOCIATED SARS-COV-2 INFECTION AND ASSOCIATED PLACENTAL INJURY INCREASES RISK OF ADVERSE EARLY CHILDHOOD NEURODEVELOPMENTAL OUTCOMES. WE WILL INVESTIGATE THIS HYPOTHESIS BY UTILIZING OUR LONGITUDINAL SNIPP COHORT OF MOTHER-INFANT PAIRS AFFECTED BY SARS-COV-2 INFECTION DURING PREGNANCY (N~4000) WITH ARCHIVED PLACENTAL HISTOPATHOLOGY. WE AIM TO CHARACTERIZE EARLY CHILDHOOD NEURODEVELOPMENTAL OUTCOMES OF INFANTS FOLLOWING MATERNAL SARS-COV-2 DURING PREGNANCY BY AIM 1(A): PERFORMING DEVELOPMENTAL ASSESSMENTS ON INFANTS BORN TO THE SARS-COV-2-INFECTED COHORT ALONG WITH PANDEMIC TIMEFRAME UNINFECTED CONTROLS; AND AIM 1(B): EXPLORING ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN NEURODEVELOPMENTAL ABNORMALITIES AND PLACENTAL INJURY WITH OR WITHOUT SARS-COV-2 INFECTION. IN COLLABORATION WITH INSTITUTE FOR INNOVATIONS IN DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCES FACULTY, ASSESSMENTS WILL BE PERFORMED USING VALIDATED ONLINE PARENT SURVEYS AND REMOTE VIDEO VISITS, FOCUSING ON BOTH BROAD NEURODEVELOPMENT AND KEY DOMAINS FOR ADAPTIVE FUNCTIONING: SELF-REGULATION AND COMMUNICATION. A MAJOR IMPACT OF THIS WORK WOULD BE THE IDENTIFICATION OF HIGH-RISK CHILDREN WHO NEED CLOSE DEVELOPMENTAL MONITORING. STRENGTHS OF OUR PROPOSAL INCLUDE OUR LARGE SNIPP COHORT WITH PAIRED BIOSPECIMENS, SAMPLING ACROSS THE PANDEMIC TIMEFRAME, AND OUR TRANSDISCIPLINARY APPROACH HARNESSING EXPERTISE IN PERINATAL INFECTION, PLACENTAL PATHOLOGY, AND CUTTING-EDGE, PRAGMATIC NEURODEVELOPMENTAL PARADIGMS. THIS PROJECT UNIQUELY POISES US TO ADDRESS AN IMPORTANT GAP IN KNOWLEDGE THAT CAN IMPACT NEAR-TERM NEURODEVELOPMENTAL CARE AND, THROUGH FUTURE RESEARCH, LEAD TO INNOVATIVE RISK STRATIFICATION, MECHANISTIC INSIGHT, AND NOVEL THERAPEUTICS TO REDUCE HARM.