Project Grant R21HD116005

The Children's Hospital Corporation, doing business as Boston Children's Hospital, received a $267,000 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). The award supports research to investigate the role of microRNA dysregulation in the brainstem as a potential contributor to the pathogenesis of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Specifically, the project focuses on analyzing the expression of two microRNAs, miR-34a-5p and miR-122-5p, and their mRNA targets HCN3 and CPEB1, in SIDS tissue samples and serum to determine if aberrant levels of these regulatory molecules could serve as biomarkers for SIDS. The award period runs from July 2024 to June 2026 and builds on the hospital's prior SIDS research and expertise in pediatric medicine, neuroscience, and translational research.