# Maternal Immune Activation and Fetal-Infant Neurobehavioral Development

> **NIH NIH K23** · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · 2020 · $160,345

## Abstract

An estimated 1 in 5 children are diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorder. Neurodevelopmental
disorders increase the likelihood of poor academic performance and social challenges. Although there has
been some research on early risk for later neurodevelopmental disorders, there are few studies in the first
years of life. Maternal immune activation (MIA) to infectious and inflammatory agents raises the risk of
neurodevelopmental disorders, such as intellectual disabilities and autism. The overarching purpose of the
Career Development Award (K23) is for the candidate, Marisa Spann, a clinical child neuropsychologist, to
gain training and mentored research experience on prenatal immunological antecedents of infant brain and
behavioral development. With mentorship from Drs. Catherine Monk, Alan Brown, and R. Todd Constable, the
application includes training activities for the candidate to achieve the following career goals: 1) develop
knowledge of developmental and maternal-fetal immunology; (2) develop skills in perinatal biobehavioral study
design and methods; and (3) develop skills in functional neuroimaging and longitudinal statistical modeling.
The training and mentored research will occur at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC)—a top research
institution with multi-disciplinary research programs. The research plan will capitalize on a cross-disciplinary
model that combines the strengths of a population-based Finnish birth cohort from an extant dataset, and new
data collection with a clinical sample of pregnant women recruited from CUMC. The primary goal of the study
is to detect associations between prenatal MIA and early brain (head circumference, brain morphometry and
connectivity) and behavioral development. In the population-based birth cohort, the candidate will investigate
the associations between prenatal maternal influenza infection (influenza immunoglobulin G) and an
inflammatory (C-reactive protein) marker, and growth velocity of head circumference from birth to one year.
The new data collection will include the recruitment of a new hospital-based sample of pregnant women. In the
newly established clinical cohort from CUMC, the candidate will detect associations of maternal influenza and
inflammatory markers with neonatal brain morphometry and functional connectivity indices and behavioral
reactivity in 3rd trimester fetuses and 4 month old infants. With the well-integrated training and research plans,
the K23 award will ensure that the candidate develops the skills necessary to achieve independence in a novel
interdisciplinary career area as a perinatal–developmental neuroscience researcher. The candidate will be
uniquely positioned to discover distinct and common neurobiological and behavioral trajectories of
neurobehavioral health prior to age one, in the service of determining risks for neurodevelopmental disorders,
and its early identification.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10009407
- **Project number:** 5K23HD092589-03
- **Recipient organization:** COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Marisa N Spann
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $160,345
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-07-01 → 2021-11-02

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10009407

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10009407, Maternal Immune Activation and Fetal-Infant Neurobehavioral Development (5K23HD092589-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10009407. Licensed CC0.

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