# High Precision System Analysis of Infant Immune Responses

> **NIH NIH U01** · RESEARCH INST NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S HOSP · 2020 · $360,758

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic is a worldwide emergency causing major social and economic disruptions. As an
emergent viral infection, there are major knowledge gaps regarding COVID-19. In particular, there is limited
information thus far on the impact of COVID-19 on pregnant women and their infants. Initial studies suggest that
clinical manifestations during pregnancy are similar to those identified in non-pregnant adults, and recent reports
have described cases of severe pneumonia and ARDS in pregnant women. Information on the impact of maternal
infection on the infant is also limited. Investigators in China documented perinatal transmission in a small number
of newborn infants. A common feature of severe COVID-19 appears to be inflammation, which is a known risk
factor for poor pregnancy outcomes and can impact the development of the infant immune system.
Thus, there is an urgent need to understand the role of COVID-19 during pregnancy and its impact on the infant.
Our Parent U01 is focused on high-resolution analysis of immune responses in healthy infants. The goal of this
supplement is to determine how maternal COVID-19 infection affects the infant immune system, which we will
achieve by analyzing the interplay between the maternal and infant immune systems in the context of COVID-
19. We hypothesize that COVID-19 during pregnancy leaves a stable imprint on the infant immune system
defined by enhanced inflammation and dysregulated responses to vaccines. Although our focus is the analysis
of infant immune responses, a comprehensive system analysis approach is required to efficiently identify the
most relevant immunologic and virologic factors that determine COVID-19 outcomes in pregnant women, and
how they impact the immune responses of the fetus and the infant. We propose conducting a prospective
longitudinal study in pregnant women with COVID-19 occurring at any time during pregnancy and follow their
infants longitudinally to assess their immune responses until 7 months of age. As a reference control, we will
include a cohort of non-COVID-19 pregnant women and their infants.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10141991
- **Project number:** 3U01AI131386-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** RESEARCH INST NATIONWIDE CHILDREN'S HOSP
- **Principal Investigator:** Jacques F Banchereau
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $360,758
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-06-18 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10141991

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10141991, High Precision System Analysis of Infant Immune Responses (3U01AI131386-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10141991. Licensed CC0.

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