# Integrated Metagenomic and Metatranscriptomic Characterization of Inflammatory Chronic Rhinosinusitis Endotypes

> **NIH NIH R21** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · 2020 · $303,897

## Abstract

SUMMARY
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic demands a swift response to address a broad range of medical and scientific
questions to mitigate harm to populations and slow and eventually eliminate the epidemic. To understand the
course, history, and pathogenesis that will lead to effective therapies and vaccines it is critical to answer
several fundamental scientific questions longitudinally: Viral, genetic, ecological factors and co-morbidity/co-
infections risk factors need to be identified for 1) symptomatic and asymptomatic infection; 2) prolonged
shedding; and 3) acute and chronic sequelae. In particular we must define correlates of reduced viral load
in upper airways early in disease, and the host-viral response that defines later severe lower
respiratory disease and ARDS that is prefaced by cytokine storm. We hypothesize that a combination of
viral (high viral load, specific viral signature of virulence, respiratory viral co-infection and virome), ecological
(such as, microbiome community structure/function) and host (local mucosal immune response) factors will
predict disease outcomes and severity. Below are our specific aims to address our hypothesis: Aim 1:
Determine longitudinal kinetics of SARS-CoV2 viral load to establish association between nasal viral load and
viral shedding with disease severity. Aim 2: Characterize how SARS-CoV2 infection changes nasal
microbiome composition, structure and secondary bacterial infection during Covid-19. Aim 3: To examine if
nasal microbiome patterns during SARS-CoV2 infection are associated with local immune responses and
cytokine storm. Collectively, this study will identify determinants of SARS-CoV2 viral kinetics, persistence,
virus-host and microbiome interactions. Specifically, our proposal will advance our understanding of the role of
the upper airway microbiome in Covid-19 and establish its role in programming of the local immune response
upon SARS-CoV2 infection and effects on Covid-19 outcomes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10186350
- **Project number:** 3R21AI142321-01A1S1
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Suman Ranjan Das
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $303,897
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-06-30 → 2021-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10186350

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10186350, Integrated Metagenomic and Metatranscriptomic Characterization of Inflammatory Chronic Rhinosinusitis Endotypes (3R21AI142321-01A1S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10186350. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*