# Systems Biology Approach to SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Individuals with known COVID-19 Contacts: A Prospective Cohort Study

> **NIH NIH K38** · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $108,886

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
With this K38 Mentored Stimulating Access to Research in Residency Transition Scholar (StARRTS) award, I
will develop the necessary skills to become an independently funded clinician-scientist, working at the
intersection of immunology, systems biology, and vaccinology. My longstanding commitment to translational
and clinical research provides me with the foundation for this work. During this Award, I will be mentored by Dr.
Nadine Rouphael, an expert in translational immunology, who is interim director of the Hope Clinic, the clinical
arm of the Emory Vaccine Center, Dr. Bali Pulendran, an expert in systems biology at Stanford University, Dr.
Erin Scherer, an expert in B-cell biology and director of the Hope Clinic Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit
(VTEU) Research Laboratory, and Dr. Christina Mehta, an expert in applied biostatistics in the Department of
Biostatistics and Bioinformatics at the Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University. I will have hands on
clinical research and biostatistical training as well as training in laboratory methods related to systems biology,
and will attend workshops in the field. Currently, I am enrolling subjects for my R38 research year and using the
combined diagnostic methods of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM/IgG testing and symptom-driven SARS-CoV-2 PCR
testing to better identify individuals with asymptomatic and mild COVID-19. We hypothesize that a systems
biology approach will identify specific baseline immunologic signatures, which predict COVID-19 disease
acquisition and severity and that mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 will be characterized by a specific innate and
adaptive immune responses. We propose a cohort study to complete the following aims: 1) To identify baseline
immunologic markers predictive of COVID-19 disease acquisition and severity, and 2) To characterize the innate
and adaptive immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 in individuals with asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic
COVID-19. Completion of these aims will provide a better understanding of COVID-19 and position me to
transition to independence as a clinician-scientist.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10287089
- **Project number:** 1K38AI163480-01
- **Recipient organization:** EMORY UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Nicholas Scanlon
- **Activity code:** K38 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $108,886
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-07 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10287089

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10287089, Systems Biology Approach to SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Individuals with known COVID-19 Contacts: A Prospective Cohort Study (1K38AI163480-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10287089. Licensed CC0.

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