# 1/4 Investigation of opioid exposure and neurodevelopment (iOPEN)

> **NIH NIH R34** · OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $267,279

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant changes in social, economic and health resource
availability and associated escalations in substance use and mental health problems. The consequences of the
pandemic for pregnant and postpartum individuals and their offspring will reveal themselves over the next several
decades as these children become adolescents and young adults. The current proposal seeks to take advantage
of a unique opportunity to continue and enrich an ongoing data collection effort with potential to reveal
mechanisms through which the COVID-19 pandemic may impact future generations. This proposal builds on a
project at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), which is harmonized with data collection efforts at seven
geographically-representative sites from the NIH HEALthy Brains and Cognitive Development study (HBCD)
initiative, including New York University, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Pittsburgh, Cedars
Sinai Medical Center, University of Vermont and Northwestern University (R34 DA05029-S1).
The OHSU site has exceeded enrollment targets for this initial project (N=371 versus the proposed N=100),
successfully captured longitudinal trajectories of maternal stress and depressive symptoms during the early
phase of the pandemic, and met targets for collection of biological samples and behavioral observations of
mother-infant dyads (N=40). The OHSU site also serves as a central repository for biological samples collected
at several other sites. The current proposal seeks to expand and enrich the sample at OHSU by enrolling
pregnant individuals at heightened risk for substance use during the perinatal period (N=50). We additionally
propose to expand biological sample collection of blood, breastmilk, hair, nails and saliva to include a larger
sample of mothers and infants (N=100), and to occur at four time points (pregnancy, and infant age 1-, 6-, and
12-months). Finally, we propose to collect birth samples, umbilical cord blood and placenta, in a subsample of
these participants (N=50). The continued follow up of our current sample, additional enrollment of higher-risk
pregnant individuals and enhanced biological sampling will allow us to: 1) characterize trajectories of and
heterogeneity in maternal perinatal psychological stress during the pandemic and identify key contributing factors
differentiating subgroups; 2) advance understanding of the prevalence, longitudinal course and contributing
factors to maternal perinatal substance use during the pandemic; and 3) test the hypothesis that heightened
maternal-placental-fetal inflammation may serve as a common pathway for effects of maternal psychological
stress and substance use on infant development. Accomplishing these aims will advance understanding of
intergenerational transmission of risk during times of chronic stress and reduced resource availability, such as
the COVID-19 pandemic. By enhancing capacity to examine contributors to m...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10329053
- **Project number:** 3R34DA050291-01S3
- **Recipient organization:** OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Damien A Fair
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $267,279
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-09-30 → 2021-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10329053

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10329053, 1/4 Investigation of opioid exposure and neurodevelopment (iOPEN) (3R34DA050291-01S3). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10329053. Licensed CC0.

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