# Resubmission: Elucidating Pediatric Sepsis by Defining Comprehensive Signatures for Diagnosis and Outcome

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2022 · $595,488

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY:
Sepsis, defined as life-threatening organ dysfunction resulting from a dysregulated immune response of the
patient to infection, is a major cause of pediatric morbidity and mortality. Annually, sepsis accounts for
~100,000 emergency department (ED) and ~25-50% of children with sepsis will die due to complications that
include shock and multiple organ dysfunction. These unacceptably high bad outcomes are mostly because of
our limited understanding of the fundamental underlying immune response processes at the cellular level that
are involved in pediatric sepsis. There is an urgent need for generating high quality evidence using
multidisciplinary teams to rapidly and accurately diagnoses sepsis so that appropriate therapies can be
initiated in the ED to reduce morbidity and mortality in children.
We believe that the patient has a unique “sepsis” signature when they first present to the ED and we can
define this signature by studying the changes in the vital signs (such as temperature, heart rate) and initial
laboratory tests, i.e. physiologic profile along with tests that measure the immune response i.e. the
immunologic profile and their changes in the ribosomal nucleic acids (RNA) at the cellular level i.e.
transcriptomic profile. We will also be able to better identify the cause of sepsis i.e. bacteria or non-bacteria (for
e.g. viruses) using a more sensitive and faster turnaround test called nanorod PCR, which will help the ED
provider in initiating appropriate treatments. We also believe that the changes in the sepsis signature over time
will allow us to reliably predict which child is more at risk for developing complications and death very early in
the disease course to help reduce sepsis related mortality.
In order to achieve our aims, we will conduct a prospective, observational study in children (3 months ≤ 18
years of age) with suspected sepsis in the ED at a tertiary care Children’s Hospital and monitor patients
through their inpatient stay (ICU, general unit). We have assembled a team of experienced investigators and
have the necessary resources and expertise to achieve the goals of our project that are directly aligned with
the NOSI to Advance Understanding and Management of MODS in Children. Our project is the first step
towards precision medicine to improve diagnosis, guide appropriate therapies, and reliably prognosticate
patient outcomes in children with sepsis.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10364419
- **Project number:** 1R01HD104830-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Prashant Mahajan
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $595,488
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10364419

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10364419, Resubmission: Elucidating Pediatric Sepsis by Defining Comprehensive Signatures for Diagnosis and Outcome (1R01HD104830-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10364419. Licensed CC0.

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