# Racial Disparities in Preterm Brain Injury Are Driven by Differences in Cerebral Autoregulation

> **NIH NIH K23** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $183,908

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) occurs in approximately 40% of infants born weighing less than 1000 grams
and is associated with a 40% increase in the risk of life-long neurodevelopment disability. African-descent infants
face at least double the risk of IVH when compared to their European-descent counterparts. While progress has
been made in reducing the overall risk of IVH, it remains a common, and potentially devastating complication of
prematurity, particularly for African-descent infants. Hampering the development of new neuroprotective
strategies is an incomplete and inconsistent understanding of the risk factors for IVH. In this application, we
introduce a focused investigation into the prenatal, perinatal and postnatal factors which contribute to a neonate’s
“physiologic phenotype.” Our preliminary data suggest that African-descent infants are over-represented in the
immature physiologic phenotype group and that this confers an increased risk of IVH. The results of this study
will provide a rigorously developed platform for future investigation of targeted interventions for reduction of IVH
in this patient population.
The research training program outlined in this proposal provides for a robust education in health outcomes
disparities, bioinformatics, risk prediction modeling, and the ethical conduct of research through formal and
informal coursework. This comprehensive plan will form a firm educational foundation for the design and
execution of high-quality research and map directly to the goals of the research plan.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10439773
- **Project number:** 5K23NS111086-04
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Zachary Andrew Vesoulis
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $183,908
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-07-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10439773

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10439773, Racial Disparities in Preterm Brain Injury Are Driven by Differences in Cerebral Autoregulation (5K23NS111086-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10439773. Licensed CC0.

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