# Childhood Outcome After In Utero ZIKV Exposure

> **NIH NIH R01** · CHILDREN'S RESEARCH INSTITUTE · 2022 · $688,811

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Clinically normal children exposed to Zika-virus (ZIKV) in utero may evidence abnormal neurodevelopment
during the first few years of life even in the absence of the severe phenotype of congenital Zika syndrome
(CZS). This is an important problem because the majority of children with in utero ZIKV exposure do not
develop CZS but are at risk for neurodevelopmental abnormalities as they mature. The risk for
neurodevelopmental impairments at school age in children with in utero ZIKV exposure, who do not have CZS,
is not known because children have neither reached nor been studied at this critical age. The long-term goal is
to recognize the spectrum of neurologic outcomes for children exposed to ZIKV in utero, which will enable
appropriate follow-up guidelines, educational interventions, and therapies to support all children exposed to
ZIKV. The objective of this application is to identify school age abnormalities in neurodevelopment and the
domains affected and to evaluate for brain structural and functional differences among children in Colombia
and in the US with ZIKV exposure in utero who do not have CZS. Guided by strong preliminary data, we will
test two specific hypotheses: 1) that executive and motor function will be negatively impacted in ZIKV-exposed
children compared to controls; and 2) that quantitative imaging will find structural and functional brain
differences between ZIKV-exposed children and controls. The children will be followed at age 5 and 7 years
using a specifically designed set of neurodevelopmental assessment tools and quantitative structural and
functional neuroimaging. Neurodevelopment will be assessed by an approach utilizing validated questionnaires
and child assessments that measure executive function, behavior, motor function, and intellectual ability. The
advanced brain MRI will provide a multimodal assessment of brain structure and function. The approach is
innovative because of access to two uniquely well characterized cohorts, one from the Caribbean coast of
Colombia who had sequential fetal and neonatal neuroimaging and had early neurodevelopmental evaluations
and a cohort from a congenital Zika program in the United States with exposure by travel or emigration. The
proposed research is significant, because it will address a key question in child health by focusing on
neurodevelopmental abnormalities in children following in utero ZIKV exposure that can manifest at school
age. Ultimately, such knowledge has the potential to immediately inform the development of guidelines for
neuropsychological and imaging assessment at school age for children with in utero exposure to ZIKV.
Completion of the aims will improve identification of abnormal neurologic outcomes in children who had
exposure to ZIKV in utero. The knowledge to be gained from this work is essential to be done now and is
important to families, care providers, public health policy authorities, and federal agencies. It may be also
applicable t...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10450832
- **Project number:** 5R01HD102445-03
- **Recipient organization:** CHILDREN'S RESEARCH INSTITUTE
- **Principal Investigator:** Sarah Beth Mulkey
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $688,811
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-09-10 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10450832

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10450832, Childhood Outcome After In Utero ZIKV Exposure (5R01HD102445-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10450832. Licensed CC0.

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