# Hacking Epidemics: Unlocking The Drivers of Transmission Seasonality to Battle Vaccine-Preventable Diseases

> **NIH NIH DP5** · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $253,159

## Abstract

Project Summary - Abstract.
The human immune system has many different pathways that regulate the susceptibility to disease. Recent
studies, such as Dopico et al. (2014), have shown that the gene expression in the immune system varies by
season, suggesting that immunity and disease susceptibility may be seasonally structured. Along with the
seasonal change of the immune system, the microbiome has shown seasonal influence. These two elements
combined create an enhanced avenue to investigate infectious disease transmission and immunity. Our
proposed project consists of two parts. First, we will test the hypothesis that the human gut microbiome
changes with the seasons (in humans living in a modern urban environment). We will do so using biobanked
samples collected for the parent DP5 grant project. Microbial DNA will be extracted, amplified, and sequenced
from stool samples from study participants sampled winter, spring, summer, and fall 2019. Second, we will
investigate whether cytokine production by the immune system is seasonally modulated. We focus on
cytokines because they have the potential to feedback with gut microbiota. Cytokine assays will be run using
live immune cells that were also collected seasonally from study participants and preserved in our biobank.
Variation in the gut microbiome and cytokine response will be analyzed within-individuals across seasons and
compared between-individuals. Collectively, the data produced by this supplemental project will further
understanding of seasonal biological cycles with direct implications for clinical medicine and public health.
Lastly, knowledge of seasonal structuring within the human body may further our knowledge of why infectious
diseases are seasonal.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10531674
- **Project number:** 7DP5OD023100-07
- **Recipient organization:** EMORY UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Micaela Elvira Martinez
- **Activity code:** DP5 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $253,159
- **Award type:** 7
- **Project period:** 2021-11-29 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10531674

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10531674, Hacking Epidemics: Unlocking The Drivers of Transmission Seasonality to Battle Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (7DP5OD023100-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10531674. Licensed CC0.

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