# Mentoring in patient-oriented research in global health

> **NIH NIH K24** · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE · 2024 · $189,819

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Dr. Miriam Laufer devotes her career to conducting research focusing on prevention and treatment of infectious
diseases that predominantly impact children in low resource settings and training the next generation of
infectious disease researchers. Her initial K24 award period supported her time dedicated to mentoring both
U.S.-based and international trainees, with outstanding results. Ninety four percent of her trainees continue to
work in academic medicine or research and many of her trainees are now leaders in infectious disease research
and policy. Five of her trainees have received career development awards and three serve as principal
investigators for independent federal grants. With this renewal application, Dr. Laufer will work with institutional
leaders in diversity, equity, and inclusion to enhance her ability to recruit and mentor trainees of diverse
backgrounds. Her career development activities will expand her expertise in vaccinology, with a focus on leading
vaccine trials with public health impact, and the translation of scientific evidence into policy. The proposed new
research will address two areas of Dr. Laufer’s research expertise: (1) Identifying the sources of malaria
transmission and the effect of new interventions on the reservoirs of transmission and (2) Assessing the impact
of infections during pregnancy on infant health and child development. Through her leadership role in the Malawi
International Center of Excellence in Malaria Research, Dr. Laufer and her trainees will evaluate the impact of
RTS,S, the newly recommended malaria vaccine, on malaria transmission. Although the vaccine has good
efficacy in preventing clinical disease, its impact on asymptomatic P. falciparum infection and the prevalence of
gametocytes, the infectious stage of the malaria parasite, has not been well-characterized. With the support of
several NIH grants, Dr. Laufer and her team are enrolling a large cohort of HIV exposed and uninfected infants
and HIV-unexposed controls to evaluate the impact of exposure on infant immunity and neurocognitive
development until the children reach five years of age. Enrollment began prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and
has continued through the pandemic, providing the opportunity to carefully examine the effect of SARS-CoV-2
infection and its interaction with HIV on infant immunity and child development. Given the paucity of data on the
impact of exposure to HIV and SARS-CoV-2 in utero, this is a truly unique and time-sensitive opportunity to
investigate both infections in pregnant women and their effect on neonatal, infant, and child outcomes. This K24
renewal will sustain and enhance the supportive mentoring environment for Dr. Laufer’s trainees from
undergraduate students through junior faculty and provide innovative and public health relevant research
opportunities to develop their independent careers and improve global health.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10894815
- **Project number:** 5K24AI114996-08
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE
- **Principal Investigator:** Miriam K. Laufer
- **Activity code:** K24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $189,819
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-01-11 → 2027-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10894815

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10894815, Mentoring in patient-oriented research in global health (5K24AI114996-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10894815. Licensed CC0.

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