# IP24-045, SEAPREP:  Seattle Pandemic Preparedness Cohort

> **NIH ALLCDC U01** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2024 · $3,874,443

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Community-based surveillance studies of respiratory viruses provide the opportunity for early viral detection
and situational awareness, and may inform early public health efforts to mitigate the transmission of respiratory
viruses, as was evidenced by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Case-ascertained household transmission studies
are an efficient and epidemiologically rich method to study respiratory virus transmission. Our team of
investigators has deep expertise in community surveillance and case-ascertainment trials of respiratory
viruses. Our group of collaborators include specialists in infectious diseases, epidemiology, biostatistics,
virology, immunology, and infectious disease modeling. In 2018, we developed the infrastructure for a
pandemic preparedness platform in Seattle, Washington, leading to the first identification of SARS-CoV-2
community transmission in the United States. We have developed innovative methods for fully remote
observational studies of respiratory viruses in households, and have built a logistics and laboratory
insfrastructure for rapid delivery and pickup of biospecimens, multiplex testing for a panel of respiratory
pathogens, in-depth immunologic characterization, and whole genome sequencing and visualization. In this
study, we propose to build on these platforms to conduct the following studies. First, we propose a
prospective longitudinal cohort study of 2000 children and adults in the Seattle area, with weekly
symptom screening and collection of nasal swabs for respiratory illness. We will conduct multi-pathogen testing
for respiratory viruses and whole genome sequencing for RSV, SARS-CoV-2, and other respiratory viruses.
We will calculate incidence, assess epidemiology and burden of respiratory viruses, measure participant
knowledge, attitudes and perceptions, and measure the effectiveness of interventions in prevention of disease.
We additionally propose to perform in-depth immunologic assessments by collection of serum samples
longitudinally in a subset of individuals to understand antibody kinetics over the course of multiple seasons,
and the effects of vaccines and infections on antibody titers across age groups. For our second study, we
propose to conduct a case-ascertained household transmission study to understand transmission
dynamics of SARS-CoV-2, RSV, and other viruses. Index cases will be enrolled remotely along with their
household members, for serial self-swab collection for a period of two weeks after enrollment. We propose
collection of environmental samples within a subset of households. Molecular testing and sequencing will be
performed for SARS-CoV-2, RSV, and other viruses, as indicated, allowing for calculation of household attack
rates, serial intervals, and risk factors for within household transmission for known and novel pathogens. These
proposed studies will provide real-time situational awareness of community respiratory epidemiology, and our
team has the experience and expertise t...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11037585
- **Project number:** 1U01IP001265-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** Helen Ying-hui Chu
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $3,874,443
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-08-01 → 2029-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11037585

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11037585, IP24-045, SEAPREP:  Seattle Pandemic Preparedness Cohort (1U01IP001265-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11037585. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*
