# IP24-045, A Prospective Observational Study of Respiratory Virus Epidemiology in the Greater Boston Area

> **NIH ALLCDC U01** · BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER · 2024 · $4,500,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Despite the extensive epidemiologic research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, there remain gaps in
our knowledge about the epidemiology and transmission of priority respiratory viruses. For example, current
surveillance networks in the United States are primarily limited to people who present for medical care and tend
to enroll readily accessible populations like health care workers. The result is that policy makers have had limited
insight into the epidemiology of respiratory viruses at the community-level, outside of medical settings and in
fully representative populations. There is thus a great need for studies that can obtain data on young adults,
children and pregnant women, as well as from diverse populations and socially vulnerable neighborhoods. This
data would include information on the incidence and clinical burden of respiratory illnesses, attitudes towards
preventive interventions, effectiveness of vaccines and antivirals, and duration of immunity following vaccination.
In addition, changing viral characteristics with emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants has made it challenging to remain
up to date with transmission characteristics, such as duration of infectiousness, attack rates, and determinants
of household transmission. There is arguably even less known about these characteristics for influenza and
respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which are also major causes of morbidity. Such data are essential to advise on
both protective public health and clinical guidelines to reduce respiratory virus-associated morbidity and
mortality. To fill these knowledge gaps, we propose to conduct a prospective, longitudinal observational study of
respiratory virus epidemiology in the Greater Boston Area, serving as a Pandemic Preparedness Cohort for the
CDC. There are four components to our project, including an observational study with weekly symptom screening
and symptomatic swabbing, an in-depth serologic sub-study, a case-ascertained household transmission study,
and a data hub/analytic support initiative to coordinate the collective CDC Pandemic Preparedness Cohorts
across the country. The overarching goal of our project is to support the US Health and Human Service Strategic
Plan in safeguarding and improving national and global health conditions and outcomes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11040267
- **Project number:** 1U01IP001257-01
- **Recipient organization:** BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Kathryn Elaine Stephenson
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $4,500,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-08-01 → 2029-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11040267

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11040267, IP24-045, A Prospective Observational Study of Respiratory Virus Epidemiology in the Greater Boston Area (1U01IP001257-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11040267. Licensed CC0.

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