# The interplay of maternal antibody and newborn vaccine responses

> **NIH AI R01** · WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · 2026 · $766,671

## Abstract

Young infants are at high risk for severe disease following influenza virus infection. The current
strategy for protecting infants is to increase antibody in the mother that can be transferred
across the placenta to the fetus such that infants are born with influenza virus-specific
antibodies on board. However, while maternal antibodies can decrease the likelihood that
infants develop influenza disease, in many cases this protection is incomplete and infants
remain at high risk. Further, maternal antibody will wane in all infants, leaving them more
susceptible to infection. The combination of the lack of a vaccine for infants under the age of 6
months, the need for two doses of vaccine to achieve protective levels of antibody, and waning
maternal antibody results in a window of vulnerability in infants. Our goal is to effectively
vaccinate young infants when maternal antibody is at high levels, such that as maternal
antibody is waning, a protective anti-influenza response is rising in the infant. Among the
challenges associated with effective vaccination of newborns is the potential for interference by
maternal antibody. Currently, there is debate in the field regarding the extent of the impediment
posed by maternal antibody in the context of influenza vaccination. A fuller understanding of the
potential for maternal antibody-mediated regulation has been hampered by the lack of study
using a model that closely resembles humans in maternal antibody transfer and infant immune
system development/function. Here, we use the nonhuman primate model to investigate this
significant area. NHP are the most reflective pre-clinical model of human maternal antibody
transfer and infant immune development/function. Vaccine responses in infants born to
influenza virus-immune or naive mothers will be evaluated at the antibody and cellular level.
These studies will significantly move forward our mechanistic understanding of the impact of
maternal antibody in the context of influenza v

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11322702
- **Project number:** 5R01AI189601-02
- **Recipient organization:** WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Martha Ann Alexander-Miller
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AI
- **Fiscal year:** 2026
- **Award amount:** $766,671
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2025-04-17T00:00:00 → 2030-03-31T00:00:00

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11322702

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11322702, The interplay of maternal antibody and newborn vaccine responses (5R01AI189601-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11322702. Licensed CC0.

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