# Using Integrative Omics as Biomarkers and Diagnostic Tools for SIDS

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA · 2020 · $662,202

## Abstract

Project Summary
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the second leading cause of death (closely behind congenital and
genetic abnormalities), in the postneonatal period (infants 1 month to 1 year of age), despite declines in
incidence of over 50% following the Back to Sleep (now called the Safe to Sleep) risk reduction campaign. In
2017, 1400 infants in the US died of SIDS. Extensive research has identified a number of epidemiological risk
factors for SIDS, and more recent research has begun to provide evidence of a potential role for genetic
susceptibility in the pathophysiology of the disorder. In the United States, African American and American
Indian/Alaska Native babies, in particular are at higher risk for SIDS. Advances in technology now allow for
more exhaustive interrogations of genomic contributors to disease. The goal of this proposal is to
comprehensively evaluate genetic and epigenetic determinates of SIDS and identify gene expression, DNA
methylation and metabolomics profiles that might serve as novel biomarkers in infants at greater risk of death
from SIDS. We will utilize liver, heart and blood specimens from the Chicago Infant Mortality Study (CIMS), the
largest known collection of cardiac tissue from SUID deaths in the US and heart and blood specimens from the
NIH NeuroBioBank (NBB) to investigate genetic, epigenetic, and transcriptomic influences of SIDS.
We will employ an omics approach encompassing next generation sequencing (exome plus RNA), genome wide
epigenetics, and metabolomics profiling to identify novel biomarkers that are predictive of SIDS. These findings
could lead to diagnostic tests and early detection of high risk infants, resulting in preventative measures to
eliminate SIDS. This study will also be the first to successfully use an integrative –Omics approach to address
genetic, epigenetic, and metabolomics contributors for SIDS.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9945317
- **Project number:** 1R01HD101518-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
- **Principal Investigator:** FERN R HAUCK
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $662,202
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9945317

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9945317, Using Integrative Omics as Biomarkers and Diagnostic Tools for SIDS (1R01HD101518-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9945317. Licensed CC0.

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