Early Immune System Development and Ontogeny (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)
Study early immune system development from utero through childhood, focusing on HIV/ART exposure in neonates to adolescents, exploring immune cell mechanisms and systemic immunity.
Funder: National Institutes of Health
Due Dates: May 7, 2025 | January 7, 2026 | May 7, 2026 | October 5, 2026 | February 5, 2027 | October 5, 2027 | February 5, 2028 | June 5, 2028 | October 5, 2028 | November 5, 2028
Funding Amounts: Up to $400,000/year direct costs (excluding consortium F&A); maximum project period is 4 years.
Summary: Supports research to elucidate mechanisms of early immune system development in neonates, infants, children, and adolescents, particularly in the context of HIV and antiretroviral exposure.
Key Information: Standard NIH R01; clinical trials optional; broad eligibility including foreign institutions.
Description
This opportunity supports research to advance understanding of early immune system development and ontogeny from in utero through adolescence, with particular emphasis on the effects of HIV, antiretroviral therapeutics, and parental immune status. Projects may investigate mechanisms of immune cell development, maturation, and function at the maternal-fetal interface and in offspring, including the impact of genetic, epigenetic, microbiome, and environmental factors. The initiative encourages multidisciplinary approaches and may include laboratory research, clinical studies, or clinical trials.
Research topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Maternal and paternal immune status and its impact on offspring immune development
- Mechanisms of T and B lymphocyte differentiation, maturation, and suppression
- Immune imprinting and the role of the maternal-fetal interface
- Effects of background immunization or immuno-therapeutics on pediatric immunity
- Parental DNA methylation and epigenetic modulation affecting offspring immunity
- Associations between in utero immune exchanges and autoimmune disease development
Applications exclusively focused on vaccine advocacy, the microbiome without infectious disease context, or solely on epigenomic approaches will be considered non-responsive.
