Air pollution, the gut microbiome, and children's brain development
Pre- and Postnatal Exposure to Air Pollutants and the Gut Microbiome: Implications for Brain Development in Early and Mid-Childhood
This project looks at whether exposure to air pollution before and after birth changes babies' gut bacteria and links to brain development and behavior in early childhood.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Johns Hopkins University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11252359 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you join, you or your child would be followed from pregnancy or early infancy through mid-childhood, with the study using home address and local data to estimate air pollution exposure. Researchers would collect stool samples to study gut bacteria and metabolites, perform brain imaging, and give developmental and behavioral tests at several ages. The team will compare children with different pollution exposures to see whether changes in the gut microbiome go along with differences in brain structure, blood flow, and cognitive or behavioral outcomes. Participation may involve clinic visits, sample collection, and questionnaires about health and environment.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are pregnant people or families with infants and young children, especially those living in areas with higher air pollution.
Not a fit: People who are not pregnant and do not have young children, or who are not exposed to meaningful levels of air pollution, are unlikely to receive direct benefit from participating.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal how pollution harms developing brains and point to microbiome-related ways to prevent or reduce that harm.
How similar studies have performed: Prior human studies have linked early-life air pollution to developmental problems and to shifts in the gut microbiome, but using the microbiome to explain brain changes across multiple childhood timepoints is novel.
Where this research is happening
Baltimore, United States
- Johns Hopkins University — Baltimore, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Alderete, Tanya Lynn — Johns Hopkins University
- Study coordinator: Alderete, Tanya Lynn
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.