Brain development after birth: how maternal immune activation affects infants
Official title: Human Brain Connectome Changes Across the Birth Transition
Funded at New York University School of Medicine · NIH-11529200 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project follows 90 high-risk pregnancies to understand how immune changes during pregnancy influence a baby’s brain and early development after birth.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | New York University School of Medicine NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | February 1, 2026 |
| Project end | January 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $245,782 |
| NIH project number | 4R00HD113873-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11529200 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Expectant mothers with pregnancies considered high-risk due to factors linked to maternal immune activation and potential risk for neurodevelopmental issues in offspring.
✕Less likely to help
Pregnancies without elevated maternal immune activation risk may have less direct relevance to the study aims.
What this research studies
We will enroll 90 pregnancies considered high-risk and use advanced brain imaging, inflammatory biomarkers from the mother, and infant behavior assessments to track brain growth from birth. The study focuses on brain networks involved in attention, salience, and emotion to see how prenatal immune signals may disrupt development. By combining neural data, biomarkers, and observed behavior, we aim to map how maternal inflammation translates into later child outcomes and identify early indicators of risk. This research could guide early interventions to support children born after maternal immune activation.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could lead to earlier identification of children at risk and inform strategies to improve neurodevelopmental outcomes.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has linked maternal inflammation to neurodevelopmental changes, but this study seeks to map birth-transition brain changes in a high-risk cohort with multimodal data.
Where this research is happening
-
New York University School of Medicine
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ji, Lanxin — New York University School of Medicine
- Study coordinator: Ji, Lanxin
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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.