Farming lifestyle and early immune signs linked to childhood allergies
Innate and Adaptive Immune Markers in Farming Lifestyle and Early Atopic Diseases
This project looks at how growing up on a farm versus not changes early immune signals in babies and how that relates to eczema, food allergy, and asthma.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Rochester NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Rochester, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11321258 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
From a parent's point of view, researchers will follow newborns and infants, collecting blood and other samples to measure innate and adaptive immune markers, epigenetic changes, and responses to microbial molecules. They will compare children raised with sustained farm exposures to those without to see how microbes and their metabolites shape immune cells like monocytes and regulatory T cells. The team will examine markers tied to skin barrier problems, food sensitization, and airway inflammation to link early immune patterns with later eczema, food allergy, or asthma. Lab tests will include immune stimulation experiments and epigenetic profiling to find long-lived changes that might explain protection or risk.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are newborns or infants (and their families), especially those with or without farm exposure and/or a family history of allergic disease.
Not a fit: Adults with long-established allergies or people not willing to provide infant samples or follow-up are unlikely to receive direct benefit from participating.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could identify early immune and epigenetic markers that predict or help prevent eczema, food allergy, and asthma and suggest ways to promote protective exposures.
How similar studies have performed: Large birth-cohort studies have repeatedly shown lower allergy and asthma rates in farm-exposed children, but the detailed immune and epigenetic mechanisms remain unresolved.
Where this research is happening
Rochester, United States
- University of Rochester — Rochester, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Jarvinen-Seppo, Kirsi — University of Rochester
- Study coordinator: Jarvinen-Seppo, Kirsi
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.