How a mother's neighborhood experience shows up in her newborn's blood
Maternal metabolomics in neonatal dried blood
This project looks for links between a mother's lifetime exposure to segregated neighborhoods and signs of inflammation in her newborn's routine dried blood spots.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (East Lansing, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11184255 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would not need to come in for new testing because researchers will use newborn dried blood spots already collected at birth and stored by the State of Michigan. They will combine each mother's residential history with neighborhood segregation measures and test the newborn blood spots for inflammatory and metabolic signals. The team will study births recorded at Henry Ford Health using records and stored samples to see whether neighborhood exposures are reflected in newborn biology. Findings aim to pinpoint early signs that could help explain how disadvantage passes from mothers to children.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are mothers who delivered at Henry Ford Health with newborn dried blood spots available in the Michigan state archive.
Not a fit: People who delivered outside the Henry Ford/Michigan system or do not have a stored neonatal dried blood spot would not be able to participate or benefit directly from this work.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify early biological signals linked to neighborhood stress that help target prevention and support for mothers and infants to reduce long-term health disparities.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research has linked neighborhood disadvantage and maternal stress to inflammation, but using newborn dried blood metabolomics to trace these intergenerational links is a relatively new and emerging approach.
Where this research is happening
East Lansing, United States
- Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences — East Lansing, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Joseph, Christine Lm — Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Joseph, Christine Lm
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.