How early life affects heart and metabolic health in children exposed to HIV at birth
Official title: Early life determinants of cardiometabolic health from birth to adolescence amongst HIV-exposed and unexposed South African children
Funded at Hartford Hospital · NIH-11303481 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Tracking how being born to an HIV-positive mother and early childhood infections change metabolism and heart-risk markers from birth through early adolescence in South African children.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Hartford Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Hartford, United States) |
| Project start | August 18, 2022 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $173,638 |
| NIH project number | 7R01HD108048-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11303481 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children born to HIV-positive mothers but uninfected (HEU) and comparable HIV-unexposed children who can be followed from infancy into early adolescence, especially those enrolled in the Drakenstein Child Health Study in South Africa.
✕Less likely to help
People living with HIV, adults, or children without early-life clinical follow-up or stored biosamples are unlikely to be eligible or directly helped by this project.
What this research studies
This project follows children from a long-running South African birth cohort, comparing those born to HIV-positive mothers but not infected (HEU) with children who were not exposed to HIV (HU). Researchers will analyze blood samples collected at multiple ages to measure metabolites and markers of inflammation and link these to documented infections in early life. They will map how metabolite patterns evolve from infancy to early adolescence and how those patterns relate to early signs of cardiometabolic risk. The team aims to identify biological pathways driven by early infections and HIV exposure that could explain worse heart and metabolic outcomes later in childhood.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could reveal early warning signs and biological pathways to prevent or reduce future heart and metabolic problems in children exposed to HIV at birth.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work, including by this group, has linked early-life infections and inflammation to altered metabolic profiles, but following those changes through early adolescence is less common and adds new long-term data.
Where this research is happening
-
Hartford Hospital
Hartford, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Pellowski, Jennifer Ann — Hartford Hospital
- Study coordinator: Pellowski, Jennifer Ann
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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.