How gut microbes influence babies' ability to make protective HIV antibodies
Project 2: Microbial determinants of HIV broadly-neutralizing antibody precursor induction in infants
This project looks at whether certain gut bacteria help infants' immune systems make protective HIV antibodies after vaccination.
Quick facts
| Grant type | P01 program project |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chapel Hill, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11307040 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you join, researchers will follow infants who receive experimental HIV vaccine candidates and collect stool and blood samples to track early antibody responses. They will analyze the babies' gut bacteria to find which microbes are linked to making broadly neutralizing antibody precursors. Promising bacteria will then be tested in the lab and in animal models to confirm whether they boost vaccine responses. The goal is to use those findings to design vaccines or microbiome-based strategies that help more infants develop strong, protective HIV antibodies.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are newborns or infants whose parents consent to vaccination visits and provide stool and blood samples for microbiome and immune testing.
Not a fit: People living with HIV, adults outside the infant vaccine program, or anyone unwilling to provide samples or receive investigational vaccines would not expect direct benefit from participating.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to vaccines or microbiome-based approaches that help more infants develop broadly protective HIV antibodies.
How similar studies have performed: Related envelope-based vaccine approaches have induced broadly neutralizing antibody precursors in about 50–60% of infant and adult nonhuman primates and early human trials show some antibody development, though linking responses to the microbiome is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Chapel Hill, United States
- Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill — Chapel Hill, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: De Paris, Kristina — Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Study coordinator: De Paris, Kristina
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.