IDEAL: How immune systems develop in early life shape vaccines, infections, and asthma
Official title: Immune development in early life (IDEAL) shapes vaccine response, respiratory infectious disease and asthma
Funded at Boston Children's Hospital · NIH-11496670 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A patient-friendly overview of a program at Boston Children’s Hospital exploring how early immune development affects vaccine responses, respiratory infections, and asthma in children.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Boston Children's Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | March 1, 2026 |
| Project end | February 28, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $487,771 |
| NIH project number | 5U19AI168643-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11496670 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children from early life who participate in related IDEAL projects or future pediatric research cohorts.
✕Less likely to help
This grant does not directly enroll patients in a single trial, but informs studies that may involve pediatric participants in the future.
What this research studies
This program aims to map how the immune system develops in babies and young children and how these changes influence how well vaccines work, susceptibility to respiratory infections, and the risk of asthma. It uses computer simulations, studies of epigenetic marks, and lab-based experiments to understand endotypes—distinct immune patterns—that relate to clinical outcomes. The Administrative Core coordinates collaboration, communication, and project delivery across multiple teams to maximize impact and timeliness. The work involves researchers across disciplines and geographic regions to translate findings into better pediatric vaccination and airway disease strategies.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, findings could lead to more effective pediatric vaccines and better prevention or management strategies for asthma and respiratory infections.
How similar studies have gone: Previous projects in pediatric immunology have shown that early-life immune patterns can predict later health outcomes, supporting potential translational impact.
Where this research is happening
-
Boston Children's Hospital
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Levy, Ofer — Boston Children's Hospital
- Study coordinator: Levy, Ofer
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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IDEAL project helps predict vaccine response, infections, and asthma in early childhood
A Child-focused program will collect and share saliva, blood, and tissue samples from diverse infants to find biological patterns that predict how vaccines work, how respiratory infections occur, and who develops asthma.
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Understanding how early-life immune development affects vaccine responses and asthma risk in children
This project uses lab-grown human immune cells from infants and young children to explore why some kids respond poorly to vaccines and are more prone to respiratory infections and asthma.
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Multi-omic endotypes of vaccine response, respiratory infections, and asthma in children
A parent-friendly look at how early-life immune development shapes how kids respond to vaccines and stay free from lung infections and asthma, using advanced biological profiling.
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IDEAL: How early-life immune development shapes vaccine responses and asthma risk
A child-focused project that looks at how the developing immune system in early life affects vaccine responses, respiratory infections, and asthma.
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IDEAL: How the microbiome shapes vaccine response, infections, and asthma in kids
This project uses data from thousands of children to understand how the microbiome affects vaccines, respiratory infections, and asthma.
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IDEAL: How babies’ immune systems shape vaccines, infections and asthma
A large NIH project will build a cloud-based system to map how early-life immune development relates to vaccine responses, respiratory infections, and asthma in children.
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.