Impact of vaping components on pregnancy and newborn lungs
Official title: Impact of Acid, Base, and Salt Components of E-cigarettes in Pregnancy
Funded at Wayne State University · NIH-11416232 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This grant looks at how e-cigarette vapors, especially nicotine, affect pregnant people and their babies, focusing on how exposure might change baby lung development and infection risk.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Wayne State University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Detroit, United States) |
| Project start | September 3, 2026 |
| Project end | June 30, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $473,313 |
| NIH project number | 1R01ES038818-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11416232 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are pregnant people and newborns affected by prenatal exposure to nicotine aerosols, or clinicians researching pregnancy and neonatal lung health.
✕Less likely to help
Pregnant individuals not considering vaping exposure or those not seeking information on neonatal respiratory outcomes may not benefit.
What this research studies
Researchers will study how acids, bases, and salts in e-cigarette aerosols affect pregnancy outcomes using a preclinical pregnant rat model that mimics human exposure. They will analyze immune and lung development, including sex-specific differences in how the fetal lungs respond to nicotine aerosols. The project uses advanced methods like RNA sequencing and flow cytometry to understand how exposure changes immune cells and early lung development, and whether these changes increase vulnerability to newborn infections. The work aims to clarify potential risks to fetal and neonatal health from vaping during pregnancy.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, findings could inform safer guidance for pregnant people and influence regulatory policies to protect newborn health.
How similar studies have gone: Preliminary data show sex-specific immune changes in fetal lungs and increased neonatal infection risk with nicotine exposure in animals, suggesting a promising but early line of evidence.
Where this research is happening
-
Wayne State University
Detroit, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ramadoss, Jayanth — Wayne State University
- Study coordinator: Ramadoss, Jayanth
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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.