Improving diagnosis of Chagas passed from mother to baby
An integrated approach to understand and diagnose congenital Chagas disease
This project creates better ways to spot and diagnose Chagas infection in newborns whose mothers carry the parasite so babies can get treatment sooner.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| 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-11084436 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you are a pregnant person with Chagas or the parent of a newborn, this project looks at mothers' medical and exposure histories alongside lab tests to find babies at high risk of congenital infection. Researchers will combine clinical information, biological assays, and algorithmic tools to improve detection in the perinatal period. The team is focused on making approaches that work in resource-limited settings where advanced tests are often unavailable. The overall aim is to make sure more infected infants are diagnosed and treated early.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are pregnant people known or suspected to have Trypanosoma cruzi infection and their newborns, especially those born in or connected to Chagas-endemic areas.
Not a fit: People without maternal exposure to T. cruzi or those with long-standing adult chronic Chagas disease are unlikely to receive direct benefit from the perinatal-focused tools.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment of infected infants, reducing short-term complications and long-term heart and digestive disease.
How similar studies have performed: Existing tests like PCR and serology can detect some congenital cases but miss many infants, and this integrated approach builds on prior methods to try to improve detection.
Where this research is happening
Chapel Hill, United States
- Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill — Chapel Hill, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Bowman, Natalie Mccarter — Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Study coordinator: Bowman, Natalie Mccarter
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.