Improving testing and immune care for syphilis in pregnancy
Official title: Syphilis in Pregnancy Study (SIPS): Molecular Diagnostics and Maternal and Infant Immune Response to Infection
Funded at University of Alabama at Birmingham · NIH-11378629 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers will use advanced lab tests and follow pregnant women with syphilis and their babies to learn how the infection and immune responses affect birth outcomes.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Alabama at Birmingham NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Birmingham, United States) |
| Project start | June 23, 2023 |
| Project end | May 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $159,636 |
| NIH project number | 3R01AI176982-03S2 |
| Project ID | NIH-11378629 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are pregnant women in Cameroon or Zambia with confirmed syphilis and matched pregnant women without syphilis who are willing to attend follow-up visits and provide samples.
✕Less likely to help
People who live outside the study regions or who expect direct experimental treatment from participation may not receive direct benefit because this is an observational cohort focused on testing and monitoring.
What this research studies
If you join, the team will enroll pregnant women with confirmed syphilis and matched pregnant controls in Cameroon and Zambia and follow you and your baby for 12 months after delivery. They will collect blood and other samples at multiple visits and run molecular tests to detect the bacteria and measure immune responses in mothers and infants. The study combines clinical visits, lab-based molecular diagnostics, and immune testing to understand when and how syphilis crosses the placenta and leads to adverse birth outcomes.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to more accurate tests and earlier identification of pregnancy infections to reduce stillbirth, preterm birth, and congenital syphilis.
How similar studies have gone: Previous cohort studies have documented high rates of syphilis in pregnancy and informed prevention efforts, but combining large mother-infant cohorts with advanced molecular and immune testing at this scale is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
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University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Dionne, Jodie Ann — University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Study coordinator: Dionne, Jodie Ann
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Syphilis in Pregnancy: Understanding Infection in Moms and Babies
A study following pregnant women with syphilis and their babies to learn how the infection affects pregnancy and newborn health.
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Syphilis in Pregnancy: Molecular Tests and Immune Responses in Mom and Baby
A study to understand how syphilis affects pregnancy and newborns by using molecular tests and tracking immune responses in 750 pregnant women with syphilis and their babies.
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Preventing syphilis in pregnant people in Rio de Janeiro
A clinical trial in Brazil tests a pregnancy-safe antibiotic plan to stop syphilis from affecting babies.
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Preventing congenital syphilis in pregnant people at risk in Rio de Janeiro
A clinical trial will test a treatment approach during pregnancy to reduce syphilis transmission from mother to baby for pregnant people at risk in Rio de Janeiro.
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Syphilis in Pregnancy: Molecular Tests and Immune Responses in Moms and Babies
This study follows pregnant women with syphilis and their babies to understand how the infection affects both, using advanced tests to learn more about the immune response and how the infection passes to the baby.
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Syphilis in pregnancy: improved tests and mother–baby immune responses
This project looks at better laboratory tests and how mothers' and newborns' immune systems respond to syphilis in pregnant people in Cameroon and Zambia.
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.