Long-term immune and aging changes after severe pneumonia
Official title: Common Post-Infectious Premature Epigenetic Aging
Funded at Baylor College of Medicine · NIH-11311321 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at lasting changes in gene activity and immune aging after severe pneumonia to understand why survivors face higher risks of heart disease, cancer, and repeat infections.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Baylor College of Medicine NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Houston, United States) |
| Project start | August 15, 2023 |
| Project end | April 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $607,930 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AG078268-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11311321 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults who recently recovered from severe pneumonia (completed therapy), willing to give blood samples and attend follow-up visits for up to two years, are the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without a recent severe infection, those not willing to provide samples or attend follow-up visits, or those seeking immediate therapeutic benefit rather than research participation are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this project.
What this research studies
If you recently had severe pneumonia, this project would follow you for up to 24 months after your treatment and collect blood samples and clinical information. The team will use advanced single-cell sequencing to find persistent 'epigenetic scars'—changes in gene regulation—that may drive chronic inflammation and weaker immunity. Researchers will link specific epigenetic patterns to later health problems like cardiovascular disease, cancer, or recurrent infections and study how those marks persist over time. Laboratory experiments will also explore how infections cause these changes and whether they might be reversible.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify markers that predict who is at higher long-term risk after pneumonia and point to targets for treatments to reduce later heart disease, cancer, or repeat infections.
How similar studies have gone: Previous studies have shown persistent post-infectious epigenetic aging, but this effort is among the first to connect specific single-cell epigenetic scars to long-term health outcomes and to track patients prospectively.
Where this research is happening
-
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Dinardo, Andrew R — Baylor College of Medicine
- Study coordinator: Dinardo, Andrew R
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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.