Maternal viral infections and child lung health: how prenatal exposure can shape future breathing problems
Official title: Maternal Respiratory Infection Shapes Fetal Lung Epithelial Immune Memory: Implications for Postnatal Inflammatory Lung Diseases
Funded at Johns Hopkins University · NIH-11343972 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A mother’s viral infection during pregnancy may influence her baby’s lungs after birth, potentially increasing the risk of inflammatory lung conditions like asthma.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Johns Hopkins University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project start | May 11, 2026 |
| Project end | April 30, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $822,060 |
| NIH project number | 1R01AI199482-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11343972 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are pregnant individuals with viral infections during pregnancy and their offspring, who would be followed to assess lung development and immune memory.
✕Less likely to help
Pregnancies without maternal infection or offspring without related lung outcomes may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
This project looks at how a mother’s exposure to viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 during pregnancy might change the baby’s developing lung cells and their immune responses. Researchers will study prenatal immune memory in lung tissues and how epigenetic changes in inflammatory genes like IL-33 might persist into childhood. They will explore when during pregnancy infections have the biggest impact, how lung mesenchyme and epithelial cells interact, and which signaling pathways drive these lasting changes. The ultimate goal is to identify opportunities to prevent chronic lung inflammation in children born after maternal infections.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Understanding these mechanisms could lead to new ways to prevent or lessen asthma and other inflammatory lung diseases in children exposed to maternal infections.
How similar studies have gone: Prior research has linked maternal immune activation to altered offspring immunity, with emerging evidence suggesting lasting effects on lung inflammation.
Where this research is happening
-
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Jia, Hongpeng — Johns Hopkins University
- Study coordinator: Jia, Hongpeng
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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.