Technology-Driven Root-Cause Analysis and Clinical Enhancement for C. difficile Infections
Official title: Technology-Driven Root cause Analysis and Clinical Enhancement for Clostridioides difficile Infection (TRACE-CDI), a Digital Thread to trace Hospital-acquired Infections
Funded at Datanova Scientific LLC · NIH-11186538 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A new digital platform uses hospital data to streamline how hospitals analyze and prevent hospital-acquired C. diff infections.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Sbir 1 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Datanova Scientific LLC NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Surfside Beach, United States) |
| Project start | July 21, 2026 |
| Project end | January 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $306,969 |
| NIH project number | 1R43AI192167-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11186538 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Hospitals and healthcare teams working to prevent and control C. diff infections; patients indirectly benefit through safer care practices.
✕Less likely to help
Direct patient participation is not described; the project focuses on hospital staff and data rather than enrolling patients.
What this research studies
This NIH grant funds development of TRACE-CDI, an automated system that links electronic health records and other hospital data to speed up root-cause analyses of hospital-acquired C. diff infections. The project gathers input from infection preventionists, quality improvement staff, and antimicrobial stewardship teams to design a tool that fits real hospital workflows. It will create an ontology to organize key data elements needed for RCA and infection control decisions. The work centers on practical, user-friendly design to help teams reduce infection risk and improve patient safety.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, TRACE-CDI could shorten RCA timelines, improve infection control decisions, and reduce C. diff infections in hospitals.
How similar studies have gone: Previous RCA improvements in healthcare have shown that well-designed digital tools can speed up investigations and curb infections, though automated, ontology-driven RCA platforms are newer.
Where this research is happening
-
Datanova Scientific LLC
Surfside Beach, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Joshi, Sameer — Datanova Scientific LLC
- Study coordinator: Joshi, Sameer
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Understanding how the immune system fights C. difficile to prevent recurrence
A new NIH grant is studying how the body’s own immune response to C. difficile infection might be boosted to prevent future outbreaks.
-
Impact of gut bile acids on C. difficile infection in inflammatory bowel disease
This grant tests whether changes in gut microbes and their bile acids influence how likely people with inflammatory bowel disease are to get and how severe a C. difficile infection could be.
-
Role of gut bacteria in shaping C. difficile infection
Aims to map how the gut microbiome and its metabolic environment influence Clostridioides difficile infection in people and how we might prevent or treat it.
-
Detailed genetic look at C. difficile and the gut microbiome in infection and relapse
Researchers will sequence C. difficile and gut bacteria from thousands of patient stool samples to find genetic and microbial patterns linked to severe or recurring infections.
-
Multivalent vaccine to prevent C. difficile infection and recurrence
This project is developing a vaccine that teaches the immune system to neutralize C. difficile toxins and block the bacteria from coming back for people at risk of infection.
-
Gut-targeted antibiotics for C. difficile infection
Developing gut-targeted antibiotics to kill C. difficile while keeping healthy gut bacteria for people with recurrent C. difficile infections.
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.