Understanding childhood allergies and breathing problems, and how early life factors play a role
Official title: Epidemiology of multimorbid pediatric atopic and airway diseases and the impact of prenatal maternal environmental exposures and placental epigenetics
Funded at Henry Ford Health System · NIH-11319130 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project continues to follow children to understand how allergies and breathing problems develop and how factors before birth might influence them.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Henry Ford Health System NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Detroit, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2023 |
| Project end | May 31, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $466,781 |
| NIH project number | 4UH3OD035518-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11319130 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This project focuses on children aged 0-11 years old who are part of the existing Henry Ford Health CANOE cohort, with an interest in their mothers' prenatal environmental exposures.
✕Less likely to help
Patients not part of the existing Henry Ford Health CANOE cohort or outside the specified age range would not directly benefit from participation in this specific follow-up.
What this research studies
We are continuing to follow a group of children from the Henry Ford Health system to learn more about how common allergic conditions like eczema, food allergies, asthma, and allergic rhinitis develop together. These conditions can significantly affect a child's health and development, and we currently lack early ways to identify children at highest risk. We are particularly interested in how environmental factors during pregnancy and changes in the placenta's DNA might act as early warning signs for children at higher risk for these multiple allergies. Our goal is to find ways to identify and prevent these conditions earlier in life.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to earlier identification of children at risk for multiple allergic diseases and new strategies for prevention.
How similar studies have gone: While the co-existence of atopic disorders is known, investigations into placental DNA methylation as an early biomarker for severe atopic multimorbidity are limited, suggesting a novel aspect to this approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Henry Ford Health System
Detroit, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Straughen, Jennifer K. — Henry Ford Health System
- Study coordinator: Straughen, Jennifer K.
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.