Viral and Host Factors in Infant and Child Allergy and Asthma
Official title: Viral and Host Determinants of Infant and Childhood Allergy and Asthma
Funded at Vanderbilt University Medical Center · NIH-11353460 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This grant explores why some babies and young children develop asthma by studying how viruses, environment, and airway cells interact from birth.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Vanderbilt University Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Nashville, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2011 |
| Project end | April 30, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $1,496,183 |
| NIH project number | 2U19AI095227-17 |
| Project ID | NIH-11353460 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are newborns and their families in whom researchers can study airway development over time, including those with risk factors for asthma.
✕Less likely to help
Children without risk factors may have a lower likelihood of benefiting from the specific mechanisms studied here.
What this research studies
Researchers at Vanderbilt will follow a birth cohort of children to understand how the airway lining develops and why it becomes dysfunctional in asthma. They will use advanced techniques like single-cell RNA sequencing on airway cells to identify different cell types and molecular pathways involved in early asthma risk. The work looks at environmental influences, such as viruses like RSV, and how they may shape airway development before asthma appears. Findings could point to new ways to prevent asthma or tailor treatments for kids who are most at risk.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could lead to personalized prevention and early intervention strategies for childhood asthma.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work has shown that early-life airway epithelial changes and viral exposures can influence asthma risk, supporting the feasibility of this approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nashville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hartert, Tina V — Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Hartert, Tina V
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Childhood Allergy and the Neonatal Environment: Early Life Airways and Asthma
A long-term study following newborns to age 5 to understand how early-life nose and airway biology, immune development, and the environment influence asthma risk.
-
Role of a special interferon-responsive T cell in allergies and asthma
A study explores a unique interferon-responsive T cell type that may influence allergies and asthma, aiming to understand why some people become allergic and how this T cell subset could affect airway inflammation.
-
Children's Allergy and Asthma Data Hub
A national data hub will pool and harmonize child allergy and asthma cohort data to help researchers discover ways to prevent asthma in kids.
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Children's Allergy and Asthma Data Hub (CADRE)
This project builds a shared data hub that combines many childhood allergy and asthma birth-study records so researchers can find early-life factors that change a child's risk of asthma.
-
How microRNAs control allergy and asthma
This work looks at tiny gene-regulating molecules called microRNAs to find molecular ways to reduce allergic inflammation in people with asthma.
-
A newly discovered interferon-responsive immune cell linked to allergies and asthma
Researchers are looking at whether a newly discovered interferon-responsive T cell helps protect people exposed to allergens from developing allergic reactions and asthma.
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.