Knowledge Generation

OraLee Branch of New York University in the U.S. will research the hypothesis that inflammation of the placenta affects the postnatal growth of offspring by altering programming in the fetus that determines the makeup of the child's intestinal microbiota. Correcting such fetal programming could promote nutrient absorption and healthy growth.

John Groopman of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the U.S. will test the hypothesis that exposure during pregnancy to aflatoxin, a toxin produced by mold that widely contaminates staple grains and nuts in hot, humid environments, can lead to stunted fetal growth. Groopman will assess levels of biomarkers related to aflatoxin exposure in serum samples and compare them to maternal and infant data to determine if aflatoxin contributes to smaller birth size.

Kerry Schulze and colleagues at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the U.S., working with the JiVitA Project in Bangladesh, will study urine and blood samples from an established cohort of two-year old children in Bangladesh to assess whether non-nutritional factors such as aflatoxin exposure, chronic inflammation, and compromised gut integrity cause the deceleration of growth exhibited by many children in that country by 24 months of age.

Craig Harris of the University of Michigan in the U.S. will develop 3-dimensional embryo culture models to study how maternal diets and environmental factors affect embryonic growth when organ tissues are being developed. Understanding this process could inform ways to reduce disruptions to the fetal development process that might affect growth, disease susceptibility and behavior later in life.

Thomas Jue, Frederic A. Troy and Youngran Chung at the University of California Davis in the U.S. will use a mouse model to track the biodistribution of sialic acid - abundant in human breast milk and shown in animal studies to improve cognition - as a first step in understanding the long-term cognitive advantages of breastfeeding and potentially developing a sialic acid supplement for infants to promote cognitive development.

Lawrence Braack of the University of Pretoria in South Africa seeks to demonstrate that malarial mosquitoes in Africa have a strong preference for biting on ankles and feet, and by protecting the lower legs and feet of people who are active outdoors in the early evening with repellants and insecticides, a major reduction in transmission of malaria could be achieved.

Sheng He Huang of Children's Hospital, Los Angeles in the U.S. will use a bioinformatics approach to study how microbial infections, including HIV, use dynamic processes of symbiosis and pathogenesis to thrive in host cells.

Thomas Lietman of the University of California, San Francisco in the U.S. will use mathematical models and cross-sectional survey data to determine the minimum number of people in a community who need to be treated for trachoma in order to halt transmission of the disease. Determining this core group can eliminate the need for mass antibiotic distribution, which results drug resistance in communities severely affected by this disease that is the leading cause of blindness.

Cynthia Kenyon of the University of California, San Francisco in the U.S. seeks to identify a natural viral pathogen that can be used to kill nematodes that cause a wide variety of diseases in humans, most of which disproportionately affect the developing world.

A high HIV mutation rate enables escape from powerful immune responses and anti-retroviral drugs. Reuben Harris of the University of Minnesota in the U.S. will test the hypothesis that HIV requires the human APOBEC3G protein to maintain a high mutation rate necessary for HIV survival. Inhibiting this protein may slow the mutation rate and make the virus more susceptible to immune responses.