PREVAIL* Cohort Study

Millions of children worldwide get sick from viruses such as norovirus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza (flu), and rotavirus, and many die from diseases caused by these viruses every year. While there are vaccines available to prevent illnesses caused by flu and rotavirus, vaccines are currently in development for norovirus and RSV. In order to develop effective vaccines, it is important to understand how these viruses interact with a child’s immune system and how the mother’s immunity may help fight these infections in the United States.

Viral disease experts at CDC are partnering with doctors at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center for the PREVAIL cohort study. This is the first multi-year CDC study in the United States that looks at how a mother’s immune system may help protect her children from illnesses caused by these viruses.

PREVAIL is a three-year study involving women and their infants. Participation in the study is voluntary. Participants will regularly provide samples and answer questions from their last trimester of pregnancy until their child is 2 years old. The information gathered from this study will

greatly improve our understanding of how viral infections impact a child’s immune system during the first 2 years of life,
provide evidence on how repeat infections affect the immune system,
offer insight into how a mother’s immune system may be protecting her children from infection, and
give doctors and scientists a better understanding of immune system responses.

Doctors and scientists can use this information for developing new vaccines and improving those we have to help protect children from getting sick and dying.

This study is funded through CDC’s New Vaccine Surveillance Network.

Resources

If you have any questions about participating in PREVAIL, contact Amy Hoffman (hoffmaa@ucmail.uc.edu) or Jessica James (james2ja@ucmail.uc.edu) at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine at (513) 584-4019.

If you have general questions about the PREVAIL study, please contact Jeanne Kleiman (Jeanne.Kleiman@cchmc.org / (513) 803-9163) or Nancy Back (Nancy.Back@cchmc.org / (513) 636-2479) at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

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PREVAIL Cohort Study Investigators

Principal Investigators

Dr. Ardythe L. Morrow, PhD — Site Principal Investigator, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Dr. Daniel C. Payne, PhD, MSPH — CDC Principal Investigator — NCIRD, Division of Viral Diseases

Co-Investigators

Dr. Mary Allen Staat, MD, MPH, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Dr. Emily DeFranco DO, MS, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

Dr. Elizabeth Schlaudecker, MD, MPH, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Jeanne Kleiman, BS, ALC, CLC, CCRP, Site Project Manager, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Allison Cline, RN BSN, Doctoral Student-Epidemiology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Amy Hoffman, BA, Senior Clinical Research Coordinator, University of Cincinnati Medical Center

Jessica James, Clinical Research Coordinator, University of Cincinnati Medical Center

Dr. Umesh D. Parashar, MBBS, MPH — Division of Viral Diseases, CDC

Dr. Holly Biggs, MD, MPH — Division of Viral Diseases, CDC

Dr. Angela Campbell, MD, MPH — Influenza Division, CDC

Dr. Jan Vinje, PhD — Division of Viral Diseases, CDC

Dr. Rachel Burke, PhD — Division of Viral Diseases, CDC

Dr. Aron J. Hall, DVM, MSPH — Division of Viral Diseases, CDC

Dr. Natalie Thornburg, PhD — Division of Viral Diseases, CDC

Dr. Susan Gerber, MD, MPH — Division of Viral Diseases, CDC

Alexandra Piasecki, MPH — Division of Viral Diseases, CDC

Dr. Michael Bowen, MS, PhD — Division of Viral Diseases, CDC

Footnote

*PREVAIL stands for Pediatric Respiratory and Enteric Virus Acquisition and Immunogenesis Longitudinal cohort.