Our Studies

BABY

With the BABY (Baby Antibody StudY) study, we are interested in learning more about the transfer and persistence of antibodies in babies born to individuals who received an RSV vaccine during pregnancy. The study involves collecting samples at 2 and 6 months of life. We conduct study visits at a time and location convenient for you (i.e. home visit or at postpartum/pediatrician visit, whatever you are most comfortable with). The samples we are interested in collecting are:

  1. If you’re currently breastfeeding/pumping, we would be interested in collecting a couple drops of breast milk (only if you’re comfortable and have extra).

  2. A blood sample from baby — we are using a microneedle sticker device that collects surface capillary blood from the babies in order to avoid a painful heel prick/venipuncture. The collection takes about ~2 min and is a painless procedure.

  3. A nasal swab from baby — the nasal swab is very shallow and goes around the tip of baby’s nose. It’s quick and painless!

BEAN

BEAN (Bridging Emotions and Nutrition in Pregnancy) is a collaboration with the REID Lab at Northeastern University. This research aims to examine how chronic stress during pregnancy affects iron levels in mothers and their babies. The study focuses on how stress affects the body’s ability to absorb and use iron, particularly through inflammatory pathway inclusions. By analyzing samples from a diverse group of pregnant women, the research investigates the relationship between stress, inflammation, and iron levels. To learn more about the BEAN Study, visit https://reid-lab.com/bean.

BUMP

BUMP (Biorepository for Understanding Maternal Immunity and Pregnancy) is a departmental pregnancy biorepository that aims to answer questions about maternal immunity and pregnancy complications.  To learn more about this study, visit: https://www.massgeneral.org/obgyn/research/bump.

If you are interested in participating, please email us directly at mghpregnancybiobank@mgb.org or respond to our Rally post (https://rally.massgeneralbrigham.org/study/bump).

HBCD

With the HBCD (HEALthy Brain and Child Development) study, we hope to better understand how the brain develops in early childhood and is affected by exposure to substances and other environmental conditions during pregnancy and after birth. Families will be asked to participate in activities once during pregnancy and across several visits during early childhood for the first 5-10 years of life. These activities include surveys, child-friendly brain scans using MRI and EEG, child body sensors to measure their heart, sleep, and movement, and lastly, collection of blood, saliva, and some other tests to help us learn more about your child’s development. 


We offer monetary compensation for participation, compensation for travel expenses/parking, and childcare for any siblings who may come along. Your child will also receive a small toy at each visit. Together we aim to shed light on factors that impact child development to better support families and children as they grow.


If you are interested in participating in our study please email us at mgbhbcd@mgb.org.

HBCD-E

The COVID PRiSM (Pregnancy Registry of Immune responSes and Maternal Microbiome) study seeks to further our understanding of COVID infection and vaccination in pregnancy. With over 1,200 participants, we have made numerous discoveries regarding the immune response of pregnant individuals to COVID and COVID vaccination in pregnancy. Some of what we have learned is featured in the Publications and Press portions of this website.

Any interested participants can email us at COVIDPregnancy@partners.org.

MARVELOUS

Marvelous (Maternal RSV Vaccination: Evaluating Optimal Immune Responses) is a multi-site study at MGH, Mount Sinai, Cornell, and Yale investigating Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccination in pregnancy. Using samples collected from the pregnant individual and infant, we hope to understand more details about how maternal vaccination influences neonatal protection against RSV.

If you are interested in participating in this research at MGH, please contact us at mghpregnancybiobank@mgb.org.

MOMi

The MOMI (Maternal ‘Omics to Maximize Immunity ) study is a multi-site consortium between MGH, MIT, and Mt. Sinai School of Medicine (MPIs Andrea Edlow, Michal Elovitz, Doug Lauffenburger) to map the human pregnancy immunome across trimesters using single cell transcriptomics, epigenomics, antibody-omics, and proteomics. This five-year, $12M study, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) as part of the Human Immunology Project Consortium (the first HIPC project to focus on pregnancy), aims to use de novo and recall vaccines in pregnancy to probe the maternal immune system and understand maternal immune responses by trimester, as well as the transfer of protective immunity to the neonate.