Dr. Donald Nyangahu has received an NIH Director’s Pioneer Catalyst Award (DP1) meant for Early-Stage Investigators pursuing HIV related research. He will investigate why some infants born to mothers living with HIV experience neurodevelopmental delays despite remaining free of HIV infection.
The project explores the hypothesis that microbes and metabolites in the infant gut influence early brain development. He will combine longitudinal analyses of the gut bacterial microbiota, virome, and metabolome from iHEU with germ-free mouse models, brain imaging, and behavioral studies. Dr. Nyangahu’s team aims to determine whether specific microbial signals in the gut of iHEU contribute to neurodevelopmental delay.
The findings could identify early biological markers of neurodevelopmental risk and reveal new opportunities to prevent developmental delays through microbiome-targeted therapies. Beyond HIV, the project has the potential to transform our understanding of how early-life gut environment influences healthy brain development in children globally.