Open Philanthropy recommended two grants totaling $8,293,676 over six years to Stanford University to augment the National Institutes of Health's studies on the infant immunome and influenza. The studies will enroll mother-infant pairs and follow them from the second trimester of pregnancy until the child is three to four years of age, and will leverage new sequencing techniques to analyze the adaptive immune system. Open Philanthropy's supplemental funding seeks to advance understanding of core mechanisms in immunology, including the role of the innate immune system and the microbiome in combating pathogens beyond influenza, that could lead to changes in how vaccines are developed and used.
This falls within Open Philanthropy's work on scientific research, specifically within its interest in advancing human health and wellbeing and its interest in science supporting biosecurity and pandemic preparedness.