Understanding the immune response to vaccines during pregnancy and its effects on maternal and children’s health (B08)

• Subject Area: Reproductive Medicine, Urology ; Virology
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 534829736

Pregnant women often experience high rates of infection-related morbidity and, in some cases, mortality. Likewise, infants are particularly vulnerable to severe infections. Vaccination stands out as one of the most effective public health strategies, significantly reducing the risk of infections for both pregnant women and neonates, the latter afforded through the transfer of pathogen-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies from the mother to the fetus. Our goal is to enhance the understanding of the maternal immune response to vaccination and the variations in transplacental IgG transfer, ultimately aiming to improve the efficacy of vaccination during pregnancy.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1713: Maternal Immune Activation: Causes and Consequences
• Applicant Institution: Universität Hamburg
• Project Heads: Professorin Dr. Marylyn Martina Addo; Professorin Dr. Anke Diemert