Research

Research projects in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases include investigations on infectious diseases during pregnancy, pediatric COVID-19, and tuberculosis clinical management and education.

Infectious disease during pregnancy

Rana Chakraborty, M.D., D.Phil., leads research on infectious disease during pregnancy. His laboratory is focused on:

  • COVID-19.
  • Cytomegalovirus.
  • HIV.
  • Zika.

Visit Dr. Chakraborty's lab website to learn more.

Pediatric COVID-19 research

Research across the division is focused on understanding, treating and preventing COVID-19 in children. Projects and studies include:

  • Convalescent plasma registry. Mayo Clinic is part of a team investigating the use of convalescent plasma to treat children with COVID-19. Because the use of convalescent plasma is rare in children, this national registry will provide a better understanding of the scope of the therapy and clinical outcomes.
  • Overcoming COVID-19. The division is participating in Overcoming COVID-19, a national study aiming to understand the epidemiology, pathophysiology, prevention and immune response of COVID-19 and related complications in hospitalized children, adolescents and young adults. Overcoming COVID-19 is a prospective study that involves data collection and sample collection for immunobiology testing.
  • PRISM. The Pediatric Research Immune Network on SARS-CoV-2 and MIS-C (PRISM) study is a prospective, multicenter, observational cohort study sponsored and funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The study goal is to assess short- and long-term clinical outcomes and immune responses in children less than 21 years old after infection with SARS-CoV-2, multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) or both.
    The primary study objective is to determine the proportion of children with SARS-CoV-2-related death, rehospitalization, or major complications such as end-organ damage or dysfunction six months after infection with SARS-CoV-2, MIS-C or both. PRISM also aims to determine the immunologic mechanisms and immune signatures associated with different phenotypes of disease presentation.
  • Vaccine effectiveness. The Mayo Clinic Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases is part of a nationwide collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to evaluate the COVID-19 vaccine's effectiveness in babies, children and adolescents.
  • VIRUS. The Viral Infection and Respiratory Illness Universal Study (VIRUS) is a prospective, cross-sectional, observational study of adults and children who are hospitalized for COVID-19. The primary aim is to create a real-time COVID-19 registry of current intensive care unit and hospital care patterns. Researchers will use the registry to evaluate the safety and observational effectiveness of COVID-19 practices and determine variations in practice across hospitals.

Tuberculosis clinical management and education

The Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases supports the Mayo Clinic Center for Tuberculosis. The center is one of four tuberculosis Centers of Excellence in the United States and is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Mayo Clinic Center for Tuberculosis is responsible for clinical consultation and training and education in a 10-state Midwestern region and the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands. Research aims to optimize the effectiveness of training and education programs to support elimination of tuberculosis in the U.S.