Research

Research areas

Epidemiology of respiratory pathogens
RSV
COVID 19
Influenza
Rhinovirus
Metapneumovirus
Molecular mechanisms of diseases
Child mortality
MITS
Health economics
Asthma
bronchopulmonary dysplasia
Dengue
Vaccines

Projects with financial support

Under development: 1) Bunge and Born Foundation (2023). Principal Investigator: Mauricio Caballero. Project title: Identification of socio-health determinants in the burden of serious, critical and fatal disease due to lower respiratory tract infections in patients under 5 years of age in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires.

2) MSD (2023-2025). Principal Investigator: Pablo Irusta, Georgetown University. Under-financed to Mauricio Caballero. Economic burden of severe RSV disease in infants and young children in Argentina, Brazil and Colombia.

3) The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (2022-2024). Principal Investigator: Mauricio Caballero from the INFANT Foundation. Dynamics of RSV infection in the context of the COVID19 pandemic in Argentina.

Past 1) PATH - The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (2022-2023). Awarded to Fundación INFANT. Co-principal investigator: Mauricio Caballero. Economic burden of RSV in infants in Argentina.

Scientific production

Works published by the group

1. Julia Dvorkin, Clint Pecenka, Emiliano Sosa, Andrea Sancilio, Karina Dueñas, Andrea Rodriguez, Carlos Rojas-Roque, Patricia B. Carruitero, Ranju Baral, Elisabeth Vodicka, Fernando P. Polack, Romina Libster, Mauricio T. Caballero. Assessing the Long-Term Economic Impact of Wheezing Episodes After Severe RSV Disease in Children from Argentina: A Cost of Illness Analysis. medRxiv 2024.03.18.24304483; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.03.18.24304483
2. Guiñazú G, Dvorkin J, Mahmud S, et al., 2024. Evaluation of the Impact and Cost-Effectiveness of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Prevention Strategies for INFANTs in Argentina. Published online March 14. DOI:10.2139/ssrn.4754920.
3. Dvorkin J., Sosa E., Vodicka E., Baral R., Sancilio A, Dueñas K, Rodriguez A., Rojas-Roque C., Carruitero PB., Polack FP., Pecenka C., Libster R., Caballero MT. Cost of illness due to Respiratory Syncytial Virus Acute Lower Respiratory Tract Infection Among Infants Hospitalized in Argentina. BMC Public Health https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3386023/v1
4. Cho, H. Y., Wang, X., Campbell, M. R., Panduri, V., Coviello, S., Caballero, M. T., Bennett, B. D., Kleeberger, S. R., Polack, F. P., Ofman, G., & Bell, D. A. (2023). Prospective epigenome and transcriptome analyses of cord and peripheral blood from preterm infants at risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Scientific reports, 13(1), 12262. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-39313-0
5. Dvorkin, J., De Luca, J., Alvarez-Paggi, D., & Caballero, M. T. (2023). Responding to Higher-Than-Expected Infant Mortality Rates from Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV): Improving Treatment and Reporting Strategies. Infection and drug resistance, 16, 595–605. https://doi.org/10.2147/IDR.S373584
6. Löwensteyn, Y. N., Willemsen, J. E., Mazur, N. I., Scheltema, N. M., van Haastregt, N. C. J., Buuren, A. A. A. T., van Roessel, I., Scheepmaker, D., Nair, H., van de Ven, P. M., Bont, L. J., & on behalf of the RSV GOLD Study Group (2023). Nosocomial RSV-related In-hospital Mortality in Children <5 Years: A Global Case Series. The Pediatric infectious disease journal, 42(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1097/INF.0000000000003747
7. Li Y, Wang X, Blau DM, et al. Global, regional, and national disease burden estimates of acute lower respiratory infections due to respiratory syncytial virus in children younger than 5 years in 2019: a systematic analysis. Lancet. 2022;S0140-6736(22)00478-0. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00478-0
8. Wang X, Cho HY, Campbell MR, et al. Epigenome-wide association study of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in preterm infants: results from the discovery-BPD program. Clin Epigenetics. 2022;14(1):57.
9. Esteban I, Bergero G, Alves C, et al. Asymptomatic COVID-19 in the elderly: dementia and viral clearance as risk factors for disease progression. Gates Open Res. 2022;5:143. Published 2022 Apr 4. doi:10.12688/gatesopenres.13357.2
10. Caballero MT, et al. Uncovering Causes of Childhood Death Using the Minimally Invasive Autopsy at the Community Level in an Urban Vulnerable Setting of Argentina: A Population-Based Study. Clin Infect Dis. 2021;73(Suppl_5):S435-S441
11. Larcade R,  et al. Maternal-Fetal Immunologic Response to SARS-CoV-2 Infection in a Symptomatic Vulnerable Population: A Prospective Cohort. J Infect Dis. 2022;225(5):800-809.
12. Polack FP, et al. Fatal enhanced respiratory syncytial virus disease in toddlers. Sci Transl Med. 2021;13(616):eabj7843.
13. Mazur NI, Löwensteyn YN, Willemsen JE, Gill CJ, Forman L, Mwananyanda LM, Blau DM, Breiman RF, Madhi SA, Mahtab S, Gurley ES, El Arifeen S, Assefa N, Scott JAG, Onyango D, Tippet Barr BA, Kotloff KL, Sow SO, Mandomando I, Ogbuanu I, Jambai A, Bassat Q; CHAMPS Network the RSV GOLD Study Group, Caballero MT, Polack FP, Omer S, Kazi AM, Simões EAF, Satav A, Bont LJ. Global Respiratory Syncytial Virus-Related Infant Community Deaths. Clin Infect Dis. 2021 Sep 2;73(Supplement_3):S229-S237. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciab528. PMID: 34472576; PMCID: PMC8411255.
14. Caballero MT, Satav A, Gill CJ, Omer SB, Pieciak RC, Kazi AM, Simões EA, Polack FP. Challenges of Assessing Community Mortality Due to Respiratory Viruses in Children Aged Less Than 5 Years. Clin Infect Dis. 2021 Sep 2;73(Supplement_3):S248-S254. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciab487. PMID: 34472573; PMCID: PMC8411250.
15. Caballero MT, Bianchi AM, Grigaites SD, De la Iglesia Niveyro PX, Nuño A, Valle S, Afarian G, Esperante SA, Ferretti AJP, Jares Baglivo S, De Luca J, Alvarez-Paggi D, Diamanti A, Bassat Q, Polack FP; RSV mortality network. Community Mortality Due to Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Argentina: Population-based Surveillance Study. Clin Infect Dis. 2021 Sep 2;73(Supplement_3):S210-S217. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciab497. PMID: 34472572; PMCID: PMC8411253.
16. Libster R, Pérez Marc G, Wappner D, Coviello S, Bianchi A, Braem V, Esteban I, Caballero MT et al. Early High-Titer Plasma Therapy to Prevent Severe Covid-19 in Older Adults. N Engl J Med. 2021 Feb 18;384(7):610-618. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2033700. Epub 2021 Jan

Scientific conferences

2019 Title: “RSV mortality study in Argentina” RSV Vaccines for the World 2019 RESVINET conference. Accra, Ghana.

2019 Title: “Neonatal mortality surveillance based on MITS” MITS Surveillance Alliance. Grant Awardee talk. Seattle, USA.

2019 Title: “Community mortality due to respiratory syncytial virus” I International Conference on Respiratory Infections and Vaccines. Tucumán, Argentina.

2020 Title: “Community mortality due to RSV in low-income settings of Buenos Aires, Argentina”. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – RSV disease burden convention. Virtual.

2021 Title: “Community mortality due to RSV in Buenos Aires Argentina”. MITS Surveillance Alliance 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting.

2021 Title: “Death that comes too early in vulnerable homes in the Buenos Aires suburbs.” XXXII Argentine Scientific Congress of Medical Students. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

2021 Title: “Cause of death based on MITS approach”. MITS Alliance Cause of Death TWG meeting. Virtual.

2021 Title: “COVID 19 mortality in adults by MITS-Argentina”. MITS Incentive Awardees Results and Lessons Learned Webinar.

2021 Title: “MITS NeoSur: Neonatal mortality surveillance program in Buenos Aires: Preliminary results”. MITS Incentive Awardees Results and Lessons Learned Webinar.

2021 Title: “Multi-level transdisciplinary approaches in translational research: from basic sciences to clinical medicine.” Biotechnology Research Institute, University of San Martín. Interinstitutional lectures.

2021 Title: “Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Infants: a Translational Approach.” Research Institute in Medical Microbiology and Parasitology (IMPaM, UBA-CONICET).

2021 Title: “Cause of death based on MITS approach”. MITS Incentive Awardees Results and Lessons Learned Webinar.

2021 Title: “Unraveling Specific Causes of Under 5 Community Mortality in Argentina by MITS technique”. MITS Alliance Technical Working Group Meetings. Virtual.

2021 Title: “Minimally Invasive Tissue Sampling (MITS)- Accurate cause of death attribution and surveillance in low-resource settings”. MITS Alliance Cause of Death TWG meeting. Virtual.

2021 Title: “Introduction to clinical research in Pediatrics”. Research in pediatrics program. Children Hospital of La Plata, Argentina.

2022 Title: “Death that comes too early in vulnerable homes: RSV the hidden enemy.” XIV Colombian Congress of Pediatric Asthma and Respiratory Medicine. Bogota Colombia.

2022 Title: “It is time to say goodbye to what we call Bronchiolitis.” XIV Colombian Congress of Pediatric Asthma and Respiratory Medicine. Bogota Colombia.

2022 Title: “The need for a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus for older adults.” Virtual continuing education for physicians (CPD) activity from WebMD Global (Medscape) approved by The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom (FPM). CPD 0.5 Activity in Spanish. https://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/970071_sidebar5

2022 Title: “The need for a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus for older adults.” Virtual continuing education for physicians (CPD) activity from WebMD Global (Medscape) approved by The Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom (FPM). CPD 0.5. https://www.medscape.org/viewarticle/968910_sidebar6

2022 Title: “A path towards personalized medicine in bronchiolitis”. CEINBIO Symposium, Montevideo Uruguay.

2022 Table Prevention against Respiratory Syncytial Virus infection Topic Update on vaccines against RSV Update Conference Management and monitoring of babies at risk of respiratory disease, ALSEPNEO. Virtual November 2022.

2022 Title: "From the bench to the bedside in clinical research". Annual Meeting of Bioscience Societies SAIC, SAI, SAFIS 2022.

2023 “Minimal Invasive tissue sampling implementation in Argentina”, First Regional Meeting on Safe Vaccination of the Americas - PAHO, Bogotá, Colombia

2023 “Table Prevention against Respiratory Syncytial Virus infection Topic Update on vaccines against RSV.” Update Conference on Management and Monitoring of Babies at Risk of Respiratory Disease, Latin American Association for Pediatric and Neonatal Monitoring. Colombia.

2023 “Cause of deaths at community level in Argentina”, 35th European Congress of Pathology, Dublin, Ireland.

2023 “Implementation of MITS in Argentina”, MITS Surveillance Alliance Meeting, Nairobi, Kenya.

2023 “Preventive strategies against RSV", XIII Argentine Congress of Pediatric Pulmonology and XVII Latin American Congress of Cystic Fibrosis, Latin American Society of Pediatric Pulmonology (SOLANEP), Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Work at conferences and meetings

2019 “Community mortality due to acute respiratory infection”, MITS Surveillance Alliance Meeting, Seattle, USA.

2019 “Community mortality due to acute respiratory infection”, 5th RSV Vaccines for the World, Accra, Ghana.

2019 “Wheezing trajectories after a severe RSV disease: Machine learning approach”, 5th RSV Vaccines for the World, Accra, Ghana.

2021 “An immunoinformatic-based approach to design a population-specific vaccine against RSV”, 6th RSV Vaccines for the World, Virtual.

2021 “Community mortality due to RSV in children under five from low-settings of Buenos Aires”, ISIRV-WHO Virtual Conference.

2022 “Unraveling specific mechanisms of community deaths due to RSV
in Buenos Aires, Argentina.” De la Iglesia P, Ferretti A, Polack FP, Caballero MT. 12th International RSV Symposium, Belfast, Ireland. September 2022.

2022 "Role of RSV infection and factors associated with apnea during acute respiratory tract infections." Julia Dvorkin, Lucas Fleuren, Adrián Ferretti, Romina Libster, Fernando Polack, Mauricio Caballero. 12th International RSV Symposium, Belfast, Ireland. September 2022.

2023 "Role of RSV infection and factors associated with apnea during
acute respiratory tract infections". Mauricio Caballero, Adrián Ferretti, Romina Libster, Fernando Polack. 7h RESVINET Conference, Lisbon, Portugal. February 2023.

2023 "AN IMMUNOINFORMATICS-BASED APPROACH TO DESIGN A POPULATION-SPECIFIC VACCINE AGAINST RSV” Goldin Carla, Esperante Sebastian, Mauricio Caballero, Damian Alvarez-Paggi. 7h RESVINET Conference, Lisbon, Portugal. February 2023.

Equipments

The Center has equipment for clinical-molecular diagnosis of the following equipment: MagMax Automated DNA Extraction System, StepOne™ Real-Time PCR System, DYNEX DSX ELISA immunoassay analyzer, MAGPIX® System, Laminar Flow, ovens, freezers and ultra freezers.