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Vaccination has been a cornerstone of public health, substantially reducing the global burden of infectious diseases, notably evident during the COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2.

Neonatal sepsis is a deadly disease with non-specific clinical signs, delaying diagnosis and treatment. There remains a need for early biomarkers to facilitate timely intervention. Our objective was to identify neonatal sepsis gene expression biomarkers that could predict sepsis at birth, prior to clinical presentation. 

The first few days of life are characterized by rapid external and internal changes that require substantial immune system adaptations. Despite growing evidence of the impact of this period on lifelong immune health, this period remains largely uncharted. 

Diabetes in pregnancy is associated with increased risk of long-term metabolic disease in the offspring, potentially mediated by in utero epigenetic variation. Previously, we identified multiple differentially methylated single CpG sites in offspring of women with gestational diabetes mellitus, but whether stretches of differentially methylated regions can also be identified in adolescent GDM offspring is unknown.

Complementary feeding induces dramatic ecological shifts in the infant gut microbiota toward more diverse compositions and functional metabolic capacities, with potential implications for immune and metabolic health. The aim of this study was to examine whether the age at which solid foods are introduced differentially affects the microbiota in predominantly breastfed infants compared with predominantly formula-fed infants. 

Experimental studies suggest that exposures may impact respiratory health across generations via epigenetic changes transmitted specifically through male germ cells. Studies in humans are, however, limited. We aim to identify epigenetic marks in offspring associated with father's preconception smoking.

Childhood is a critical period of immune development. During this time, naïve CD4 T cells undergo programmed cell differentiation, mediated by epigenetic changes, in response to external stimuli leading to a baseline homeostatic state that may determine lifelong disease risk. However, the ontogeny of epigenetic signatures associated with CD4 T cell activation during key developmental periods are yet to be described.

Prenatal alcohol exposure is associated with a range of adverse offspring neurodevelopmental outcomes. Several studies suggest that PAE modifies DNA methylation in offspring cells and tissues, providing evidence for a potential mechanistic link to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

In this concept paper, we discuss multiomic approaches to studying immune dysregulation and highlight some of the challenges and opportunities

Children of East Asian ancestry born in Australia have a higher burden of most allergic diseases in the first 6 years of life, whereas asthma may follow a different pattern