{"id":1214,"date":"2023-10-19T19:06:02","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T19:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bcchrmicro.wpengine.com\/?page_id=1214"},"modified":"2026-07-31T21:51:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T21:51:54","slug":"iris","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bcchr.ca\/lavoie-lab\/projects\/iris\/","title":{"rendered":"Infant RSV Immune Study (IRIS)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t<\/span>\n\tLavoie Lab<\/span><\/a><\/span>News<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n

Understanding infant immune responses to RSV<\/h1>

Lead: Dr. Pascal Lavoie<\/p><\/div>\n

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RSV.study@bcchr.ca<\/a><\/strong><\/p>

At a Glance<\/h2>

The Infant RSV Immune Study (IRIS) follows babies from birth through early childhood to understand how RSV affects the developing immune system. <\/p>

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The Objective <\/h2>

Our research team seeks to understand how babies\u2019 immune systems develop and respond to RSV infection early in life.<\/p>

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is the leading cause of infant hospitalization in Canada. RSV is a common winter virus that infects most babies within their first RSV season, and can cause serious lung infections such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia, especially in babies under six months of age.<\/p>

There is a maternal vaccine that provides the babies with passive protection, but there is no RSV vaccine for the baby themselves. While prevention tools are improving, we still do not fully understand how very young babies\u2019 immune systems respond to RSV, or why some infants become much sicker than others. Our research team studies how babies\u2019 immune systems develop and respond when they naturally get infected with RSV early in life and follow along with them until 3 years of age to monitor if they develop symptoms of asthma.<\/p>

By taking part, you and your baby can help researchers:<\/p>