Asthma Cohort Support Contract

This proposal seeks to describe the organizational structure, provider engagement, study subject recruitment and retention strategies, protocol implementation procedures, and scientific capabilities of the Northwestern Study Center to meet the overall objectives of the “Asthma Cohort Support Contract”. The ultimate aims of this study are to increase our understanding of the basic immunology of pregnancy and of factors that predict poor asthma control during pregnancy. Correspondingly, the study will, among pregnant women, evaluate: (1) whether atopy status predicts asthma control variability; (2) whether there is an interaction between atopy status and presence of asthma in their association with lung function and inflammation; (3) the contribution of genetic and immunologic markers to asthma control variability; and (4) lung function and inflammation in association with environmental factors (e.g., diet, ambient air quality). In order to achieve these aims, the Northwestern Study Center will: 1. Provide an effective organizational structure and management approach to support the objectives of the “Asthma Cohort Support Contract”; 2. Utilize and expand upon the existing relationships of the Northwestern Study Center to develop and implement effective strategies for the recruitment of 200 pregnant women with asthma (100 with good control and 100 with sub-optimal control) and 75 pregnant women without asthma, and to retain these subjects through and after their pregnancy; 3. Establish and implement data and biospecimen collection processes that meet the requirements of the “Asthma Cohort Support Contract”; and 4. Contribute to the scientific collaboration among the clinical centers to support the study’s objectives and make full and innovative use of the unique data resulting from the “Asthma Cohort Support Contract”.