METHODS article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Infectious Diseases
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1657706
This article is part of the Research TopicExploring Herpesviruses: From Biology to Disease Management and PreventionView all 3 articles
Connecting Research and Community: A Methodological Framework for Investigating CMV Transmission in Childcare Settings
Provisionally accepted
Karen Del’Olio1Annie Geiger1Judith Terry1Cindi Callaghan1Lauren Howe2Cheryl Hamel1Delaney Platia1Alyssa Blake1Lisa Tran1Anne Davenport1Elizabeth Orvek1Stephen Lammi1
Bruce Alan Barton1Timothy Kowalik1John Holik1Anne Mirza1Olesea Cojohari1Kelsey Woods1Susan Druker1Syed Saad Naeem1
John D Diaz-Decaro3Madeleine Hayden3
Iliana Leony Lasso3Juli Gulpinar3Sandeep Basnet3
Lori Panther3Andrew Natenshon3Thejas Suvarna4Emma Harmon4Kelley Bridges4Summer Schrader4
Laura Gibson1*- 1University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, United States
- 2empHowered PR, LLC, Leominster, United States
- 3Moderna, Inc., Cambridge, United States
- 4CareEvolution, Ann Arbor, United States
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The CMV Transmission and Immune Tracking (TransmIT) Study was developed to address critical gaps in understanding of cytomegalovirus (CMV) transmission dynamics in early education and care (EEC) settings. This two-stage, community-engaged study design integrates EEC center partnerships, digital study platforms, and data pipeline infrastructures to enable longitudinal virologic and immunologic surveillance in this high-exposure environment. Stage I focused on establishing foundational components of the study, including a geographically diverse EEC center network, culturally tailored recruitment strategies, a community advisory board, protocols for participant enrollment and saliva sample collection, and optimized laboratory assays to measure viral shedding in saliva. The study approach honed during Stage I is intended to support future longitudinal investigations into viral shedding patterns, immune responses, and co-infections among children and staff in EEC centers. This manuscript presents a methodological framework for conducting community-centered scalable research in early childhood settings with relevance for CMV and other infectious diseases of public health importance.
Keywords: CMV, early education and care centers, CMV transmission, Community Engagement, diversity, equity and inclusion
Received: 15 Jul 2025; Accepted: 29 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Del’Olio, Geiger, Terry, Callaghan, Howe, Hamel, Platia, Blake, Tran, Davenport, Orvek, Lammi, Barton, Kowalik, Holik, Mirza, Cojohari, Woods, Druker, Naeem, Diaz-Decaro, Hayden, Lasso, Gulpinar, Basnet, Panther, Natenshon, Suvarna, Harmon, Bridges, Schrader and Gibson. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Laura Gibson, laura.gibson@umassmed.edu
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.