Exploring the Early-Life Microbiomes of Preterm Infants and Their Childhood Health Outcomes (The BLOOM Study): Protocol for a Prospective, Observational Cohort Study

Michelle R Asbury   ^{1, 2, 3, 4} , PhD ;   Andrea Guedez   ^{1, 2, 3, 4} , BSc ;   Jessica Lee   ^{1, 2, 3, 4} , BSc ;   Emily M Mercer   ^{1, 2, 3, 4} , PhD ;   Fatimoh Kasaba   ^{1, 2, 3, 4} , MSc ;   Zahra Rangipour   ^{1, 2, 3, 4} , BSc ;   James D Kellner   ^{2, 4, 5, 6} , MD ;   Thierry Lacaze-Masmonteil   ^{2, 4} , MD ;   Jumana Samara   ² , MD ;   Lara M Leijser   ^{2, 4, 7} , MD ;   Catherine Lebel   ^{2, 4} , PhD ;   Hussein Zein   ² , MD ;   Leonora Hendson   ^{2, 4} , MD ;   Luis Murguía Favela   ^{2, 3, 4, 6} , MD ;   Kelly McNagny   ⁸ , PhD ;   Gerald F Giesbrecht   ^{2, 4, 5} , PhD ;   Laura Sycuro   ⁹ , PhD ;   Belal Alshaikh   ^{2, 4, 5} , MD ;   Marie-Claire Arrieta   ^{1, 2, 3, 4} , PhD

¹ Department of Physiology & Pharmacology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

² Department of Pediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

³ Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

⁴ Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Calgary, AB, Canada

⁵ Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

⁶ Section of Hematology and Immunology, Alberta Children’s Hospital, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

⁷ Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

⁸ Biomedical Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

⁹ Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Infectious Diseases, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada