NIH www.nih.gov has awarded nearly $144 million in new grants to develop new tools and measures to be used to investigate environmental exposures related to child health and development. Environmental exposures are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality for mothers and children worldwide.
These exposures range from chemical and biological factors such as air pollution, pesticides, and infectious diseases, to psychosocial factors such as education, stress, and neglect. NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., PhD said, “The funding will be used to expand the toolbox so research can be done to characterize environmental exposures and understand how environmental exposures affect in-utero development and function.”
As part of this initiative, researchers will develop sensor-based integrated health monitoring systems through the program “Pediatric Research Using Integrated Sensor Monitoring Systems” www.nibib.nih.gov/research-funding/prisms. This program will establish the “Children’s Health and Exposure Analysis Resource” www.niehs.nih.gov/supported/dept/programs/clear/index.cfm to provide laboratory and statistical analyses to be used for research purposes.
This research will focus on identifying specific technology gaps and will develop new technologies or applications of current technologies to explore the effects of environmental factors on placental structure and function throughout pregnancy.
In addition, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences’ http://ncats.nih.gov (Tox21) program will look at the effects of environmental chemicals on human development by doing robotic screening of cultured cells.
These projects will advance the tools and knowledge base for a new multi-year initiative due to launch in FY 2016 to be called the “Environmental Influences on Child Outcomes” (ECHO) program http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/wp content/uploads/123/10/ehp.123/-A260.alt.pdf. The ECHO program will capitalize on existing participant populations and support approaches to take advantage of the growing number of clinical research networks and technology advances.
Five NIH institutes and centers are involved in the projects to include the Eunice Kennedy Shiver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.