Adventures in FASD Risk: new weekly alcohol exposure, parental factors, and maternal mental health
Official title: Adventures in the Design and Trial of an Innovative FASD Risk Assessment: Integrating Known Risks with New Measures of Weekly Prenatal Alcohol Exposure, Maternal Mental Health, and Paternal Alcohol
Funded at Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill · NIH-11578720 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A health team is testing a new way to understand how a mother’s weekly alcohol use, her mental health, and a father’s alcohol exposure may shape fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in children.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chapel Hill, United States) |
| Project start | September 10, 2025 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $287,001 |
| NIH project number | 3R33AA030066-04S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11578720 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Families expecting a baby or with a child at risk for FASD, where parental alcohol use or mental health factors are present.
✕Less likely to help
Families without alcohol exposure concerns or where there is no involvement of parental risk factors.
What this research studies
This grant aims to build a clearer picture of what raises the risk for FASD by tracking weekly alcohol intake during pregnancy, validating it with biomarkers, and assessing maternal stress and mental health. It also explores how a father’s exposure to alcohol and other factors before and during pregnancy might contribute to FASD risk. The study plans to combine these parental factors with established risk markers to create a comprehensive FASD risk score. The work will move from an initial R61 approach to a broader phase II plan that integrates multiple data sources to understand FASD etiology better. Participants will be followed in a structured protocol to collect family and biomarker data relevant to fetal development and later child outcomes.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the approach could improve early identification of children at risk for FASD and inform personalized prevention strategies for families.
How similar studies have gone: Preliminary work has shown that integrating parental risk factors can illuminate patterns of FASD traits, with ongoing studies refining risk scoring.
Where this research is happening
-
Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Cheatham, Carol L — Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Study coordinator: Cheatham, Carol L
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.