Dyslexia, stress, and brain inflammation in kids: how biology and daily life shape reading
Official title: Dyslexia and Neuneuroinflammation: Longitudinal Multimodal Investigation of Cognitive and Neural Mechanisms
Funded at University of Connecticut Storrs · NIH-11433667 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This NIH grant explores why some children with dyslexia have different reading outcomes by studying stress, inflammation, and brain signals in kids as they learn to read over a school year.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Connecticut Storrs NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Storrs-Mansfield, United States) |
| Project start | September 23, 2026 |
| Project end | June 30, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $734,015 |
| NIH project number | 1R01HD123170-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11433667 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children around 8 years old with reading difficulties (dyslexia) and typical developmental backgrounds, participating through schools and clinics.
✕Less likely to help
Children without reading difficulties or with unrelated neurological conditions may not directly benefit from this study.
What this research studies
The project follows children around age 8 to understand how stress and immune signals relate to brain activity and reading progress. Researchers will combine brain imaging, saliva markers, stress tests, and daily reports to see how biology and everyday experiences influence reading growth. The goal is to identify biological signatures that predict risk and point to supportive educational strategies tailored for development. This work aims to connect biology with real-world learning to help kids with reading difficulties receive better, timely help.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to personalized risk profiles and targeted supports that improve reading outcomes for children with dyslexia.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research links stress and brain inflammation to cognitive outcomes, but this study combines multimodal brain data with real-world stress measures in a large pediatric sample to advance translational relevance.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Connecticut Storrs
Storrs-Mansfield, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hoeft, Fumiko — University of Connecticut Storrs
- Study coordinator: Hoeft, Fumiko
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.