Healthy Brain and Child Development data hub
Healthy Brain and Child Development National Consortium Data Coordinating Center
Collecting and organizing brain scans, behavioral tests, and biological samples from pregnant people and their children to better understand early brain and behavioral development.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Washington University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Saint Louis, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11328711 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If I join, the project follows pregnant people and their children from birth through the first decade of life and gathers many kinds of information over time. Children will have brain imaging, neurophysiology recordings, behavioral and cognitive testing, and biospecimen collection like blood, with toxicology data integrated. The Data Coordinating Center manages how data are collected, checked for quality, processed, and shared so researchers can use the resource. The effort aims to build a diverse, representative group of about 7,200 families from sites across the United States.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Pregnant people and their newborns/children (ages 0–11) who live near one of the participating U.S. data collection sites and consent to longitudinal follow-up are the ideal participants.
Not a fit: People who are not pregnant, do not have young children, or who live far from participating sites would not be able to join and are unlikely to gain direct benefits from participation.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: This work could reveal early biological and environmental factors that affect child brain development and point to better ways to detect and support children at risk.
How similar studies have performed: Other large birth-cohort and child-development studies have produced important findings, but this project's breadth of imaging, physiology, and biospecimens at this scale is more comprehensive and relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Saint Louis, United States
- Washington University — Saint Louis, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Smyser, Christopher Daniel — Washington University
- Study coordinator: Smyser, Christopher Daniel
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 below.