Healthy Brain and Child Development data hub and coordinating center
Official title: Healthy Brain and Child Development National Consortium Data Coordinating Center
Funded at Washington University · NIH-11518970 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A national effort will build a large, shared data resource about brain development from infancy to early childhood to help researchers understand how environment, genes, and biology shape thinking, behavior, and health.
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 start | September 30, 2021 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $4,301,103 |
| NIH project number | 4U24DA055330-06 |
| Project ID | NIH-11518970 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Pregnant women and children up to age 10 who participate in the HBCD consortium and its data collection activities.
✕Less likely to help
Non-participation or data that do not directly contribute to brain development insights may not benefit individual patients.
What this research studies
If you or your child were part of a large study, this project would gather and organize lots of information from many sites, including brain scans, behavioral tests, and biological samples. The Data Coordinating Center will manage data quality, sharing, and analysis to ensure researchers can reliably study how early life factors influence development. The work is designed to harmonize MRI protocols and other assessments across sites to create a robust reference dataset. This project is focused on a broad child developmental population and aims to support future discoveries that could inform prevention and support for children’s brain health.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, it could accelerate discoveries that improve understanding and support for healthy brain development in early childhood.
How similar studies have gone: Large-scale neurodevelopment projects have previously shown that standardized, multi-site data improves research quality and replicability.
Where this research is happening
-
Washington University
Saint Louis, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Smyser, Christopher Daniel — Washington University
- Study coordinator: Smyser, Christopher Daniel
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Healthy Brain and Child Development study across 27 sites
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Healthy Brain and Child Development in the US: a large, multi-site study of early life factors
A large nationwide study follows mothers and their babies from birth to age 10 to understand how genes and early life experiences shape brain development.
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Healthy Brain and Child Development: a big study following kids from birth through age 10
A large, nationwide study will follow 7,200 mothers and their babies to map how early life experiences shape brain growth and development.
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.