Predicting head growth after craniosynostosis surgery in children
Official title: Data-driven quantification and prediction of pre-surgical local head volume distributions and post-surgical development in patients with craniosynostosis.
Funded at University of Chicago · NIH-11571657 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project aims to better understand and forecast how a child's head grows after surgery for craniosynostosis to guide future treatments.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Chicago NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, United States) |
| Project start | June 16, 2026 |
| Project end | February 29, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $318,555 |
| NIH project number | 7R01DE032681-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11571657 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children with craniosynostosis who have undergone or are planning surgical treatment and whose imaging data can be analyzed for head volume and growth patterns.
✕Less likely to help
Children whose data cannot be collected or analyzed due to imaging limitations or differing medical needs may not benefit directly.
What this research studies
Craniosynostosis can restrict skull growth and require surgery, but current methods to plan and evaluate outcomes are imperfect. This study uses data-driven models to quantify local head volume changes and predict post-surgical growth across different ages, sexes, and individual anatomy. By analyzing imaging data from children who have undergone treatment, the team hopes to develop objective, personalized metrics to guide surgical decisions and predict long-term results. The work builds on prior methods for cranial shape analysis and aims to fill gaps in understanding how treatment alters skull development over time.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could lead to more precise, personalized surgical planning and better long-term outcomes for children with craniosynostosis.
How similar studies have gone: Prior methods quantify cranial shape but do not predict surgically altered growth or local volume development in a personalized, age- and sex-specific way.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Chicago
Chicago, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Porras Perez, Antonio Reyes — University of Chicago
- Study coordinator: Porras Perez, Antonio Reyes
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Education and violence: Can high-dosage tutoring reduce youth violence
A large study in Chicago schools will test whether high-dosage tutoring for students can lessen youth violence by improving learning and outcomes.
-
Cognitive SuperAging: Exploring why some octogenarians stay sharp in memory
This NIH grant studies why a small group of people aged 80+ keep memory skills as good as much younger people, hoping to understand how to protect memory as we age.
-
Lens proteins, cell stress, and cataracts in kids and adults
A study aims to understand how lens proteins and cellular stress contribute to cataracts, in both humans and mice, with the goal of guiding prevention or treatment.
-
Understanding how neurons keep their identity and function for life
Scientists are studying how nerve cells maintain their distinctive identity and function from development through aging, using human-derived neurons and a simple worm model to uncover the long-term control of brain cell behavior.
-
Cardiac Sarcomere Protein Quality Control in Health and Disease
A heart-focused study looking at how heart muscle proteins get misfolded and how the cell’s cleanup system might fix this to protect heart function.
-
Communication Bridge: Improving language therapy for people with primary progressive aphasia
A proven language-therapy program called Communication Bridge helps people with primary progressive aphasia improve and maintain how they communicate with others.
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.