Prenatal PFAS and Microplastics: How early exposure shapes a child’s brain
Official title: Prenatal PFAS-Microplastics Mixtures and Early Neurodevelopment: multi-omics informed biological mechanisms
Funded at University of Hawaii at Manoa · NIH-11421105 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A first-trimester pregnancy study in Hawaii will look at how common pollutants PFAS and microplastics together might affect baby brain development and health after birth.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Hawaii at Manoa NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Honolulu, United States) |
| Project start | September 11, 2026 |
| Project end | June 30, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $715,080 |
| NIH project number | 1R01ES038825-01 |
| Project ID | NIH-11421105 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Pregnant individuals in the first trimester in Hawai'i who consent to participate and have planned delivery at collaborating clinical sites.
✕Less likely to help
Patients outside the first-trimester window or those not participating in biospecimen collection may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
This project follows pregnant people in Hawai'i, collecting blood samples and placenta tissue to measure PFAS and microplastics, then tracks babies’ brain development and neurobehavior at 2, 6, and 12 months. Researchers will use advanced multi-omics and imaging data to map how exposures relate to fetal brain growth and early neurodevelopment. The study aims to build clinically meaningful risk profiles that help clinicians understand and communicate exposure risks during pregnancy.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could improve how we monitor and reduce environmental risks to fetal brain development and guide safer exposure practices for expectant families.
How similar studies have gone: This approach builds on prior work linking environmental exposures to child development, but the exact PFAS-MP mixture effects in early pregnancy are novel and exploratory.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Li, Shiwen — University of Hawaii at Manoa
- Study coordinator: Li, Shiwen
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.