Prenatal PFAS exposure, placental changes, and whether maternal exercise helps infants' growth and development
Official title: Perinatal PFAS Impact Children's Development: Examining the Roles of Placental Functional Multiomics and Protection by Maternal Exercise
Funded at Arkansas Children's Hospital Res Inst · NIH-11239102 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether PFAS chemical exposure before and after birth changes babies' growth, body fat, and early thinking skills, and whether a mother's physical activity during pregnancy can reduce those effects.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Arkansas Children's Hospital Res Inst NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Little Rock, United States) |
| Project start | December 1, 2024 |
| Project end | November 30, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $656,283 |
| NIH project number | 5R01ES036986-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11239102 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are pregnant people willing to provide biological samples (blood, placenta, cord blood) and to bring their infant for follow-up visits during early childhood.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not pregnant, are unwilling to provide samples or attend follow-up visits, or who have no meaningful PFAS exposure are unlikely to benefit directly from participation.
What this research studies
If you enroll, researchers will follow pregnant people and their babies from birth through early childhood and collect samples like maternal blood, cord blood, and placenta tissue. They'll measure PFAS chemical levels and use advanced 'multiomics' lab tests on the placenta to look for biological changes linked to exposure. The team will also record mothers' physical activity during pregnancy and track infants' growth, body composition, and early developmental milestones over time. Data will be combined to see whether placental changes explain child outcomes and whether maternal exercise appears protective.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could point to biological signs to monitor and suggest that maternal exercise might reduce PFAS-related harm to infants.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has linked prenatal PFAS to differences in growth and development and the investigators have preliminary data on placental changes and a possible benefit of maternal activity, but combining placental multiomics with exercise as a protective factor is a relatively new approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Arkansas Children's Hospital Res Inst
Little Rock, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Andres, Aline — Arkansas Children's Hospital Res Inst
- Study coordinator: Andres, Aline
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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.