Telemedicine help for identifying fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD)
Official title: FASD Diagnostic Telemedicine Resource
Funded at University of California, San Diego · NIH-11369918 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses telemedicine and training to help clinicians in remote and local clinics more accurately identify FASD in children and adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Diego NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (La Jolla, United States) |
| Project start | September 15, 2022 |
| Project end | April 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $348,448 |
| NIH project number | 5U24AA014815-23 |
| Project ID | NIH-11369918 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children and adults who may have been exposed to alcohol before birth and show developmental, behavioral, or facial signs suggestive of FASD, especially those in remote or underserved areas, are ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without suspected prenatal alcohol exposure or those who require other in-person specialty medical evaluations may not directly benefit from this telemedicine diagnostic resource.
What this research studies
If you or your child might have been exposed to alcohol before birth, this program connects local clinicians with FASD experts using telemedicine so you can get a more consistent check for signs of FASD. The team uses remote video, photographs, and 3-D tools and will train non-expert examiners to recognize physical features linked to FASD. The resource will be used across many sites to examine over 1,800 children and adults, helping expand access in underserved areas such as Alaska. The goal is to make accurate diagnosis more widely available where specialists are scarce.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, more people with FASD could receive earlier and more accurate diagnoses and access to appropriate services and interventions.
How similar studies have gone: Earlier, smaller CIFASD telemedicine efforts demonstrated that remote training and monitoring can be effective, and this project expands that approach to many more sites and people.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Gist, Lauren — University of California, San Diego
- Study coordinator: Gist, Lauren
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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.