Understanding Early Life Experiences and Child Development

6/6 HBCD Prenatal Experiences and Longitudinal Development (PRELUDE) Consortium Vanderbilt

NIH-funded research Vanderbilt University · NIH-11138602

This project aims to understand how experiences during pregnancy and early childhood shape a child's brain and overall development over their first ten years.

Quick facts

Grant typeU01 cooperative agreement
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionVanderbilt University NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Nashville, UNITED STATES)
Project IDNIH-11138602 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

We are looking at how different experiences, both before and after birth, can influence a child's growth and development. This includes factors like a mother's health, stress levels, and exposure to certain substances. To do this, we are inviting 7,200 mothers and their babies from across the United States to participate. We will use advanced brain imaging, behavioral tests, and biological samples to create a detailed picture of how children develop. Our goal is to build a comprehensive understanding of healthy development and identify factors that might lead to challenges.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal participants are pregnant mothers and their children, who will be followed from birth up to 10 years of age.

Not a fit: Patients who are not pregnant or whose children are outside the 0-10 year age range would not be direct participants in this specific data collection effort.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help us better understand how to support healthy brain development in children and prevent long-term developmental challenges.

How similar studies have performed: While individual aspects have been studied, this project is creating a unique, large-scale dataset to establish a comprehensive template of child neurodevelopment.

Where this research is happening

Nashville, UNITED STATES

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Last reviewed 2026-06-15 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.