Understanding how families’ circumstances affect a child’s language and thinking development
Official title: Identifying the contributions of gestational and caregiving environments to socioeconomic disparities in child language and cognitive development.
Funded at Endeavor Health Clinical Operations · NIH-11362652 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how a child’s early environment and SES shapes language and cognitive development through biological and psychological pathways.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Endeavor Health Clinical Operations NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Evanston, United States) |
| Project start | September 13, 2022 |
| Project end | May 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $617,584 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HD109291-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11362652 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Young children (birth to early childhood) from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, including those at higher risk for language and cognitive delays.
✕Less likely to help
Children without exposure to socioeconomic-related risk factors may see limited direct benefit.
What this research studies
The grant aims to follow children from early childhood to understand why disparities in language and thinking emerge by age 2 and widen by kindergarten. It combines biological and psychological approaches to see how stress and the home environment may affect brain development. Researchers plan to use data from an ongoing perinatal study to examine links between prenatal stress, immune responses, and later language and cognitive outcomes. The work could help identify critical periods and targets for interventions to support children from lower SES backgrounds.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, findings could inform policies and programs to reduce language and cognitive gaps tied to socioeconomic factors.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work shows SES-linked language gaps; this study advances understanding by linking biology, environment, and development.
Where this research is happening
-
Endeavor Health Clinical Operations
Evanston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Pellerite, Matthew — Endeavor Health Clinical Operations
- Study coordinator: Pellerite, Matthew
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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.