Author: Jodi Snare

Celebrating Innovation: Meet the OIF Round 2 Principal Investigators

Posted on by Jodi Snare

The ECHO Coordinating Center is pleased to announce that the NIH ECHO Program Office selected 12 investigators to receive research funding through the ECHO Opportunities and Innovation Fund (OIF).

The OIF is an NIH-funded grant mechanism to support early career investigators who propose projects that introduce new research, tools, and technologies to the ECHO Program. Each OIF investigator is sponsored by an ECHO award.

For this OIF round, NIH requested proposals focusing on the following areas:

  • ECHO Cycle 2 Scientific Priorities defined by the ECHO Steering Committee
  • The Science of Operations, specifically:
    • Return of individual research results
    • Refinement of measures

Congratulations to the awardees! See below for the full list of awardees and their research proposal titles.

  1. Jyoti Angal, PhD – Elliott Award, Avera McKennan
    Examining the Impact of Returning Individual Developmental Screening Results on Opportunities for Early Intervention Access among Children in the ECHO Program
  2. Rana Chehab, PhD, MPH, RD – Ferrara Award, Kaiser Permanente Northern California
    Neighborhood Park Environment and Child Growth Trajectories and Obesity Risk: Opportunities to Identify Sensitive Windows of Exposure and Effect Modifiers
  3. Lauren Eaves, PhD, IBCLC – O’Shea Award, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
    G-computation for Public Health Interventions: An ECHO-wide Case Study of Lead and Preterm Birth
  4. Jason Giles, PhD – Dabelea Award, University of Colorado Denver
    Implementation of a Phenome-Wide Association Study for Identifying Childhood Asthma Pleiotropy in ECHO 
  5. Lauren Hoskovec, PhD – Dabelea Award, Colorado State University
    Identifying Windows of Susceptibility to Wildfire Smoke Exposure: Growth Trajectories and Mitigation 
  6. Meghan JaKa, PhD – Nguyen Award, Health Partners Institute
    Describing Longitudinal Patterns in Positive Health During Childhood and Correlated Assets Using a Strength-based Research Paradigm
  7. McKenzie K. Jancsura, PhD, RN – Slaughter Award, Ohio State University
    Exploring Pregnancy Outcomes’ Influence on Childhood Cardiovascular Health (EPIC-Heart Health)
  8. Kelsey Magee, PhD – Hipwell Award, University of Pittsburgh
    Psychosocial Stress Before and During Pregnancy: Implications for Child Neurodevelopment
  9. Daniel Mork, PhD – Wright Award, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
    ECHO-wide Precision Environmental Health Analyses of Air Pollution Exposure and Birth Outcomes  
  10. Allison Sherris, PhD – Karr Award, University of Washington
    Establishing an ECHO-wide Sibling Cohort
  11. Ashley Song PhD, MPH – Lyall Award, Johns Hopkins University
    Patterns of Social Determinants of Health and Environmental Exposures in Child Cognitive and Behavioral Development
  12. Rachel Tomlinson, PhD – Coordinating Center Award, University of California, San Francisco
    Precision in Childhood Executive Functioning Measurement: Advancing Efficiency of Evidence Accumulation (EEA) for Developmental Insights

Exposure to Phenols During Pregnancy Associated with Changes in Non-nutritive Suck Patterns in Infants, an Early Indicator of Brain Development

Posted on by Jodi Snare

Exposure to phenols—chemicals used in a variety of consumer products and industrial processes that can disrupt hormones—during pregnancy was associated with changes in patterns of infant non-nutritive suck, according to ECHO Cohort research led by Megan Woodbury, PhD and Emily Zimmerman, PhD, CCC-SLP of Northeastern University, and Andréa Aguiar, PhD of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Non-nutritive sucking is a common behavior during infancy where a baby may suck on an object that cannot provide nutrients, such as a pacifier. Non-nutritive sucking is characterized by bursts of sucking separated by pauses to breathe. Researchers can measure the frequency, speed, and strength of non-nutritive sucking. Because sucking is a behavior present from birth that is controlled by neurons in the brainstem, it is an ideal indicator of early brain development.

During the study, researchers measured phenol exposure by analyzing phenol levels in maternal urine samples collected during pregnancy. Non-nutritive sucking was evaluated in 1- to 8-week-old infants using a custom pacifier for approximately 5 minutes.

Key takeaways include:

  • Exposure to Bisphenol F, a common alternative to Bisphenol A or BPA found in some food packaging, was related to a lower non-nutritive suck frequency.
  • Exposure to Triclosan, an antimicrobial chemical found in some soaps, was associated with a higher non-nutritive suck frequency.
  • Exposure to other phenols used as preservatives and industrial processes (propylparaben, 2,4-dichlorophenol, and 2,5-dichlorophenol) was associated with weaker non-nutritive suck.
  • Exposure to some phenols used in sunscreens and industrial processes (benzophenone-3, 2,4-dichlorophenol, and 2,5-dichlorophenol) was related to more non-nutritive suck bursts per minute.
  • Propylparaben, a chemical used in some preservatives, was associated with more non-nutritive sucking per burst.

Previous studies linking changes in non-nutritive suck patterns to other exposures, such as maternal pregnancy stress and prenatal phthalate exposures, have also linked these exposures with decreased cognitive function in infants. The reasons these associations occur in the body are unknown but may be linked to hormone disruption during pregnancy.

“This study provides additional evidence that exposure to phenols may be related to developmental outcomes in children, demonstrating the need for continued research into how exposures during pregnancy impact infant health and development,” said Dr. Woodbury.

This collaborative research, titled “Examining the association between prenatal Phenol exposure and infant non-nutritive suck in two ECHO Cohorts,” was published in Environmental Epidemiology.

Study Links Higher Air Pollution to Increased Childhood Asthma, Highlights Unequal Burden in Black and Urban Communities

Posted on by Jodi Snare

Higher exposure to fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and ground-level ozone was associated with increased asthma incidence in children up to age 10, according to a new study funded by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program at the National Institutes of Health. Notably, children living in areas with higher proportions of Black residents or higher population density faced greater pollution-related asthma risk, despite overall air quality improvements in the U.S.

“Our findings show why it’s so important to keep reducing air pollution everywhere in the U.S. They also highlight the need to understand and tackle the deeper reasons why some communities are more affected than others,” said Veronica Wang, research fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Key Takeaways:

  • Higher levels of fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and ground ozone were each linked to more new cases of asthma in early childhood.
  • Fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide posed a greater asthma risk for children living in areas with more Black residents.
  • Children in more densely populated neighborhoods were also at higher risk from these pollutants.
  • The study looked at data from over 23,000 children born between 1981 and 2021 to find out which groups are more likely to develop asthma from air pollution exposure in early childhood.

The study analyzed extensive environmental and community data, highlighting the importance of reducing harmful exposures in the most affected neighborhoods.

This collaborative research was published in Environmental Epidemiology.

Vitamin D During Pregnancy May Play a Role in Children’s Cognitive Development, ECHO Study Suggests

Posted on by Jodi Snare

Higher vitamin D levels during pregnancy may be linked to better scores on cognitive tests, according to a new study by the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort.

Researchers found that children whose mothers had higher vitamin D levels while pregnant tended to perform better on cognitive tests assessing skills like problem-solving and processing new information at ages 7 to 12. However, vitamin D levels were not linked to skills based on learned knowledge, such as vocabulary. The association appeared strongest among children of Black mothers, and vitamin D levels measured earlier in pregnancy seemed most important for children’s brain development. Black people often have lower vitamin D levels because their skin has more pigment, which makes it harder for the skin to produce vitamin D from sunlight.

“Our study provides important new evidence that early pregnancy may be a critical period when vitamin D has the greatest potential to support cognitive development, said Melissa M. Melough, PhD, RD of the University of Delaware, Newark. “This highlights a key opportunity for clinicians to enhance screening and support for vitamin D supplementation before and during pregnancy. “

Vitamin D deficiency is common during pregnancy and has been linked to early brain development, but few studies have examined whether these effects continue into later childhood or differ by racial group. The researchers emphasize that while these findings add to growing evidence on the role of vitamin D in pregnancy, further studies are needed to determine the optimal dose and timing of supplementation to support cognitive development.

This collaborative research was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Living in Low-income-low-food-access Neighborhoods Linked to Higher Risk of Childhood Asthma

Posted on by Jodi Snare

Living in a low-income neighborhood with low food access was associated with higher risks of developing asthma, according to a recent ECHO Cohort study led by Veronica A. Wang, PhD, Antonella Zanobetti, PhD, and Diane Gold, MD of Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and Rima Habre, ScD of the University of Southern California.

Asthma is characterized by chronic inflammation in the lungs, and prior research shows that a nutritious diet can reduce airway inflammation. However, access to affordable and healthy foods is often difficult for many communities that have limited access to supermarkets or grocery stores. In this study, the researchers wanted to learn whether living in a low-income-low-food access neighborhood was associated with childhood asthma and whether this association was modified by sociodemographic factors.

The study included 16,012 children from 35 ECHO Cohort study sites across the U.S., and the investigators used low-income-low-food-access (LILA) neighborhood metrics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Access Research Atlas to evaluate each child’s neighborhood food access.

Key Takeaways include:

  • Living in a low-income neighborhood with low food access was associated with higher risks of developing asthma for both cumulative early (age 0-5 years) and cumulative middle (age 0-11 years) childhood, which stronger associations observed for cumulative early childhood.
  • The increased risk of asthma was more noticeable among girls, Hispanic children, and children whose mothers had less than a high school education.
  • The findings suggest that food access in the immediate vicinity of residence and that vehicle access may be important and may contribute to disparities in childhood asthma development.

This collaborative research, titled “Residing in a low-income-low-food-access neighbourhood and asthma in early and middle childhood in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program: a multisite cohort study,” is published in BMJ Open.

Exposure to Air Pollution During Pregnancy Associated with Higher Risk for Autism-related Outcomes

Posted on by Jodi Snare

Exposure to certain air pollutants during pregnancy was associated with autism-related traits and increased odds of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis in children, according to a recent ECHO Cohort study led by Akhgar Ghassabian, MD, PhD of NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Heather Volk, PhD of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Air pollution is a significant environmental health concern and contributes to many illnesses and early deaths worldwide. Ambient air pollution can have detectable effects on the brain. Recent studies show that being exposed to air pollution during pregnancy and early life can affect how a child’s brain develops. This can happen through several pathways, such as causing inflammation in the brain, disrupting hormones, or changing how genes work. Previous research has suggested potential links between air pollution and neurodevelopmental disorders, but the relationship between exposure to air pollution, even at low levels, during pregnancy and ASD has been unclear.

This study included 8,035 mother-child pairs from 44 ECHO Cohort study sites, including over 1,000 children who were potentially at higher risk for ASD based on being born preterm or having siblings with autism.

Key takeaways include:

  • Prenatal exposure to ozone was associated with autism-related traits and increased risk of ASD diagnosis.
  • Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM5) and nitrogen dioxide was also associated with a higher risk of autism, but associations varied by geographical regions.
  • There was little evidence for differences between boys and girls in the association between prenatal air pollution exposure and autism outcomes.

These findings suggest that even low levels of air pollution exposure during pregnancy can be associated with autism-related outcomes. This highlights the importance of understanding the risks associated with air pollution exposure during pregnancy and its effects on neurodevelopment.

This collaborative research, titled “Prenatal Air Pollution Exposure and Autism Spectrum Disorder in the ECHO Consortium,” is published in Environmental Health Perspectives.

Translating ECHO Research into Tangible Action

Posted on by Jodi Snare

Entering its 10th year, the ECHO Program is expanding its reach to enhance the health of children across the U.S. In this message, I highlight two ways ECHO is magnifying its impact: helping to translate ECHO research into tangible action via our upcoming Symposium, and broadening access to ECHO data and biospecimens to catalyze their widest use by the research community via ancillary studies.

First, I hope you will join us for the inaugural ECHO Symposium: Translating Science to Action on September 15, 2025, at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland, and online. This free, one-day event will bring together scientists, clinicians, policymakers, advocates, community leaders, and more to explore how early-life environmental factors shape child health—and how we can collaboratively move research into action.

Second, I’m pleased to highlight the ECHO Cohort’s new ancillary studies process. Through this process, any eligible researcher, including those outside of ECHO, can access the rich data on the full ECHO Cohort Data Platform. They can also request biospecimens from the ECHO Cohort Biorepository. The rapidly growing biorepository contains a wide range of specimens from our pregnant and child participants, including blood, urine, stool, placenta, nasal swabs, shed teeth, and other samples. These data and specimen resources enable researchers to explore an almost limitless set of important research questions on the causes and prevention of preterm birth, asthma, obesity, autism, and ADHD, to name a few conditions, as well as how to preserve health as children grow and develop.

A wide range of analyses is possible with an ECHO Cohort ancillary study. Examples include:

  • Detecting modifiable early developmental exposures that, if addressed by programs, policies, and practices, could enhance child health outcomes across the life course.
  • Exploring pathways to child health outcomes that incorporate state-of-the-art analytical biochemical or statistical methods.
  • Examining resilience or susceptibility factors that buffer or amplify the effects of adverse early exposures on child health outcomes.
  • Identifying periods of development most sensitive to specific beneficial or detrimental exposures to inform new strategies to promote child health.
  • Measuring the effects of natural experiments or new health innovations on child health outcomes.

Visit the ancillary studies page to get started.

Matthew Gillman, MD, SM
Director of the ECHO Program

Young Children Show Widespread Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, ECHO Study Finds

Posted on by Jodi Snare

Children had higher levels of certain replacement chemicals compared to their mothers during pregnancy.

Young children are exposed to a wide range of environmental chemicals, including some emerging and replacement chemicals, according to ECHO Cohort research measuring early childhood exposures. This study found that children aged 2 to 4 years often had higher levels of certain chemicals compared to their mothers during pregnancy, highlighting potential risks for future health.

Researchers measured 111 different chemicals in urine samples from 201 children and their mothers from six ECHO Cohort study sites across the United States. More than half of the children’s samples contained multiple chemicals, such as environmental phenols, pesticides, phthalates, and markers of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Approximately 34 chemicals were found in over 90% of the samples, including nine of which have not been included in U.S. national biomonitoring.

Compared to their mothers, children showed higher levels of chemicals like bisphenol S (BPS), used in hard plastics and synthetic fibers, and compounds related to pesticides. By contrast, mothers had higher levels of chemicals such as triclosan and monoethyl phthalate (MEP), which are found in some soaps and cosmetics.

“Finding so many chemicals detected in over 90% of young children reinforces the concern that our children are being exposed to a sea of potentially harmful compounds from their earliest years, with little parents can do to protect them”, said Deborah Bennett, PhD of the University of California, Davis.

Over time, exposures to chemicals like triclosan, parabens, phthalates, and PAHs have become less common, likely due to regulations and bans. However, replacement chemicals such as DINCH—a phthalate substitute in some plastics—and certain pesticides have been increasingly detected.

This collaborative research, titled “Early Childhood Exposures to Environmental Chemicals in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes Consortium,” is published in Environmental Science & Technology.

Prenatal Exposure to Certain Flame Retardants Associated with Autism-Related Traits, ECHO Study Finds

Posted on by Jodi Snare

High exposure to some organophosphate esters (OPEs) during pregnancy was associated with higher scores for increased autism-related traits and greater odds of an autism diagnosis in children, according to research from the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program led by Jennifer Ames, PhD, and Lisa Croen, PhD of Kaiser Permanente Northern California. Overall, the study found generally small associations between three OPEs and child autism-related outcomes.

OPEs, often called “regrettable replacements,” replaced polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in the mid-2000s as flame retardants and plastic softeners, and are now found in furniture, electronics, construction materials, textiles, and infant products. Despite their widespread use, little is known about their effects on child development.

In this study, ECHO researchers analyzed urine samples from 4,159 pregnant mothers for nine OPE biomarkers and assessed children’s autism-related traits using the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), along with autism diagnoses.

Key findings include:

  • High exposure to bis(butoxyethyl) phosphate (BBOEP) was associated with higher autism-related trait scores and greater odds of an autism diagnosis, particularly among boys.
  • Bis(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (BCPP) exposure was linked to higher autism-related trait scores.
  • High exposure to bis(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (BCETP) was associated with lower odds of an autism diagnosis.

“Organophosphate esters are widely used, but their potential effects on neurodevelopment are understudied. Our findings highlight the need for further research to understand their long-term effects on child neurodevelopment,” said Dr. Ames.

The study included children born from 2006 to 2020 at 15 ECHO Cohort sites across the United States.

This collaborative research, titled “Exposure to organophosphate ester flame retardants and plasticizers during pregnancy and autism-related outcomes in the ECHO Cohort,” is published in Environmental Health Perspectives.

Register Now for the NIH ECHO Symposium “Translating Science to Action”

Posted on by Jodi Snare

Please join the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program for the inaugural ECHO Symposium: Translating Science to Action on Sept. 15, 2025, at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland, and online. This free, one-day event will bring together researchers, clinicians, policymakers, advocates, community leaders, and more to explore how early environmental factors influence child health—and how we can translate science into meaningful action.

Agenda highlights include:

  • Keynote Address by Dr. Susan Kressly, President of the American Academy of Pediatrics
  • Opening remarks by Dr. Matt Gillman, Director of the NIH ECHO Program and by former ECHO Cohort Participant, Jadine Benjamin
  • Closing address by Dr. Michael Warren, Chief Medical and Health Officer of the March of Dimes
  • Three dynamic sessions featuring expert presentations, panel discussions, and opportunities for audience Q&A.

Whether you join us in person or online, you’ll have the opportunity to participate in Q&As, connect with thought leaders, and help advance solutions to improve the health of children for generations to come!

If you haven’t yet, register now to reserve your spot!

Here’s a closer look at what’s planned:

Session 1: Chemical Exposures
Session Chair
Kristie Trousdale, Children’s Environmental Health NetworkSafer Alternatives? Investigating Replacement Chemicals and Child Health
Dr. Jessie Buckley, University of North Carolina

Exposure to Phthalates in Pregnancy and Childhood: Evidence, Knowledge Gaps, and Opportunities
Dr. Leo Trasande, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

From Clinic to Community: Translating Environmental Health Research into Pregnancy Care
Dr. Blair Wylie, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Session 2: Social and Neighborhood Factors
Session Chair
Dr. Nicole Bush, University of California, San FranciscoUnderstanding Childhood Trauma and Toxic Stress to Enhance Child Health
Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, Former California Surgeon General

Associations of Neighborhood Opportunity and Vulnerability with Child Health Outcomes
Dr. Izzuddin Aris, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Harvard Medical School

Influences of Media Use on Child Health and Development
Dr. Jenny Radesky, University of Michigan

Session 3: Community Experiences
Session Chair
Dr. Lee Beers, Children’s National HospitalBehind the Data: A Parent’s Voice in Pediatric Research
Cassondra Perez, ECHO Cohort Parent Participant

Indigenous Community Health
Dr. Johnnye Lewis, University of New Mexico

Rural Health Research in the ECHO IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network (ISPCTN)
Dr. Leslie Young, University of Vermont

From Flint to Rx Kids: Translating Crisis into a Bold Prescription for Healthier Futures
Dr. Mona Hanna, Michigan State University