ECHO

Carmen M. Vélez Vega: Community Engagement and Report Back the Story of PROTECT-ECHO in Puerto Rico
2021-07-14 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | WebEx
ECHO Discovery Summary
Community Engagement and Report Back: the Story of PROTECT-ECHO in Puerto Rico
Carmen M. Vélez Vega, PhD, MSW of the University of Puerto Rico gave a presentation where she discussed the PROTECT-ECHO project in Puerto Rico. PROTECT (Puerto Rico Testsite for Exploring Contamination Threats) began in 2010 with the goal of understanding why Puerto Rico was ranked third in the world for highest preterm births.
Dr. Vélez Vega’s presentation covered how her team implemented community engagement and a report back system for the success of the project.
“The PROTECT Center studies exposures to environmental contamination in Puerto Rico and its contribution to preterm births,” Dr. Vélez Vega said. Investigators took samples from pregnant women to look at the health effects of environmental contaminants such as phthalates and chlorinated solvents in relation to high preterm birth rates. The cohort became part of the ECHO Program in 2017.
The Significance of Participant Engagement
To ensure high participant engagement, the project team implemented a report back system via a project-specific smartphone application. Throughout sample collection and participation, there was an emphasis on cultural identity and getting an accurate snapshot of typical foods eaten and household cleaning supplies used.
Participants utilized the mobile phone app to create personal profiles where they could view their results and analyses, along with recommendations on how to reduce environmental and chemical exposures. Women were also able to share their experiences with each other, and play an active role in providing feedback to investigators. Dr. Vélez Vega noted the high level of participant interest is because pregnant women want to contribute to science and understand why premature births are happening to them and their families.
Community Engagement and the COVID-19 Response
The main vehicle of interaction with community stakeholders and participants throughout PROTECT-ECHO is the Community Engagement Core (CEC). This group utilizes participation and engagement resources to gather feedback and disseminate information to stakeholders throughout the community.
The CEC was extremely helpful to investigators following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as during other events such as earthquakes, hurricanes, Zika virus outbreaks, and the evolving demographics of Puerto Rico. Since computer access is limited due to socioeconomic factors, natural disasters, and health events, call centers were set up for investigators to follow up with participants. The project team also utilized outreach methods such as text messaging, and provided educational materials to participants via email and social media.
Dr. Vélez Vega and the project team are currently working on the PROTECT Responde Campaign to feature videos, educational materials, and resources on environmental contaminants and health impacts during COVID-19 via social media. This will allow participants and community members in Puerto Rico to learn more about how to keep themselves healthy throughout pregnancy and potentially reduce rates of preterm birth for themselves and family members.

Speaker:
Dr. Carmen M. Vélez Vega
University of Puerto Rico

Speaker Bio: Dr. Vélez Vega completed a PhD. in Social Policy Research and Analysis, Graduate School of Social Work, at the University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras Campus, and a MSW, and BSW from Florida State University School of Social Work. She is Faculty at the Doctoral Program in Social Determinants of Health of the Social Sciences Department at the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, School of Public Health, and is a tenured Associate Professor. She has ample experience in community engagement activities and teaches in this area in the Schools MPH and Doctorate programs. She is the on site PI for PROTECT (Puerto Rico Testsite for Exploring Contamination Threats) and ECHO Cohort. She leads the Community Engagement Core for PROTECT and the Center for Collaborative Research in Health Disparities at the University of Puerto Rico. For the past 20 years she has been active in working for human rights especially for the the LGBTQ community in Puerto Rico.
Date: Wednesday, July 14th, 1 to 2pm ET
Slides

Nathan Stinson, Jr.: Understanding Health Disparities: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
2021-08-11 13:00 - 14:00
Nathan Stinson, Jr.: Understanding Health Disparities: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
ECHO Discovery Summary
Understanding Health Disparities: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
Nathan Stinson, Jr., PhD, MD, MPH of the NIH National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) gave a presentation on understanding health disparities among minorities and underserved populations.
Minority Health Research
Throughout his presentation, Dr. Stinson discussed the importance of minority health research in understanding why different minority populations experience specific health outcomes compared to non-minority populations. “Race and ethnic minorities share a social disadvantage based in part on being subjected to discrimination as a common theme,” he said. Dr. Stinson said that a disparity can be defined as a health outcome that is worse in these populations compared to a reference group.
Dr. Stinson discussed the social determinants of health that can lead to these disparities, such as age, gender identity, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, disability status, socioeconomic status, and more. These factors can affect how these populations can access housing, employment, economic opportunities, and health care. Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Stinson said racial and ethnic minority populations have been disproportionately affected and have had higher chances of becoming infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus and experiencing economic hardships.
Research Needed to Reduce Health Disparities
To address health disparities among minority populations, there are many things that need to be done to manage the discrimination that leads to this inadequate health.
Dr. Stinson explained that it is important to recognize the value of maintaining health and educating groups on healthy habits, not just of health care itself. Additionally, he said that policy makers and public health officials should shift health care models to include population health by measuring social determinants of health, create better access to healthy foods and safe places, provide community health resources, and recognize structural and interpersonal discrimination.
Speaker:
Dr. Nathan Stinson, Jr., MD, PhD, MPH
Division of Scientific Programs
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities

Speaker Bio:
Dr. Nathan Stinson, Jr serves as the Director of the Division of Scientific Programs at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), NIH where he oversees the extramural scientific programs on minority health and health disparities.
He began his Federal career in Arizona as a medical officer with the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps where he practiced family medicine at the Indian Health Service’s Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility on the Navajo reservation. After the Indian Health Service, Dr. Stinson served as Deputy Director, Division of Community and Migrant Health and as Director of the Division of Programs for Special Populations in the Bureau of Primary Health Care, Health Resources and Services Administration in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In 1999, he was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health, HHS and Director of the HHS Office of Minority Health. During that tenure he served as a senior advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Health and the Secretary, HHS until his retirement as RADM in 2005. Prior to rejoining Federal service in 2007 at NIMHD, Dr. Stinson served as the President of the Health Literacy Foundation in Munster, IN and the Director of the Center for Optimal Health and professor of Family & Community Medicine at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN.
Dr. Stinson received a B.A. degree from the University of Colorado, a M.A. degree from the University of California-Santa Barbara, and a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in Environmental Biology. He earned an M.D. degree from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in 1981 and an M.P.H. in Health Care Administration from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in 1990.
Dr. Stinson has received numerous honors including the Louis B. Stokes Leadership Award from the National Medical Association, the University of Colorado Silver and Gold Award for Excellence in Humanitarianism, Citizenship and Professionalism, and numerous NIH Director’s Awards. His awards from the U.S. Public Health Service include the Surgeon General’s Exemplary Service Medal, Outstanding Service Medal, Commendation Medal, Achievement Medal, and Crises Response Service Award.
Date: Wednesday, August 11th, 1 to 2pm ET
Slides

Lyall/Zimmerman: Optimizing Neurodevelopmental Assessments in ECHO: Validating Measures and Capturing Critical Periods of Development
2021-09-08 13:00 - 14:00
Lyall/Zimmerman: Optimizing Neurodevelopmental Assessments in ECHO: Validating Measures and Capturing Critical Periods of Development
ECHO Discovery Summary
On September 8, Kristen Lyall, ScD of Drexel University and Emily Zimmerman, PhD of Northeastern University gave presentations on their ECHO Opportunities and Infrastructure Fund (OIF) Award Studies. The OIF is an NIH-funded grants mechanism for early investigators to support projects for the introduction of new research, tools, and technologies in the ECHO Program. Each study examined different testing measures for pre-, peri-, and postnatal neurodevelopmental health outcomes.
Integration of Non-Nutritive Suck and Eye Tracking as Markers of Neurodevelopment Across Five ECHO Cohorts
Dr. Zimmerman presented her research on the association between maternal prenatal stress and infant non-nutritive suck (NNS). NNS refers to when a baby sucks without receiving any nutrition, such as on fingers or pacifiers.
Her study implemented NNS and eye tracking across 5 ECHO Cohorts to assess neurocognitive functions in relation to environmental exposures and maternal stress. Mother and infant participants were from the IKIDS Cohort in Illinois and ECHO-PROTECT in Puerto Rico. IKIDS mothers were predominantly white, married, and had at least a bachelor’s degree, while ECHO-PROTECT mothers were predominantly Puerto Rican and in households earning less than $50,000 per year.
Investigators found that mothers who reported feeling more nervous and stressed, and who had increased feelings of anger, had infants with lower sucking activity. Prenatal maternal perceived stress was significantly associated with fewer but longer sucking bursts in ECHO-PROTECT, which can likely be attributed to lower income and stressful events such as the Zika virus outbreak and hurricane activity.
Validation of Shortened Versions for the Social Responsiveness Scale: Implications for ECHO and Quantitative Trait Research
Dr. Lyall’s presentation was focused around Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and how to lessen the burden of a particular method of measuring ASD-related behaviors, called the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS).
ASD is a developmental condition that can be characterized by challenges in social interactions and communication, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior and interest, and developmental delays at an early age. The SRS is a widely-used measure of autism-related traits that can be administered by a provider or caregiver.
The research found that shortening the SRS from 65 questions to 16 led to reduced participant burden without substantial loss in measurement of ASD-related behaviors. This can eventually lead to opportunities for wider-scale application. Dr. Lyall is optimistic that the SRS, including the shortened version, can be used to learn more about ASD and related social functioning.
Speakers:
Kristen Lyall, ScD
Drexel University

Speaker Bio: Dr. Lyall’s research seeks to identify and understand modifiable risk factors for autism-related outcomes. Her work focuses on parental factors, prenatal exposure to environmental chemicals, and maternal dietary factors and their association with child ASD, as well as consideration of ASD- related traits according to continuous, quantitative measures.

Emily Zimmerman, PhD., CCC-SLP
Northeastern University

Speaker Bio: Dr. Zimmerman’s research is focused on the link between early sucking and feeding and subsequent neurodevelopment. She studies the environmental, maternal, physiological, and genetic influences of these behaviors across patient populations and cultures.
Date: Wednesday, September 8th, 1 to 2pm ET
Slides

Sean Deoni: Decentralizing Pediatric Research: Bringing Science to our Families with Wearables, Nearables, and Mobile Labs
2021-10-18 13:00 - 14:00
Sean Deoni: Decentralizing Pediatric Research: Bringing Science to our Families with Wearables, Nearables, and Mobile Labs
ECHO Discovery Summary
Sean Deoni, PhD of Brown University, shared his research on MRI techniques and the use of wearable devices to study brain maturation in infants and children.
Dr. Deoni discussed how his study’s use of mobile devices helped measure the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on neurocognitive outcomes. When they found a steep decline in both verbal and non-verbal cognitive development among young children in 2020 and 2021, they used wearables to investigate why.
Using a device placed on a child’s chest, they were able to remotely measure language activity in homes of children from birth to age 2. They found that the number of adult words the children heard, vocalizations they made, and back-and-forth conversational interactions per hour declined steeply, while TV usage went up. Using wearables, they also found that infant sleep duration increased in 2020 and 2021 compared to pre-pandemic times, while the number of naps per day decreased.
Dr. Deoni said that, although mobile devices may lack the accuracy and sensitivity of in-person measurements, they also allow researchers to take measurements from a larger number of people over longer periods of time. Work is ongoing to use these devices to examine potential influences of infant/child physical activity, outdoor exposure, and air quality.
Speaker:
Sean Deoni, PhD
Brown University

Speaker Bio:
I’m an MRI physicist by training, but a pediatric neuroscientist by passion. PhD in MR Physics from the University of Western Ontario and post-docs at King’s College, London and Oxford University where I developed MRI techniques to study brain maturation in infants and children. This work was extended at the Advanced Baby Imaging Lab at Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital, where we initiated some of the largest longitudinal studies of pediatric neurodevelopment (now the cornerstone of our ECHO project). Over the past 3 years I’ve also been involved with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, initiating a new project to assess low field MRI scanners in 25 low and middle income countries, and extend our ECHO project globally.
Date: Monday, October 18th, 1 to 2pm ET
Slides

Christy Porucznik: Systematic Collection of Biospecimens in the Periconceptional Period
2021-11-10 13:00 - 14:00
Christy Porucznik: Systematic Collection of Biospecimens in the Periconceptional Period
ECHO Discovery Summary
Traditional studies investigating environmental exposures during pregnancy often recruit women during their first trimester, and as a result these studies exclude data from around the time of conception and create an incomplete and biased understanding of the exposure’s effect. Environmental exposures experienced by both the mother and the father around the time of conception can influence their success in achieving and maintaining a pregnancy.
Christy Porucznik, PhD, MSPH of the University of Utah Health shared an example of how studies can successfully collect data on environmental exposures from before conception. Her presentation discussed the success of the Home Observation of Peri-conceptional Exposures (HOPE) study, which recruited couples who were planning a pregnancy before they conceived.
Dr. Porucznik explained how the HOPE study was able to train women to track their ovulation cycle and have both members of the couple collect regular biospecimen samples throughout that cycle until pregnancy was achieved. Urine, hair, saliva, and semen samples were collected and banked for future studies. The timing of the collection allowed Dr. Porucznik and her team to investigate how certain exposures affected time to pregnancy, sperm count and morphology, and sperm epigenetics—analyses that would all be missed by a traditional environmental exposure study.
Dr. Porucznik also highlighted the potential for ECHO studies sites to specialize in and implement a similar remote preconception protocol to gather more extensive and diverse preconception data. Participants who achieve pregnancy can then be transferred into a traditional ECHO cohort for further follow up.

Speaker:
Christy Porucznik, PhD, MSPH
University of Utah Health

Speaker Bio:
Christy Porucznik, PhD, MSPH, is the President of the Academic Senate at the University of Utah and a professor in the Division of Public Health, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine in the School of Medicine. She completed graduate training in epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health. Dr. Porucznik is broadly interested in efficient exposure assessment and research questions that can be easily explained to non-scientists.
Slides
Date: Wednesday, November 10th, 1 to 2pm ET

Bryan Lau: Dealing With Missing variables in Subset of Cohorts Within ECHO and Issues of Heterogeneity and Representativeness
2021-12-08 13:00 - 14:00
Bryan Lau: Dealing With Missing variables in Subset of Cohorts Within ECHO and Issues of Heterogeneity and Representativeness
ECHO Discovery Summary
Bryan Lau, PhD, MHS, ScM of Johns Hopkins University discussed issues of missing information within subsets of ECHO cohorts.
Throughout the presentation, Dr. Lau explained how cohort consortia around specific diseases are more likely to collect similar information, and thus have fewer missing data, than those based on more varied populations. He noted that since ECHO is composed of cohort studies from various populations of pregnant women and children, there are differences in types of data collected among cohorts, especially data the cohorts collected before ECHO started. Problems can arise when ECHO attempts to combine these different data because some cohorts are missing data that others have.
To resolve this challenge, Dr. Lau suggested that statistical methods to fill in missing data need to take into account the extent to which cohorts are actually drawing from the same underlying population. Additionally, he noted that to avoid bias when filling in missing data, researchers can use statistical algorithms to cluster together cohorts with similar populations and variables.

Speaker:
Bryan Lau, PhD, MHS, ScM
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health

Speaker Bio:
Bryan Lau, is a Professor in the Department of Epidemiology of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with joint appointments in the Department of Medicine and Department of Oncology in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Lau earned his ScM in epidemiology in 1999 and his MHS in biostatistics in 1999 and subsequently earned his PhD in epidemiology in 2004.
Slides
Date: Wednesday, December 8th, 1 to 2pm ET

Cella/Blackwell: Mutuality: What PROMIS Brought to ECHO and What ECHO Brought to PROMIS
2022-01-12 13:00 - 14:00
Cella/Blackwell: Mutuality: What PROMIS Brought to ECHO and What ECHO Brought to PROMIS
ECHO Discovery Summary
On January 12, David Cella, PhD (left) and Courtney Blackwell, PhD, EdM (right) of Northwestern University presented on the development of the Patient-reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS).
PROMIS is a unified and adaptable measurement system for evaluating and monitoring the physical, mental, and social health of adults and children. Within ECHO, PROMIS is a valuable resource for harmonizing patient-reported outcome measures across various cohorts, outcome areas, and age groups.
Until recently, PROMIS had only been validated for children over the age of 5. However, new ECHO research led by Dr. Blackwell resulted in the development of PROMIS measures for the reliable evaluation of health behaviors and outcomes during early childhood (PROMIS EC). PROMIS EC emphasizes features and behaviors that parents can easily and objectively observe in their children (e.g., “My child had a temper tantrum when upset or angry” instead of “my child felt upset”).
Speakers:
David Cella, PhD
Northwestern University

Speaker Bio: Dr. Cella is the Ralph Seal Paffenbarger Professor and Chair of the Department of Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine. His research portfolio extends from health outcomes measurement and applications to clinical trials, comparative effectiveness, and learning health system implementation. As an expert in applied health status measurement, he has led the development and validation of the FACIT Measurement System, PROMIS, Neuro-QoL, and the emotional health domain of the NIH Toolbox. These measurements are used around the world by thousands, in clinical practice and research.

Courtney K. Blackwell, PhD
Northwestern University

Speaker Bio: Dr. Blackwell is a Research Assistant Professor at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in the Department of Medical Social Sciences. As a co-Investigator for the ECHO Person Reported Outcome (PRO) Core, Dr. Blackwell develops and validates developmentally-sensitive survey and performance measures for young children, particularly in the domain of positive health. Her research focuses on identifying the social environmental factors that promote positive health and functioning across the lifespan.
Slides
Date: Wednesday, January 12th, 1 to 2pm ET

McEvoy/Spindel: Prenatal Vitamin C and In-Utero Smoke: A Novel Approach to Block Some of the Perinatal Origins of Life Long Lung Disease
2022-02-09 13:00 - 14:00
McEvoy/Spindel: Prenatal Vitamin C and In-Utero Smoke: A Novel Approach to Block Some of the Perinatal Origins of Life Long Lung Disease
ECHO Discovery Summary
On February 9, Cindy T. McEvoy, MD, MCR and Eliot Spindel, MD, PhD of the Oregon Health & Science University presented on treating women who smoke during pregnancy with vitamin C to improve infant health outcomes.
In the U.S., roughly 10-12% of women smoke during pregnancy, which can increase their child’s risk for reduced lung function and other negative health outcomes into adulthood. Studies using animal models revealed that exposure to nicotine is likely the primary driver of these negative health outcomes in offspring. The results of these studies also suggest that women who use e-cigarettes during pregnancy as an alternative to traditional smoking may still be putting their child at risk for negative health outcomes.
A randomized study of women who smoked during pregnancy, led by Dr. McEvoy, found that daily treatment with 500 mg of vitamin C was associated with improved infant lung function and decreased wheezing that continued into early childhood. Additional epigenetic studies revealed that many of the negative effects of prenatal smoking on infant health may be associated with epigenetic changes in-utero that may be reversed by treatment with vitamin C.
The results of these studies suggest that vitamin C could be an effective and inexpensive treatment for pregnant smokers that might improve infant health outcomes.
Speakers:
Cindy T. McEvoy, MD, MCR
Oregon Health & Science University

Speaker Bio: Dr. McEvoy is a Professor of Pediatrics at the Oregon Health & Science University Doernbecher Children’s Hospital and Credit Unions for Kids Endowed Professor in Pediatric Research. She completed her school of medicine training at Loyola Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago, did her pediatric residency at Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Los Angeles and her Neonatology Fellowship at Los Angeles (LA) County Hospital. She is a neonatologist and physician scientist whose research interest is on the primary prevention of childhood respiratory disease through in-utero and early life interventions with a focus on the use of pulmonary function testing to quantify outcomes.

Eliot Spindel, MD, PhD
Oregon Health & Science University

Speaker Bio: Dr. Spindel received his MD from Harvard Medical School and his PhD in Neuroscience from MIT. He is currently a Professor of Neuroscience at Oregon Health & Science University. His primary research focus is on the effects of in utero nicotine exposure on lung development and offspring respiratory health with a focus on potential epigenetic mechanisms underlying the lifelong and multigenerational effects of nicotine exposures. He is an MPI with the McEvoy cohorts which are studying if supplemental vitamin C given to pregnant smokers who would not quit will prevent some of the lifelong effects of in utero tobacco exposures on their offspring’s’ respiratory health.
Slides
Date: Wednesday, February 9th, 1 to 2pm ET

Padula/Boronow: Tell It Like It Is! How to Share Individual Chemical Results With Your ECHO Participants Using DERBI (Digital Exposure Report Back Interface)
2022-03-09 13:00 - 14:00
Padula/Boronow: Tell It Like It Is! How to Share Individual Chemical Results With Your ECHO Participants Using DERBI (Digital Exposure Report Back Interface)
ECHO Discovery Summary
On March 9, Amy Padula, PhD of the University of California San Francisco, and Katie Boronow, MS of the Silent Spring Institute presented on the Digital Exposure Report Back Interface (DERBI) – a tool designed by the Silent Spring Institute to help researchers generate personalized exposure reports. The DERBI is designed to share chemical exposure results with participants and help them interpret their results and understand what actions they can take to mitigate exposures at both the personal and community levels.
Participants in exposure studies are often interested in their results, what their results mean, and what actions they can take regarding exposures. This information empowers them to make informed choices about their lifestyle, behaviors, and overall health. From the researcher standpoint, reporting results can greatly improve the science, support recruitment and retention, and advance translational discoveries.
Speakers:
Amy Padula, PhD
University of California San Francisco (UCSF)

Speaker Bio: Amy Padula is an Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). She is an epidemiologist with expertise is in environmental exposures, social factors and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Amy is an ECHO cohort co-investigator and PI of an Opportunities and Infrastructures Fund (OIF) Award to use the Digital Exposure Report-Back Interface (DERBI) in two ECHO cohorts (UCSF and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign).

Katie Boronow, MS
Silent Spring Institute
Massachusetts

Speaker Bio: Katie Boronow is a Staff Scientist at Silent Spring Institute. Katie leads development of the Digital Exposure Report-Back Interface (DERBI), a software platform for making personal results reports for participants in exposure biomonitoring studies. Her research interests include what people know about endocrine-disrupting and cancer-causing chemicals and how personal exposure reports can build environmental health literacy about these chemicals. Katie has adapted DERBI for two ECHO cohorts and is testing new features to support environmental health literacy in these studies.
Slides
Date: Wednesday, March 9th, 1 to 2pm ET

Rebecca Schmidt: Leveraging the ECHO Population to Examine Trends in Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Conditions
2022-04-20 13:00 - 14:00
Rebecca Schmidt: Leveraging the ECHO Population to Examine Trends in Autism and Other Neurodevelopmental Conditions
ECHO Discovery Summary
On April 20, Rebecca Schmidt, PhD of the University of California Davis School of Medicine presented on leveraging ECHO’s large and diverse population of children to evaluate nationwide trends in autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions.
Previously, it has been difficult for researchers to study the epidemiology—the distribution and determinants—of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) because standards and practices for screening and diagnosis are variable. The ECHO-wide protocol allows researchers to track nationwide trends in ASD diagnosis and autism-related traits, collected through caregiver-reported scores on the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). The use of standardized, harmonized measures like the SRS makes it easier for ECHO researchers to track ASD trends across time and geography without the complications presented by differences in awareness and access to care.
ECHO also includes several cohorts recruiting children with autism diagnoses and those who are at higher risk for ASD. These cohorts help researcher better evaluate the risk factors and neurodevelopmental trajectories associated with ASD.

Speaker:
Rebecca J. Schmidt, PhD
University of California Davis School of Medicine

Speaker Bio:
Rebecca J. Schmidt is a tenured associate professor and molecular epidemiologist in the Department of Public Health Sciences and the MIND Institute at the University of California Davis School of Medicine. She earned her Ph.D. in Epidemiology at the University of Iowa College of Public Health, completed the postdoctoral Autism Research Training Program at the UC Davis MIND Institute, and was a Building Interdisciplinary Research Career in Women’s Health (BIRCWH) scholar. Dr. Schmidt aims to advance understanding of how early life environmental exposures interact with genetic susceptibility, molecular mechanisms, and developmental programming to influence neurodevelopmental outcomes of children. Her pioneering work includes finding some of the first evidence in the autism field for a potentially protective effect of folic acid-rich prenatal vitamins, evidence for gene x environment interactions, and protective interactions between folate and environmental contaminants. She co-developed the Early Life Environmental Exposure Assessment Tool (ELEAT). In addition to leading the MARBLES high-risk autism sibling pregnancy cohort study and biorepository, Dr. Schmidt leads a wildfire pregnancy cohort study, is site-lead for follow-up of children at older ages in the national ECHO cohort study, and co-leads several mechanistic autism studies, including epidemiologic examinations of mitochondrial, epigenomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic variations in relation to neurodevelopmental outcomes.
Slides
Date: Wednesday, April 20th, 1 to 2pm ET

Peter James: Green Spaces and Health: Novel Metrics in Exposure and Outcome Assessment
2022-05-11 13:00 - 14:00
Peter James: Green Spaces and Health: Novel Metrics in Exposure and Outcome Assessment
ECHO Discovery Summary
On May 11, Peter James, ScD, MHS of Harvard presented for ECHO Discovery on the relationship between natural environments, like green spaces and parks, and overall health.
Recently, researchers have been able to study this relationship more closely using a combination of digital tools, including smartphone applications, wearable devices, and Google Street View. Researchers can use device GPS information to track the time a participant spends in natural environments. Additionally, they can use Google Street View to collect more detailed data on the kinds of natural elements the participant encounters.
The detailed data from these studies could help to inform future interventions that focus on increasing access to the natural elements that have the largest measurable effect on health. Dr. James noted that ensuring more equitable access to natural environments could increase overall health and well-being and may help to decrease socioeconomic health disparities.

Speaker:
Peter James, ScD, MHS
Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute; Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health

Speaker Bio:
Peter James, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, as well as in the Department of Environmental Health at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health. His research focuses on estimating the influence of spatial factors, including exposure to green space, the built environment, the food environment, air pollution, light pollution, noise, and socioeconomic factors, on health behaviors, mental health, and chronic disease. He has over a decade of experience working with large prospective cohort studies, including the Nurses’ Health Studies, the Framingham Heart Study, the Southern Community Cohort Study, and Project Viva, where he has aided in the creation of many spatial exposure metrics and linked them to health data. Most recently, he is creating novel metrics of spatial factors by applying Deep Learning algorithms to Google Street View imagery.
Slides
Date: Wednesday, May 11th, 1 to 2pm ET

Jessica Snowden: The Tip of the Iceberg: Understanding the Long-Term Impact of COVID-19
2022-06-08 13:00 - 14:00
Jessica Snowden: The Tip of the Iceberg: Understanding the Long-Term Impact of COVID-19
ECHO Discovery Summary
Key Takeaways:

Many people who develop COVID-19 experience long-term effects and ongoing health problems after their infection—a condition known as long COVID.
Researchers are still working to understand the best strategies to diagnose and treat long COVID, and these strategies may inform programs, policies, and practices.
ECHO cohorts and IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network (ISPCTN) sites across 14 different states in the United States, have enrolled children and their parents in the Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) study—an NIH initiative to define long COVID, determine what causes it, and identify strategies to diagnose and manage it.
In an effort to improve vaccination uptake in children, the ISPCTN is starting the Improving COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Using mHEALTH Tools (MoVeUP) study that will explore methods for helping families make decisions about vaccinating their children.

Speaker:
Jessica Snowden, MD, MS, MHPTT
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children’s Research Institute

Speaker Bio:
Jessica Snowden, MD, MS, MHPTT, is Professor of Pediatrics and Chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Disease at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, Arkansas. She is the Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Pediatrics and Associate Director of Clinical and Translational Research at Arkansas Children’s Research Institute. Dr. Snowden received her BS and MD at Texas A&M Health Sciences Center and her Masters degrees (MS Clinical Research; MHPTT Health Professions Teaching and Technology) from the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Date: Wednesday, June 8th, 1 to 2pm ET
Slides

Barry M. Lester: Newborn Neurobehavior Predicts 2 Year Developmental Outcome in Preterm Infants
2022-07-13 13:00 - 14:00 | WebEx
Barry M. Lester: Newborn Neurobehavior Predicts 2 Year Developmental Outcome in Preterm Infants
Discovery Summary
Key Takeaways:

Infants born prematurely are at higher risk for developmental and behavioral disorders, but early detection and treatment can prevent or reduce the severity of these disorders.
Doctors and researchers can perform neurobehavioral assessments on newborn infants that evaluate a variety of neurological and behavioral indicators (e.g., attention, movement, response to stress, excitability).
Neurobehavioral assessments conducted shortly after birth can identify which infants are most at risk for developmental disorders later in childhood.
These neurobehavioral assessments can be conducted before the infants are discharged from the hospital when their brains are still highly malleable.
This could give doctors and researchers a better chance to design effective interventions that can prevent developmental disorders later in childhood.

Speaker:
Barry M. Lester, PhD
Departments of Psychiatry and Pediatrics
Alpert Medical School of Brown University

Speaker Bio:
Dr. Lester is the Founding Director of the Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Women and Infants. The Center includes research, diagnostic and treatment services and training across a range of at risk populations from birth through adolescence. Dr. Lester was trained as a developmental psychologist and then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in pediatrics. The focus of his research is on the interface of biological and social factors that shape developmental outcomes in children at risk.

Ferrara/Hedderson/Avalos: Prenatal Mental Health and Lifestyle Exposures in Association With Child Growth and Neurodevelopment
2022-08-16 13:00 - 14:00 | WebEx
Ferrara/Hedderson/Avalos: Prenatal Mental Health and Lifestyle Exposures in Association With Child Growth and Neurodevelopment
Discovery Summary
Key Takeaways:

Infants born smaller or larger than average for their gestational age, as well as infants who gain weight rapidly after birth, are at increased risk for developing obesity later in life.
Previous research has found that diet during pregnancy affects fetal growth, but most studies focus on isolated foods or nutrients rather than overall diet quality.
Previous research has found a link between prenatal depression and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis in children, but those studies often leave out children who don’t meet the ASD-diagnosis criteria but still have autism-related social behaviors.
Recent ECHO research found an association between prenatal depression and autism-related traits in children with more severe prenatal depression being correlated with more autism-related traits.

Speakers:

Assiamira Ferrara, MD, PhD
Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC)

Speaker Bio:
Assiamira Ferrara is a Senior Research Scientist and Associate Director at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research. Dr. Ferrara is internationally recognized for her expertise in gestational diabetes (GDM) and obesity during pregnancy, and her research interests focus on preventing the adverse effects of these conditions on women’s and children’s health. Her primary focus has been the epidemiology of and translational research related to diabetes and GDM. Dr. Ferrara and colleagues have adapted the National Diabetes Prevention Program to be delivered by telehealth in women with GDM as well as pregnant women with overweight or obesity during the prenatal and postpartum periods to achieve weight management and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Monique Hedderson, PhD, MPH
Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC)

Speaker Bio: Monique Hedderson is a research scientist III (equivalent to Full Professor) and epidemiologist at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) Division of Research. She completed a master’s degree in public health and a doctoral degree in epidemiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health. She has more than 20 years research experience within the KPNC integrated health care system. Her research takes an interdisciplinary approach at the interface of disease etiology and prevention strategies in women’s and children’s health across the lifespan. Specifically, her work has largely sought to understand how potentially modifiable factors before and during early pregnancy contribute to the risk of metabolic complications during pregnancy, postpartum and childhood.

Lyndsay Avalos, PhD, MPH
Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC)

Speaker Bio: Lyndsay A. Avalos, Research Scientist II (equivalent to an Associate Professor Rank) joined the Division of Research (DOR) at Kaiser Permanente Northern California. She received an MPH from Boston University and a PhD in epidemiology from UC Berkeley. Her research is primarily focused on informing and developing innovative interventions to improve the mental health and well-being of pregnant women, new moms and their children. A significant part of her research addresses maternal mental health and substance use with studies ranging from epidemiologic to intervention implementation into healthcare delivery.
Slides

Braun/Boyle: Developmental Exposure to PFAS and Childhood/Adolescent Obesity and Cardiometabolic Risk
2022-09-14 13:00 - 14:00
Braun/Boyle: Developmental Exposure to PFAS and Childhood/Adolescent Obesity and Cardiometabolic Risk
Discovery Summary
Key Takeaways:

PFAS are long-lasting chemicals found in some consumer products—like certain types of packaging and cookware—that can contaminate food, water, and air.
Virtually all Americans have detectable levels of these substances in their blood with over 100 million Americans having levels above the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) current advised limit.
Emerging evidence from ECHO research suggests that prenatal exposure to PFAS may increase a child’s long-term risk for developing obesity and related health conditions.
Going forward, these results can help to inform ongoing and future regulatory efforts aimed at defining exposure limits and safe drinking water standards.

Speakers:
Joseph Braun, PhD, MSPH, RN
Brown University, Providence, RI

Speaker Bio: Dr. Joseph Braun is an environmental epidemiologist and studies endocrine disrupting chemicals, toxic metals, obesity, cardiometabolic health, and pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders. Working with biostatisticians, exposure scientists, physicians, and engineers, he studies the health effects of environmental chemical mixtures to identify periods of heightened susceptibility in order to design interventions aimed at reducing exposure. Moreover, Dr. Braun is using untargeted metabolomics and DNA methylation to understand biological pathways underlying the potential effect of chemical exposures.

Kristen E. Boyle, PhD
University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus

Speaker Bio: Dr. Kristen Boyle is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics Nutrition Section at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and the Co-Director of the Basic Sciences Research Core at the Colorado Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity & Diabetes (LEAD) Center. Dr. Boyle’s research program focuses on understanding how various gestational stress exposures, from metabolic disease to environmental toxins, may impact offspring obesity and diabetes risk using mesenchymal stem cells from infant umbilical cord tissue.
Slides

Julie Herbstman: Understanding Changes in Environmental Exposures Over Time in ECHO and Impacts on Children's Health
2022-10-12 13:00 - 14:00
Julie Herbstman: Understanding Changes in Environmental Exposures Over Time in ECHO and Impacts on Children’s Health
Discovery Summary
Key Takeaways:

Longitudinal studies, like those at the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health (CCCEH), can look at exposures over time, which can be used to identify new research areas, inform new policies aimed at reducing these exposures, and help assess the effectiveness of those policy changes.
There are many opportunities within ECHO research to examine ongoing trends in environmental exposures that can inform programs, practices, and policies aimed at reducing exposures.
Because participants in ECHO have been recruited over time and across a large geographic area, researchers can leverage ECHO’s robust data to understand the potential impact of current and future policies and interventions on children’s health outcomes.

Speaker:
Julie Herbstman, PhD, ScM
Department of Environmental Health Sciences
Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health (CCCEH)

Speaker Bio:
Dr. Herbstman is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences and the director of the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health (CCCEH). Beginning 1998, the CCCEH is the home to three longitudinal birth cohort studies of children born in New York City, with the goal of understanding the impacts of early life urban environmental chemical and social exposures on child health. As an environmental and molecular epidemiologist, Dr. Herbstman studies the pathways between these urban exposures and health outcomes, with a particular focus on neurodevelopment. She also focuses on research translation, ensuring that the scientific gains are effectively communicated to and shared with both policymakers and communities.
Slides
Date: Wednesday, October 12th, 1 to 2pm ET

Andreas Neophytou: Bridging Differences Across Cohorts in the Relationship Between Prenatal Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Birth Weight: Transportability of Effect Estimates in the ECHO Consortium
2022-11-09 13:00 - 14:00
Andreas Neophytou: Bridging Differences Across Cohorts in the Relationship Between Prenatal Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Birth Weight: Transportability of Effect Estimates in the ECHO Consortium
Discovery Summary
Key Takeaways:

The transportability of effects framework is a method researchers can use to determine what research questions can be answered using a given dataset or technique.
A causal inference framework is a transportability of effects framework that attempts to determine if differences in a given effect can actually be attributed to differences between the cohorts (e.g., differences in sociodemographic characteristics).
Neophytou and his team used this method to find that the relationship between secondhand smoke exposure and birth weight is at least partially influenced by sociodemographic characteristics.

Speaker:
Andreas Neophytou, ScD
Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences
Colorado State University

Speaker Bio:
Dr. Andreas Neophytou is an Assistant Professor in Epidemiology at the Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences at Colorado State University. He also holds an adjunct Assistant Professor appointment with the Department of Epidemiology at the Colorado School of Public Health. Prior to these appointments, Dr. Neophytou earned a joint doctoral degree in Epidemiology and Environmental Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and completed postdoctoral training at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health.
Date: Wednesday, November 9th, 1 to 2pm ET
Slides

Katherine Sauder: Supporting Healthy Children by Supporting Healthy Pregnancies: A Prebirth Nutrition Perspective
2022-12-14 13:00 - 14:00
Katherine Sauder: Supporting Healthy Children by Supporting Healthy Pregnancies: A Prebirth Nutrition Perspective
Discovery Summary
Key Takeaways:

In recent years, there has been a rise in obesity and type 2 diabetes cases among children at increasingly younger ages, indicating that factors during early infancy – and even during pregnancy and pre-conception – may play a role in the development of these conditions.
Maternal nutrition can influence the risk of neonatal adiposity, which is a predictor for overweight/obesity at 5 years.
In developed countries, a common prenatal risk factor is excessive intake of certain vitamins due to fortified foods and use of dietary supplements. Pregnant people in ECHO Cohorts were at risk for excessive intake of zinc, folic acid, and iron.
Programs that can help pregnant people eat well before and during pregnancy may improve infant health outcomes.

Speaker:
Katherine Sauder, PhD
Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes (LEAD) Center
Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus

Speaker Bio:
Dr. Sauder received her PhD in biobehavioral Health from Penn State University in 2014 and completed her post-doctoral fellowship in Nutrition at the University of Colorado in 2016. She is now an ECHO Cohort Investigator (Dabelea Cohort), Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Section of Nutrition, and Deputy Director of the Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes (LEAD) Center at the University of Colorado Denver Anschutz Medical Campus.
Date: Wednesday, December 14th, 1 to 2pm ET
Slides

Annemarie Stroustrup: Hospital-based Phthalate Exposure and Chronic Lung Disease of Prematurity
2023-01-11 13:00 - 14:00
Annemarie Stroustrup: Hospital-based Phthalate Exposure and Chronic Lung Disease of Prematurity
Key Takeaways:

Preterm infants are at an increased risk for a variety of adverse health outcomes, but these outcomes cannot be consistently predicted by factors like gestational age or birth weight.
Phthalates are found in many of the medical devices and products used in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) to care for preterm infants.
Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD) is a developmental disease of preterm infants that occurs when the baby’s lungs are unable to develop correctly, often due to trauma caused by breathing support apparatuses.
The ECHO Developmental Impact of NICU Exposures (DINE) Study—a collaboration of four preterm birth cohorts—suggest that exposure to specific phthalate mixtures at certain susceptible points in preterm infant development are linked with BPD diagnosis, even when adjusting for the use of breathing support apparatuses.

Speaker:
Annemarie Stroustrup, MD, MPH
Cohen Children’s Medical Center
Northwell Health, NY

Speaker Bio:
Dr. Stroustrup is the System Chief of Neonatology, Vice President and Director of Neonatal Services for Northwell Health. She completed her undergraduate studies at Princeton University, medical school at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and public health training at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. In addition to providing clinical care and leadership, Dr. Stroustrup’s research focuses on reducing modifiable hospital-based environmental factors that impact the long-term health and development of preterm infants. When not working to make the NICU a safer place for small baby development, Dr. Stroustrup enjoys running half marathons and spending time with her four children and husband at their home in Harlem, New York City.
Date: Wednesday, January 11th, 1 to 2pm ET
Slides

Nicole Bush: Social Exposures and Intergenerational Health: Maternal Exposure to Stress and Children’s Development
2023-02-08 13:00 - 14:00
Nicole Bush: Social Exposures and Intergenerational Health: Maternal Exposure to Stress and Children’s Development
Key Takeaways:

Childhood adversity and pregnancy stress can have lasting effects on children’s health and wellbeing.
New research suggests intergenerational effects of maternal stress on child health outcomes and identified buffers in the child’s environment that may enhance their resilience to stress exposures.
These findings highlight the importance of screening pregnant people for signs of stress and other mental health challenges and providing them with resources to reduce their stress and improve their mental health.
Social support from the surrounding community can help families build resilience factors that protect children from the intergenerational effects of adversity and stress.

Speaker:
Nicole Bush, PhD
Center for Health and Community
Division of Developmental Medicine
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)

Speaker Bio:
Dr. Bush is the Lisa and John Pritzker Distinguished Professor of Developmental and Behavioral Health, and the Division Chief of the Division of Developmental Medicine, jointly appointed in the departments of Pediatrics and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at UCSF. She is also a licensed clinical psychologist, with fellowship training in stress biology, medicine, and epidemiology. She is an MPI of the ECHO PATHWAYS award (CANDLE, TIDES, and GAPPS cohorts) and a Center Director/Site PI for the NYU award (TIDES).
Date: Wednesday, February 8th, 1 to 2pm ET

Claudia Lugo-Candelas: Perinatal Sleep Health and Offspring Neurodevelopment
2023-03-08 13:00 - 14:00
Claudia Lugo-Candelas: Perinatal Sleep Health and Offspring Neurodevelopment
Key Takeaways:

Many pregnant people struggle with disrupted sleep and assume that it is a normal part of pregnancy, but there are interventions that can help pregnant people sleep better.
Prior research demonstrates a relationship between prenatal sleep and birth outcomes, and new data suggests prenatal sleep disruptions may increase childhood risk for neurodevelopmental conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and sleep problems.
Discrimination-related disparities may affect prenatal sleep in minority communities, potentially contributing to disparities in birth outcomes and child neurodevelopmental outcomes.

Speaker:
Claudia Lugo-Candelas, PhD
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Columbia University Medical Center
New York State Psychiatric Institute

Speaker Bio:
Dr. Lugo-Candelas is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in the perinatal programming of risk and resilience for neurodevelopmental disorders. She obtained a B.A. from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at Columbia University in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Division. She is now the Bender-Fishbein Scholar in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Columbia University, where her lab focuses on better understand the early development of inhibitory control difficulties, particularly within developmental disorders such as ADHD. The Lugo Lab is particularly committed to understanding the exposures and experiences that are most relevant to communities that are minoritized, underserved, and underrepresented and particularly interested in examining sleep health in the perinatal period as a mechanism of intergenerational transmission of adversity.
Date: Wednesday, March 8th, 1 to 2pm ET
Slides

Thomas G. O'Connor: Prenatal Origins of Child Neurodevelopmental Outcomes: From Exposures to Mechanisms
2023-04-12 13:00 - 14:00
Thomas G. O’Connor: Prenatal Origins of Child Neurodevelopmental Outcomes: From Exposures to Mechanisms
Key Takeaways:

Many common exposures during pregnancy have been linked with neurodevelopmental outcomes in children.
It’s important to expand the evaluation of prenatal exposures beyond traditional chemical exposures (e.g., lead, tobacco) to include the effects of stress, mood disorders, and illness on childhood cognitive development.
Broadening this focus allows researchers to expand their understanding of what defines a “healthy pregnancy” and identify the biological mechanisms underpinning the complex relationship between prenatal exposures and childhood cognitive development.
Understanding these mechanisms will help researchers and clinicians develop assessments and screening tools that facilitate early interventions or treatments.

Speaker:
Thomas G. O’Connor, PhD
Departments of Psychiatry, Psychology, Neuroscience, and Obstetrics and Gynecology
University of Rochester Medical Center, NY

Speaker Bio:
Dr. O’Connor is the Wynne Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Psychiatry, Psychology, Neuroscience, and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Rochester. He is a clinical psychologist with 20 years of clinical research experience studying the mechanisms of pre- and post-natal influences on child behavioral and physical health outcomes.
Date: Wednesday, April 12th, 1 to 2pm ET
Slides

Alison E. Hipwell: What Can the Preconception Period Tell Us About Maternal and Child Health?
2023-05-10 13:00 - 14:00
Alison E. Hipwell: What Can the Preconception Period Tell Us About Maternal and Child Health?
Key Takeaways:

Previous research shows that maternal stress and distress during pregnancy can be linked to infant and child health outcomes, but researchers need more specific information about this relationship to design effective mental health screening and intervention strategies.
Studies that look at stress exposures over the course of the extended preconception period (the period before a person becomes pregnant, extending back to their own childhood) have shown that the type, timing, and duration of stress a mother experiences may be related to their child’s ultimate health and well-being.
Assessing mental health during childhood and adolescence could help identify individuals who are at high risk for mood disorders (e.g., depression) later during pregnancy, enabling mental health interventions before pregnancy that may prevent or reduce negative health outcomes for both mother and child.
Understanding the pathways through which exposures during the extended preconception period affect future pregnancy and childhood health is essential to help researchers and clinicians design appropriate, well-timed interventions that can disrupt cross-generational health disparities.

Speaker:
Alison E. Hipwell, PhD, ClinPsyD
Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology
University of Pittsburgh, PA

Speaker Bio:
Dr Alison Hipwell is a Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. She obtained a PhD in developmental psychopathology from the Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London and a clinical psychology doctorate from the University of East Anglia in the UK. Her program of research uses life course models to understand reproductive mental health and intergenerational models of stress. As part of the investigative team of the longitudinal Pittsburgh Girls Study for the past 22 years, Dr. Hipwell has been testing hypotheses focused on risk and protective pathways and stress regulation mechanisms for peripartum health, modifiable buffers of negative effects and prospective associations with social, emotional and behavioral outcomes in infants and children.
Date: Wednesday, May 10th, 1 to 2pm ET

Aris & Smith: Neighborhood Opportunities and Disparities in Child Health Outcomes & Lung Function Measured by Oscillometry in the Healthy Start and PETALS Cohorts
2023-06-14 13:00 - 14:00
Aris: Neighborhood Opportunities and Disparities in Child health Outcomes
Smith: Lung Function Measured by Oscillometry in the Healthy Start and PETALS Cohorts
Key Takeaways:
Izzuddin M. Aris, PhD (Harvard Medical School)
Neighborhood Opportunities and Disparities in Child Health Outcomes

Many studies that examine disparities in child health outcomes focus on individual socioeconomic factors that contribute to neighborhood disadvantage (e.g., high poverty rates), but these analyses may not adequately capture the totality of early-life social experiences.
ECHO research found that children who lived in neighborhoods with higher levels of opportunity during early life were at less risk for developing obesity and had lower asthma incidence, highlighting the importance of community-level interventions that can address the structures that consistently compromise the health of marginalized communities and promote overall health equity.

Kate Hamlington Smith, PhD (Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus)
Lung Function Measured by Oscillometry in the Healthy Start and Pregnancy Environment and Lifestyle Study (PETALS) Cohorts

Oscillometry—a technique for measuring lung function and respiratory health—can be easily used with young children in a variety of settings, helping researchers measure and evaluate the role of maternal health in childhood lung function.
By studying early life exposures and measuring lung function in childhood, researchers can identify the exposures that may be modified to protect lung health and decrease the risk of developing respiratory diseases.

Speakers:
Izzuddin M. Aris, PhD
Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Division of Chronic Disease Research Across the Lifecourse, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute

Speaker Bio: Dr. Aris is an epidemiologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute. He earned his BSc in Biomedical Sciences in 2010, and PhD in Epidemiology in 2015, both from the National University of Singapore.

Kate Hamlington Smith, PhD
Pediatric Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine
Children’s Hospital Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Speaker Bio: Dr. Hamlington Smith is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Section of Pediatric Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Children’s Hospital Colorado, where she studies the progression of asthma and complex respiratory diseases in early childhood. She received her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Tulane University, followed by post-doctoral study in lung physiology at the University of Vermont.
Date: Wednesday, June 14th, 1 to 2pm ET|
Dr. Aris’s Slides
Dr. Smith’s Slides

Liang & Lewis: DNA methylation of myelinating genes measured in peripheral samples predicts brain white matter volume in a healthy pediatric cohort and Effects of prenatal exposure to Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposure on maternal and newborn metabolome and fetal growth: the PFAS Exposures And Child Health (PEACH) Study
2023-07-12 13:00 - 14:00
Liang: Effects of prenatal exposure to Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposure on maternal and newborn metabolome and fetal growth: the PFAS Exposures And Child Health (PEACH) Study.
Lewis: DNA methylation of myelinating genes measured in peripheral samples predicts brain white matter volume in a healthy pediatric cohort
Key Takeaways:
Donghai Liang, PhD, MPH (Emory University)
Effects of prenatal exposure to Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances on maternal and newborn metabolome and fetal growth: the PFAS Exposures and Child Health (PEACH) Study

Exposure to PFAS is very prevalent in the U.S. through everyday products like food packaging, non-stick cookware, and stain-resistant fabrics. Many studies have already demonstrated how PFAS exposure can be linked to poor birth outcomes, such as lower birth weights, but there is little information on why this relationship exists.
ECHO researchers evaluated levels of PFAS in the blood of mothers and newborns, finding that during gestation many newborns were exposed to PFAS which may have disrupted the balance of certain chemical processes in their bodies. In the future, early detection of PFAS in maternal blood samples during pregnancy could help researchers and clinicians identify individuals at risk for preterm birth, which is linked to a variety of negative health outcomes in infancy and childhood.

Candace Lewis, PhD (University of Arizona)
DNA methylation of myelinating genes measured in peripheral samples predicts brain white matter volume in healthy pediatric cohort

Understanding how epigenetic patterns—changes in the ways genes are expressed—in the brain are influenced by environmental factors is important to help researchers better analyze the role of environmental factors on mental health. However, it can be difficult to evaluate these patterns because brain tissue is difficult to collect.
Recent ECHO research indicates that peripheral biosamples, such as blood or saliva, can be used in combination with neuroimaging data to assess how epigenetic patterns and brain structure may be influenced by environmental factors. Future studies could use this technique to evaluate the relationship between environmental factors, epigenetic patterns that shape brain structure and function, and mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.

Speakers:

Donghai Liang, PhD
Emory University
Rollins School of Public Health

Speaker Bio:
Dr. Donghai Liang is an Assistant Professor at the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, where he holds a primary appointment in Environmental Health and a secondary appointment in Epidemiology. Dr. Liang is broadly trained in exposure science and molecular epidemiology with strong expertise and publication record of over 65 peer-reviewed articles in exposure assessment and health research, high-throughput data analysis, and omics-based technologies. His research focuses on measuring multi-dimensional exposures and elucidating the molecular mechanisms that account for the complex health responses to environmental mixtures, including ambient and traffic-related air pollution, as well as persistent organic pollutants. More recently, Dr. Liang has shifted the majority of his effort towards incorporating high throughput omics technologies, especially the high-resolution metabolomics and multi-omics integration, into investigations on the molecular mechanisms and disease etiology associated with ubiquitous environmental exposures.

Candace Lewis, PhD
University of Arizona
School of Life Sciences and Dept. Of Psychology

Speaker Bio: Dr. Candace Lewis, MC, PhD is an assistant professor at Arizona State University with a joint position between the Biology and Psychology departments. Dr. Lewis leads The BEAR Lab (Brain, Epigenetics, & Altered states Research) with a focus on how psychological experiences shape neurobiology underlying mental health. Specifically, the lab studies how social experiences can alter epigenetic regulation in mental-health related gene systems, and alternatively, how psychedelic-assisted therapy may reduce symptoms through similar processes.
Date: Wednesday, July 12th, 1 to 2pm ET
Dr. Liang’s Slides
Dr. Lewis’s Slides

Dr. Matthew Gillman: Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) A Nationwide Resource for Child Health Research
2023-08-09 13:00 - 14:00
Dr. Matthew Gillman: Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) A Nationwide Resource for Child Health Research
Speakers:

Matthew W. Gillman, MD, SM
National Institutes of Health
Director, Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program

Key Takeaways:

Founded in 2016, the ECHO Program has brought together over 100,000 participants and hundreds of researchers who have collaborated to conduct research that can inform programs, policies, and practices.
ECHO research findings reflect the collaborative work of the ECHO Cohorts and the ECHO IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network (ISPCTN) across five child health areas: pre-, peri- and postnatal health, upper and lower airways, obesity, neurodevelopment, and positive health. ECHO research also reflects cross-cutting themes, including diversity, equity and inclusion; team science; solution-oriented research; and stakeholder engagement.
During this presentation, Dr. Gillman reviewed some key ECHO research results and reflected on the unique strengths of the ECHO Program, including its dual focus on observational and intervention research. On the observational side, the ECHO Cohorts boast a large, diverse, nationwide sample of children and their families. On the intervention side, the ISPCTN features access to state-of-the-art clinical trials in rural or underserved communities.
Moving into the future, ECHO will continue to build on its achievements and lessons learned to conduct research that will enhance the health of children for generations to come.

Speaker Bio:
Dr. Gillman joined the National Institutes of Health in 2016 as the inaugural director of the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program. Dr. Gillman came to NIH from Harvard Medical School, where he was a professor of population medicine and director of the Obesity Prevention Program, and Harvard School of Public Health, where he was a professor of nutrition. With background in the fields of internal medicine, pediatrics, and epidemiology, he has led cohort studies and randomized controlled trials and published widely in prevention of chronic disease across the life course. Dr. Gillman won mentoring awards at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, and has served in several national and international leadership positions, including on the United States Preventive Services Task Force and for the International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, from which he won the David Barker Medal in 2017. His clinical experience includes primary care for children and adults, and preventive cardiology among children.
Date: Wednesday, August 9th, 1 to 2pm ET
Dr. Gillman’s Slides

Drs. Young and Devlin: Opportunities to ACT NOW for Infants with Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal
2023-09-13 13:00 - 14:00
Drs. Young and Devlin: Opportunities to ACT NOW for Infants with Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome
Key Takeaways:

The opioid crisis has increased the number of infants who are exposed to opioids during pregnancy. Opioid-exposed newborns may develop symptoms of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS), which includes tremors, excessive crying and irritability, and problems with sleeping and feeding.

The care provided to infants with NOWS varies across hospitals, which is due in part to a lack of evidence to support a standard approach to care. A recent clinical trial provides evidence to support the use of the Eat, Sleep, Console (ESC) care approach, which provides a function-based assessment of withdrawal severity centered around how well an infant can eat, sleep, and be consoled. ESC prioritizes and emphasizes non-pharmacologic care, including increased family presence, holding, swaddling, and rocking in low-stimulus environments, as first-line treatment.

Newborns cared for with ESC were medically ready for discharge approximately 6.7 days earlier on average, and they were 63% less likely to receive medication as part of their treatment when compared to newborns given the usual care.

This research was made possible because the NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term® Initiative brought together two existing networks of many institutions that specialize in pediatric research:

ECHO’s Institutional Development Award (IDeA) States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network (ISPCTN)
The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Neonatal Research Network

Speakers:

Leslie W. Young, MD
University of Vermont
Larner College of Medicine

Speaker Bio:
Leslie Young, MD is a practicing neonatologist at the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital and an associate professor of pediatrics in the Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont. Dr. Young’s research is currently focused on optimizing the care provided to infants following in-utero opioid exposure and on improving long-term outcomes for these infants and their families. She is involved in NIH HEAL Initiative®-sponsored research programs including the Advancing Clinical Trials in Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Collaborative, a collaboration between ECHO ISPCTN and the NICHD Neonatal Research Network. Dr. Young is a principal investigator for Improving Pediatric Access to Clinical Trials in Vermont, Vermont’s ISPCTN site, where she works to increase the representation of rural and underserved populations in clinical trials. Dr. Young completed her undergraduate studies in psychology at Creighton University before receiving her medical degree at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont.

Lori Devlin, DO, MHA, MS
University of Louisville School of Medicine

Speaker Bio:
Dr. Lori Devlin is a practicing neonatologist with the Norton Children’s Medical Group and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. Her research is focused on NOWS, and she is currently a lead study investigator for two NIH HEAL Initiative®-supported multicenter randomized controlled trials. She is a Multiple Principal Investigator at the Kentucky ECHO IDeA States Pediatrics Clinical Trial Network site and at the HEAL Evaluation of Limited Pharmacotherapies for Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome Consortium.
Date: Wednesday, September 13th, 1 to 2pm ET
Join Zoom Meeting- https://duke.zoom.us/j/91562266720?pwd=[REDACTED]
Drs. Young and Devlin’s Slides

Dr. Claudia Thompson: Identifying and Responding to Climate Change as an Emerging Children’s Health Issue
2023-10-11 13:00 - 14:00
Dr. Claudia Thompson: Identifying and Responding to Climate Change as an Emerging Children’s Health Issue
Key Takeaways:
Dr. Claudia Thompson’s presentation will focus on the following topics:

Overview of the NIH Climate Change and Human Health Initiative
Overview of climate change on children’s health broadly
Examples of climate change impacts on respiratory and neurodevelopment outcomes
Intersection of climate change, social determinants of health contributing to health disparities
Opportunities and resources

Speakers:

Claudia Thompson, Ph.D. (she, her, hers)
Chief, Population Health Branch
Program Director, Environmental Health Sciences Core Centers
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Speaker Bio:
Claudia Thompson, PhD is Chief of the Population Health Branch (PHB) in the Division of Extramural and Training at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois and her PhD in Biochemistry and Nutrition from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the Program Director for the Environmental Health Sciences Core Centers and co-director of the Human Health Exposure Analysis Resource. She represents NIEHS on the NIH-wide steering committee for the NIH Climate Change and Health InitiativeClaudia Thompson, PhD is Chief of the Population Health Branch (PHB) in the Division of Extramural and Training at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois and her PhD in Biochemistry and Nutrition from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the Program Director for the Environmental Health Sciences Core Centers and co-director of the Human Health Exposure Analysis Resource. She represents NIEHS on the NIH-wide steering committee for the NIH Climate Change and Health Initiative

Presentation Link
https://duke.zoom.us/j/91562266720?pwd=[REDACTED]
Dr. Claudia Thompson’s Slides

Dr. Wei Perng: Understanding the natural history of cardiovascular health across early-life
2023-11-08 13:00 - 14:00
Dr. Wei Perng: Understanding the natural history of cardiovascular health across early-life
Key Takeaways:
This talk describes cohort-specific findings regarding the natural history of cardiovascular health in children and adolescents, presents objectives of a related ECHO-wide analysis, and provides an overview of pursuits for extramural funding to identify targets for primordial prevention of CVD through optimization of early-life cardiovascular health among U.S. youth.
Speakers:

Wei Perng, PhD MPH
Colorado School of Public Health
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Speaker Bio:
Wei Perng, PhD MPH, is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Colorado School of Public Health and Associate Director of Research Training and Education at the Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes (LEAD) Center at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. She is a lifecourse and ‘omics epidemiologist interested in the developmental pathways of excess adiposity and cardiometabolic risk among youth.

Presentation Link (will be inactive until day of the presentation)
https://duke.zoom.us/j/91562266720?pwd=[REDACTED]

Dr. Akhgar Ghassabian: Prenatal Air Pollution Exposure and Risk of Autism: New Insight from ECHO Cohorts
2023-12-13 13:00 - 14:00
Prenatal Air Pollution Exposure and Risk of Autism: New Insight from ECHO Cohorts
Key Takeaways:

In the past decade, air pollution has substantially declined in the US because of policies informed by environmental monitoring and research.
A recent analysis of EPA data shows a reversal of trends, confirming that a national decade-long trend toward better air quality might be reversing.
Concerns are increasing regarding adverse health outcomes of low-level air pollution.
Given the emerging evidence that shows the potential role of environmental chemical exposures in the etiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the need to identify air pollution exposure as a modifiable risk factor of ASD is warranted.

Speaker:

Akhgar Ghassabian, MD PhD
NYU Grossman School of Medicine
NYU Langone’s Center for the Investigation of Environmental Hazards

Speaker Bio:
Dr. Ghassabian obtained her medical degree from Tehran University of Medical Sciences and completed a master’s and a PhD in epidemiology at Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands. She was the Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) fellow at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Currently, she is Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
