ECHO

Barry M. Lester: Newborn Neurobehavior Predicts 2 Year Developmental Outcome in Preterm Infants
2022-07-13 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Carmen M. Vélez Vega: Community Engagement and Report Back the Story of PROTECT-ECHO in Puerto Rico
2021-07-14 13:00 - 14:00 | 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

Dr. Johnnye Lewis: Navajo Birth Cohort: Understanding Diversity, Disparity, and Resilience Through ECHO
2021-06-09 13:00 - 14:00 | WebEx
Dr. Johnnye Lewis: Navajo Birth Cohort: Understanding Diversity,
Disparity, and Resilience Through ECHO

ECHO Discovery Summary
Navajo Birth Cohort: Understanding Diversity, Disparity, and Resilience through ECHO
Dr. Johnnye Lewis of the University of New Mexico gave a presentation where she discussed the ECHO Program’s Navajo Birth Cohort.
In 2019, NIH facilitated a data-sharing and use agreement between the Navajo Nation and ECHO Program grantees. The agreement was created to respect Navajo Nation cultural beliefs, Tribal sovereignty, and community values. The first Tribal data-sharing agreement for a nationwide research consortium creating a large-scale database, it lays the groundwork for discussion with other Tribal Nations considering participation in biomedical research programs.
During her presentation, Dr. Lewis highlighted the importance of understanding diversity, disparity, and resilience of indigenous peoples in research and ECHO’s role in building and maintaining diversity of these peoples among its cohorts.
In a follow-up conversation with Dr. Lewis, she discussed the Navajo Birth Cohort and why it’s important to include indigenous peoples in child health research.
Understanding Tribal Sovereignty
The Navajo population holds a unique position in the country as the first and only peoples who retain their sovereign (self-governance) status within the U.S., says Dr. Lewis. Sovereignty is the basis for holding a negotiation status on policies of the federal government that impact tribal members, and for their control and ownership of data collected on tribal lands.
“The mistreatment of indigenous peoples has occurred through a series of broken treaty promises since the time of first contact,” Dr Lewis notes. “This process has been formally documented within the congressional record as lands guaranteed in perpetuity have been taken away.”
The Navajo Birth Cohort and ECHO
While the Navajo Birth Cohort is not the only source of tribal participants in ECHO, their recruitment across tribal lands and by tribal members makes this cohort the most representative of an indigenous population as a whole still living on tribal land.
“The Navajo Birth Cohort has already raised questions on the appropriateness of assessment tools, understanding the potential variability in developmental trajectories, and continuing to remain sensitive to the appropriateness for our tools and methods before interpreting our data and generalizing our results,” says Dr. Lewis.
Through inclusion of the broad range of cohorts in ECHO, and making sure that all remain included and the variability continues to be examined, ECHO provides the opportunity through its research efforts to truly understand factors that contribute to child health and development in the U.S. population.
Speaker:
Dr. Johnnye Lewis, PhD
University of New Mexico

Speaker Bio: Dr. Johnnye Lewis is a toxicologist and the founder and Director of the Community Environmental Health Program at the University of New Mexico’s Health Sciences Center College of Pharmacy. She holds a MA in Psychology (University of Victoria), Ph.D. in Pharmacology (University of Manitoba), and did her postdoctoral work in inhalation toxicology at the DOE Inhalation Toxicology Research Institute. After running her own environmental health consulting business, she went to the University of New Mexico in 1996 and began building community/research partnerships, primarily with Indigenous communities, to address environmental injustice concerns through team science that integrates population and field studies with mechanistic laboratory studies to link exposures to outcomes, confirm mechanisms, and develop environmental and health interventions to reduce risk. She is the Director of the UNM METALS Superfund Center (NIEHS), MPI of the Navajo Birth Cohort/ECHO study (NIH-OD) and of the Center for Native American Environmental Health Research Equity (NIMHD).

Date: Tuesday, June 9th, 1 to 2pm
Slides

Kannan/Buckley: Assessment of Exposure to Chemicals of Uncertain Body Burden and Multi-panel Chemical Assay for Analysis in ECHO
2021-05-12 13:00 - 14:00 | WebEx
Assessment of Exposure to Chemicals of Uncertain Body Burden and Multi-panel Chemical Assay for Analysis in ECHO

Speakers:
Dr. Kurunthachalam Kannan, PhD
Department of Pediatrics, New York University School of Medicine

Speaker Bio: Dr. Kurunthachalam Kannan is a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Environmental Pediatrics at New York University School of Medicine. He has published over 750 research articles in peer-reviewed journals, 25 book chapters and co-edited a book. Dr. Kannan is the top 5 most highly cited researchers (ISI) in Ecology/Environment globally with an H-index of 135 (google scholar) or 114 (scopus). He is known for his work on the discovery of perfluorochemicals in the global environment, among several other emerging chemicals of human health concern. His research program incorporates a unique combination of biomonitoring and environmental monitoring of human exposure to organic pollutants. He has mentored over 20 graduate students and advised over 70 postdoctoral research associates in his laboratory.

Dr. Jessie Buckley, PhD, MPH
Environmental Health and Engineering & Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health

Speaker Bio: Dr. Jessie Buckley, PhD, MPH is an Associate Professor of Environmental Health & Engineering and Epidemiology (joint) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. As an environmental and pediatric/perinatal epidemiologist, her research aims to characterize environmental exposures during early life and determine their effects on child growth and development. Dr. Buckley earned her MPH in Environmental and Occupational Health from the George Washington University and PhD in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Date: Tuesday, May 12th, 1 to 2pm
Slides

Questions/Comments and Feedback:
Can you comment on how many standards were not available? Also, your thoughts on our prioritization process vs. what chemicals were eventually ended up being measured. Will be such a great resource for many many research projects.
Response: Thanks. We contacted every commercial vendor of analytical standards in North America and some European vendors. We were able to acquire all 121 native standards. However isotope labeled internal standards were available only for 92 compounds. Isotope labeled standards are important for accurate quantification. However, if we have multiple isomers of a same compound, one isotope labeled standard is sufficient to cover all isomers. The publication in Journal of Chromatography A volume 1646, #462146 has the list of all 121 chemicals.

What is the length of time for the steps in the analytic method development?
Response: I assume the question is about how long it took to develop the method described. Two well trained postdocs along with a technician worked on this project and it took 6 months to have a method ready, but some fine tuning was done after that which took 3 months. So in 9 months we had the method available (after all validation and participation in analysis of proficiency testing samples).

Could you spend a moment discussing the variability of sample preparation and storage affecting analyses in these broad analyses.
Response: The variability in sample preparation and analysis was tested by repeated analysis of same sample. The RSD was <11% for all of the 121 chemicals. We did not test if storage conditions would affect concentrations of analytes as this was beyond the scope of the method. We assume that we receive samples stored at -20 deg C for analysis. Storage of urine below that would definitely affect concentrations of several analytes.

As we look at prioritizing use of the ECHO Type C specimens, what areas would you emphasize for consideration to make sure we make optimal use of this precious resource.
Response: Great question. ECHO’s Chemical Exposures Working Group provided recommendations to NIH for Type A/B samples and we are now working on long-range planning for bioassay prioritization (including Type C samples) to fill gaps in ECHO’s biomonitoring platform. There are many factors to consider and we will be reaching out to other working groups for input on what bioassay data are needed to address high-impact, solution-oriented questions about chemical exposures and child health.

Dana Dabelea: Developmental Origins of Pediatric Obesity and Diabetes- What We Know and Don’t Know
2021-04-13 13:00 - 14:00 | WebEx
Developmental Origins of Pediatric Obesity and Diabetes- What We Know and Don’t Know

Speakers:

Dana Dabelea, MD, PhD
Professor of Epidemiology and Pediatrics, and Director of the Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes (LEAD)
University of Colorado at Denver

Speaker Bio: Dr. Dabelea, MD, PhD is Professor of Epidemiology and Pediatrics, and Director of the Lifecourse Epidemiology of Adiposity and Diabetes (LEAD) Center at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus (UC AMC). She is a national leader in studies of the prenatal and postnatal developmental, environmental and behavioral factors contributing to childhood obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes, and their consequences throughout the lifespan. Her experience includes perinatal, pediatric and adult studies with community-based and clinic-based sampling, and longitudinal follow-up. As Director on the LEAD Center she oversees several NIH and CDC -funded grants totaling a budget of over $ 18 million. Dr. Dabelea has a record of engaging and mentoring students, fellows and junior faculty across many research projects. Dr. Dabelea is a recipient of the UC AMC Graduate School’s Mentoring Award, the American Diabetes Association Kelly West Award for Epidemiology, and UC System Elizabeth D. Gee Memorial Lectureship Award, which recognizes and honors an outstanding faculty member of the University of Colorado for efforts to advance women in academia, interdisciplinary scholarly contributions, and distinguished teaching. She received her MD degree (1990) and her PhD degree in Clinical Sciences (1997) from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, Romania.
Date: Tuesday, April 13 , 1 to 2pm
Slides

O'Shea/Fry: Early Life Origins of Health Among Individuals Born Extremely Preterm
2021-02-10 13:00 - 14:00 | WebEx
Early Life Origins of Health Among Individuals Born Extremely Preterm

ECHO Discovery Summary
Preterm Birth and Long-Term Health Outcomes
ECHO Researchers Dr. Michael O’Shea, MD, MPH of the UNC Chapel Hill Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine and Dr. Rebecca Fry, PhD of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health gave a presentation about the Extremely Low Gestational Age Newborn (ELGAN) study. Dr. O’Shea and Dr. Fry presented the objectives of the ELGAN study and its findings in their presentation on ‘Early Life Origins of Health Among Individuals Born Extremely Preterm’.
The ELGAN Cohort focuses on researching mechanisms that could link preterm birth to long-term health outcomes, such as chronic health and developmental disorders. Through the ECHO Program, ELGAN has been able to expand to obesity, asthma, positive health (well-being, life satisfaction, global health), blood pressure, and renal (kidney) outcome areas. Dr. O’Shea provided an overview of the study, which has followed more than 1,000 babies born at least 3 months early, between 2002 and 2004, at 14 different hospitals in five states. The ELGAN study confirmed strong relationships between neonatal inflammation and neurodevelopmental outcomes, an area of ECHO research. Researchers have previously established that neonatal inflammation is associated with a broad suite of children’s health outcomes.
Another goal of ELGAN is to research perinatal influences on child health. One of the organs that researchers focused on was the placenta, which is important for the developing fetus. Dr. Fry emphasized that data from the study indicates placental weight is linked to both prenatal exposures and later life adverse health outcomes. This suggests the possibility that placenta epigenetics links early life exposures and later life outcome.
ELGAN is now studying the cohort’s teenagers’ health and well-being, including reasoning skills, behavior, emotions, sleep patterns, and overall quality of life. A key conclusion that both presenters highlighted is that similar studies are needed for diverse socioeconomic contexts and more recent birth cohorts. This will help lead to more indicative data for further findings in this area of neonatal and perinatal research. You can learn more about the ELGAN study and its research by watching the presentation.
Speakers:

Michael O’Shea, MD, MPH
Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Speaker Bio: Michael O’Shea, MD, MPH, received his undergraduate, medical school, and masters degrees, as well as residency training in internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of North Carolina. He completed a fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at Duke University.

Rebecca Fry, PhD
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Rebecca Fry is the Carol Remmer Angle Distinguished Professor of Children’s Environmental Health at UNC-Chapel Hill. Dr. Fry is the Associate Chair in Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, the Director of the UNC Superfund Research Program, and founding Director of the Institute for Environmental Health Solutions. Dr. Fry is trained in molecular biology with a MS, and PHD from Tulane University and post-doctoral training at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Date: Wednesday, February 10 , 1 to 2pm
Slides

Manish Arora: Application of Tooth Matrix Biomarkers to Environmental Biodynamics
2021-01-13 13:00 - 14:00 | WebEx
Application of Tooth Matrix Biomarkers to Environmental Biodynamics

Speakers:

Manish Arora, PhD
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Speaker Bio:
Dr. Arora is an exposure biologist and environmental epidemiologist with training in advanced analytical chemistry methods. He was awarded an Australian government scholarship to study the uptake of environmental metal toxicants and its impact on human health. He was later accepted as postdoctoral fellow at the Environmental and Occupational Medicine and Epidemiology program at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is current a Professor and Vice Chairman of Environmental Medicine and Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, as well as Division Chief of Environmental Health, and Director of the Laboratory for Exposomic Innovation and Precision Environmental Medicine.
Dr. Arora has developed sophisticated laboratory methods to measure chemical signatures in teeth and hair as markers of environmental chemical exposures, with a focus on reconstructing early life exposure history.
Date: Wednesday, January 13, 1 to 2pm

Slides

Ann Davis: “Updates to a Trial as a Result of COVID: iAmHealthy in the ISPCTN”
2020-12-09 13:00 - 14:00 | WebEx
Updates to a Trial as a Result of COVID: iAmHealthy in the ISPCTN

Speakers:

Ann Davis, Ph.D., MPH, ABPP
University of Kansas Medical Center

Speaker Bio:
Ann Davis graduated from the University of Kansas with degrees in both Psychology and English. She go her PhD in Clinical Psychology at Western Michigan University, and completed her psychology internship at Father Flanagan’s Boys Home in Nebraska. After a two year research fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center she returned to her native home in Kansas, to accept a faculty position at the University of Kansas Medical Center in the Department of Pediatrics.
Ann founded the pediatric obesity program at KUMC called Healthy Hawks, studying healthy lifestyles in children. Ann and her team have attained funding from the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies.
Date: Wednesday, December 9, 1 to 2pm
Slides

Leve/Neiderhiser: Early Growth and Development Study: How Different Family Constellations Can Inform Science
2020-11-11 13:00 - 14:00 | WebEx
Early Growth and Development Study: How Different Family Constellations Can Inform Science

Speakers:

Leslie Leve, PhD
College of Education, University of Oregon

Janae Neiderhiser, PhD
Department of Psychology, Penn State University

Discussant: Jody Ganiban, PhD
George Washington University

Speaker Bios: Dr .Leve is best known for her research on child and adolescent development, gene-environment interplay, and interventions for children and families. This includes preventive intervention studies with youth in foster care and with adolescents in the juvenile justice system aimed at preventing risk behaviors and improving public health outcomes, and adoption studies that examine the interplay between biological (genetic, hormonal), psychological, and social influences on development. She co-directs a center on parenting in the context of opioid use, and her work also focuses on outcomes for girls and women.
Dr. Jenae Neiderhiser is a Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State University and Associate Head of Psychology. She directs the Gene-Environment Research Initiative, and is affiliated with the Consortium to Combat Substance Abuse, the Social Science Research Institute, the Child Study Center, and the Center for Human Evolution and Diversity at Penn State, has been an investigator on NIH grants for over 20 years, and was president of the Behavior Genetics Association from 2018-19. Her PhD is in Human Development and Family Studies, and she has focused on how genes and environments work together across the lifespan using family based designs. Her interests are especially how social relationships including parenting, marriage, and sibling, are related to child and adolescent mental health. Over the past decade she has also incorporated early life experiences, notably prenatal environments, into her research. On ECHO Dr Neiderhiser is MPI on the Early Growth and Development Study pediatric cohorts with Drs. Leve and Ganiban, co-chairs the Protocol Implementation and Evaluation Committee and co-leads the Fathers, Other Caregivers, and Siblings Task Force.
Date: Wednesday, November 11, 1 to 2pm
For a copy of the slides, contact the ECHO Coordination Center.

Carlos Camargo: Heterogeneity of Severe Bronchiolitis: Implications for Acute Management and for Developing Asthma
2020-10-13 13:00 - 14:00 | WebEx
Heterogeneity of Severe Bronchiolitis: Implications for Acute Management and for Developing Asthma

Speaker:

Carlos Camargo, MD
Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital

Speaker Bio: Dr. Carlos Camargo is a Professor of Emergency Medicine, Medicine, and Epidemiology at Harvard University, and the Conn Chair in Emergency Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. He founded and leads the Emergency Medicine Network (or EMNet), an international research collaboration with 247 hospitals. Two EMNet cohorts are part of ECHO: the MARC-35 severe bronchiolitis cohort and MARC-43 healthy infant cohort. He also works on the role of nutrition in respiratory/allergy disorders, both in large cohort studies and in randomized controlled trials; the health effects of vitamin D are a major focus.
Dr Camargo is past president of the American College of Epidemiology, and has worked on several U.S. guidelines, including those on diet, asthma, and food allergy. He has >1,000 publications, with an H-index of 134.
Date: Tuesday, October 13, 1 to 2pm
Slides

Heather Volk: Moving ECHO Science Toward Gene-Environment Interaction for Neurodevelopmental Outcomes
2020-09-09 13:00 - 14:00 | WebEx
Moving ECHO Science Toward Gene-Environment Interaction for Neurodevelopmental Outcomes

Speaker:

Heather Volk. PhD, MPH
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Speaker Bio: Heather E. Volk is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is also Co-Director of the NICHD-funded Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC) at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, and Associate Director for Environmental Epidemiology in the Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities Research. Dr. Volk additionally is co-Director of the Psychiatric Epidemiology Traning program, supported by a Institutional Training grant (T32) from the National Institute of Mental Health. She also holds a joint appointment in the School’s Department of Environmental Health and Engineering. Dr. Volk earned a MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Boston University and a PhD in Public Health Studies (Epidemiology) at Saint Louis University, prior to post-doctoral training in Enviornmental Genomics through the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC). She, along with her team, studies how environmental and genetic factors work together to confer risk for neurodevelopmental outcomes, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). She is the PI of several NIH-funded research grants which examine how environmental exposures (air pollution, metals) effect brain development, epidemiologic studies of comorbidity with ASD, and leads investigations into joint genetic, epigenetic, and environmental risks for ASD. Dr. Volk additionally serves as co-PI for the Autism Spectrum Disorder Enriched Risk ECHO Cohort, a collaboration of nine cohorts of infants at high-familial risk for ASD.
Date: Wednesday, September 9, 1 to 2pm
Slides

Forrest/Ganiban: More than the Absence of Disease: Studying Positive Health in ECHO
2020-08-12 13:00 - 14:00 | WebEx
More than the Absence of Disease: Studying Positive Health in ECHO

Speaker:

Chris Forrest, MD, PhD
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Jody Ganiban, PhD
George Washington University

Speaker Bios: Chris Forrest is a Pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and the Director of the Applied Clinical Research Center. Dr. Forrest’s research focuses on developing novel ways of conducting multi-center pediatric applied clinical research and life course health science. He co-chairs the Positive Health Work Group within ECHO and is a member of the ECHO PRO core.
Dr. Ganiban’s early research focused on parent-child attachment relationships and child temperament, and development within groups of children that differed in their genetic, temperamental, or environmental risks for emotional and behavioral problems. Dr. Ganiban’s research has incorporated behavioral genetic research techniques to examine further the interplay between environmental factors and personal characteristics in determining children’s and parents’ emotional and physical health. Her recent projects include assessments of personality, temperament, and genetic makeup.
Topic:
Positive health is one of the five outcome priority areas for ECHO. It refers to having a state of physical, mental, and social well-being, and broadens our view of health as more than the absence of disease. In this presentation, we will present the science of positive health and ways to study it within ECHO.
Date: Wednesday, August 12, 1 to 2pm
Slides

Rob McConnell: Vaping: Risks to Children and Youth
2020-07-08 13:00 - 14:00
Vaping: Risks to Children and Youth

Speaker:

Rob McConnell, MD
Keck School of Medicine
University of Southern California

Speaker Bio: Rob McConnell is a physician and environmental epidemiologist, and Professor of Preventive Medicine. He directs the NIH/Environmental Protection Agency-supported Southern California Children’s Environmental Health Center. He has studied the effects of air pollution on children’s health, including the development of asthma and lung function deficits, and early markers for cardiovascular disease. Dr. McConnell has investigated susceptibility to the effects of environmental exposures conferred by psychosocial stress and social factors, exercise, genetics and co-exposures associated with housing conditions.
Topic: Vaping
Date: Wednesday, July 8, 1 to 2pm
Slides

Jessie Buckley: Estimating Effects of Exposure Mixtures on Child Health: Novel Methods for Solution-oriented ECHO Research
2020-06-17 13:00 - 14:00 | WebEx
Estimating Effects of Exposure Mixtures on Child Health: Novel Methods for Solution-oriented ECHO Research

Speaker:

Jessie Buckley, PhD, MPH
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
ECHO Data Analysis Center (DAC)

Speaker Bio: Jessie Buckley is an environmental and pediatric/perinatal epidemiologist, working on research to inform environmental policies targeted at improving children’s health. Her work looks at developmental origins of health and disease framework and focuses on determining effects of early life exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals on child physical growth and development. Using molecular epidemiology and advanced statistical approaches, she has conducted several studies evaluating the role of environmental chemical exposures in the development of childhood obesity. She has also researched the utility of biomarkers of exposure to several classes of environmental chemicals that have widespread human exposure, including phthalates.
Topic: Interest in understanding the combined effects of multiple exposures (i.e., mixtures) on children’s health is rapidly increasing, with a related proliferation of methods for estimating these effects. In this talk, Jessie will demonstrate two useful approaches for estimating mixtures effects – Bayesian kernel machine regression and quantile g-computation – with an application to endocrine disrupting chemical mixtures and childhood bone health. In addition, Jessie will introduce a novel statistical framework to advance solution-oriented mixtures research in ECHO by more directly informing practices, programs, and policies to improve children’s health.
Date: Wednesday, June 10, 1 to 2pm
Slides

Emily Oken: Using Cohort Studies to Understand Joint Effects of the Environment and Lifestyle on Health
2020-05-13 13:00 - 14:00 | WebEx
Using Cohort Studies to Understand Joint Effects of the Environment and Lifestyle on Health

Speaker:
Emily Oken
Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Inc

Speaker Bio: Dr. Oken was trained in internal medicine and pediatrics and is currently a Professor in the Department of Population Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, and in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Oken Directs the Division of Chronic Disease Research Across the Lifecourse within the Department of Population Medicine. Her research focuses on the influences of nutrition and other environmental factors during pregnancy and early childhood on pregnancy outcomes as well as long-term maternal and child health, especially cardiometabolic health, cognitive development, asthma, and atopy. Since 2016 she has led Project Viva, a pre-birth cohort study that has followed pregnant women and their children since 1999. Project Viva is currently conducting in follow-up visits with teens aged 17-19 and their moms. The team is doing a fantastic job weathering the challenges of transition to remote data collection.

Date: Wednesday, May 13, 1 to 2pm
Slides

Jim Gern: An Integrated Approach to Identifying Early Life Causes of Childhood Asthma
2020-04-20 13:00 - 14:00 | WebEx
An Integrated Approach to Identifying Early Life Causes of Childhood Asthma
Speaker:
James Gern
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison

Speaker Bio: Dr. James (Jim) Gern’s research group is conducting several NIH-funded translational research studies to define the role of viral infections and other environmental factors in the initiation and disease activity of asthma, and to identify interactions between host, viral and environmental factors (e.g. bacteria) that determine the severity of respiratory illnesses.
Outcome Areas: Airways
Date: Monday, April 20, 1 to 2pm
Slides

Bill Fifer: Sleep: Perchance to Find the Earliest Markers and Mediators of Childhood Disease and Positive Health
2020-03-11 13:00 - 14:00 | WebEx
Sleep: Perchance to Find the Earliest Markers and Mediators of Childhood Disease and Positive Health

Speaker:
Bill Fifer, PhD
Columbia University Medical Center

About the Speaker:
Dr. Fifer’s early work focused on the effects of prenatal experience on infant behavior and perception with a specific interest in the role of fetal and newborn learning. His current research interests focus on fetal and neonatal behavioral, physiological and central nervous system development. Current investigations in his laboratory include studies of fetal, newborn and premature infant neurobehavioral responses to environmental stimulation during sleep and the effects of prenatal exposures on later neurodevelopment. With local, national and international colleagues, his laboratory studies the effects of maternally mediated exposures on the developing fetus, early learning and memory, behavioral and cortical activity during environmental challenges, development of autonomic control during sleep, and assessment of risk adverse outcomes including placental dysfunction, sudden infant death, autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders. With local, national and international colleagues he is currently involved in several maternal/fetal/infant longitudinal cohort studies investigating early markers, mediators and mechanisms underlying the origins of health and disease.
Outcome Areas: Positive Health
Date: Wednesday, February 11, 1 to 2pm
Presentation Overview:
Dr. Fifer will discuss sleep and early markers, mediators and mechanisms underlying the origins of health and disease.
Slides

Paneth/Hirko: Identifying Opportunities for Implementation Science Approaches in the ECHO Program
2020-02-12 13:00 - 14:00 | WebEx
Identifying Opportunities for Implementation Science Approaches in the ECHO Program

Speaker:
Nigel Paneth, MD, MPH
Michigan State University

Kelly Hirko, PhD, MPH
Michigan State University

About the Speakers:
Nigel Paneth is a pediatrician and perinatal and child health epidemiologist with a particular interest in the causes and prevention of childhood neurodevelopmental handicap, especially cerebral palsy. After training in pediatrics and epidemiology, Dr. Paneth began his academic career at Columbia University in 1978 in the newly established Sergievsky Center, a research unit created to examine the etiology of epilepsy and other brain disorders. There he conducted studies of the relationship of perinatal medical care to patterns of fetal and infant mortality, particularly in premature infants. Dr. Paneth’s NIH-supported case-control study of cerebral palsy (CP) from 2009-2012 showed that considerable amounts of mRNA are reliably preserved on newborn blood spots, and hat gene expression in the newborn period differs in children who will later develop CP. His continued interest in CP is reflected in serving on the international task force on the definition and classification of CP.
Kelly Hirko is an epidemiologist and community-based researcher focusing on the role of lifestyle and behavioral factors on health disparities. Kelly recently completed the NCI’s Training Institute for Dissemination & Implementation Research in Cancer facilitated course and is interested in investigating the implementation of evidence-based interventions in tobacco cessation and interested in physical activity to address rural cancer disparities. Kelly earned her Master of Public Health degree in Epidemiology from the Boston University School of Public Health, and her PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Michigan School of Public Health. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Nutritional Epidemiology from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and is an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics at Michigan State University.
Outcome Areas: Airways
Date: Wednesday, February 12, 1 to 2pm
Presentation Overview:
Drs. Paneth and Hirko will use their cumulative epidemiology expertise to discuss opportunities with ECHO for implementation of methods to promote the systematic uptake of research findings and other evidence-based practives into routine practice, and to improve the quality and effectiveness of healthcare.

Slides

Richard Gershon: Advances in Pediatric Measurement Science: Implications in ECHO
2020-01-08 13:00 - 14:00 | WebEx
Advances in Pediatric Measurement Science: Implications in ECHO

Speaker:
Richard Gershon
Northwestern University

*If you would like CME credits for attending this presentation, please email Katherine.Simos@duke.edu*
About the Speaker:
Dr. Gershon is the Vice Chair for Research in Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Gershon has had a robust career in Patient Report Outcomes (PRO) and Performance Outcomes as he has acted as the principal investigator for the NIH Toolbox for the Assessment of Neurological Function and Behavior and the NIH Roadmap Patient – Reporting Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Technical Center. He has served as PI, MPI or co-investigator for over 70 NIH, DoD, and Foundation awards.
Topic Areas: PRO Core, Person-reported outcomes, Patient-reported outcomes
Date: Wednesday, January 8 11, 1 to 2pm
Slides
