ECHO Opportunities and Innovation Fund (OIF)
About the OIF
Guided by ECHO’s Scientific Focus Areas, investigators propose projects that introduce new research, tools, and technologies to the ECHO Program. The projects cover a wide range of factors and exposures that affect child health. The OIF also supports early career investigators’ professional development by aiding them in leading a research study.
OIF by the Numbers
- • Established in 2016
- • 80+ investigators funded
- • $200,000 per award
- • 2-year funding period
- • 59 publications accepted (as of April 2026)
OIF Accomplishments
The OIF aims to foster scientific innovation, career development, and collaboration within ECHO. At the May 2026 ECHO Discovery Webinar, Linda Adair, PhD, presented the OIF’s accomplishments to date. The presentation also featured OIF recipients sharing their research results and how the award supported their career development.
OIF Award Recipients
There have been over 80 ECHO investigators supported by OIF awards. Learn more about the recipients and their projects at the links below.
“Every time I said yes to something in ECHO, it was rewarding; it was a launch pad for another career development opportunity; and, most importantly, it was an opportunity to support the health of children for generations to come.”
Traci Bekelman, PhD, MPH
Former OIF Awardee
OIF Publications and Presentations
OIF recipients frequently share their research and results on ECHO Discovery webinars. These presentations represent the vast range of data collected and topic areas covered by the OIF to contribute to knowledge about child health.
2026
Early Life PFAS Exposure and Child Health: Evidence from the NIH ECHO Cohort
Alicia Peterson, PhD
2025
Air Pollution and Temperature as Spatial Factors Impacting Child Health
Allan C. Just, PhD
Where There’s Smoke…There’s Action? What ECHO Can do to Protect Children from Wildfire Smoke
Christine Loftus, PhD, MS, MPH
Predictors of Child Eating and Parent Feeding in the ECHO Cohort
Maxwell Mansolf, PhD
2024
Cross-Cohort Mixture Analysis: A Data Integration Approach with Applications on Child Health Outcomes
Elena Colicino, PhD, MSc
Untargeted Analysis of Microsamplers: The Utility of Dried Capillary Blood Spots for Exposome Research
Lauren Petrick, PhD
2023
Prenatal Air Pollution Exposure and Risk of Autism: New Insight from ECHO Cohorts
Akhgar Ghassabian, MD, PhD
DNA Methylation of Myelinating Genes Measured in Peripheral Samples Predicts Brain White Matter Volume in Healthy Pediatric Cohort
Candace Lewis, PhD
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
Donghai Liang, PhD, MPH
Lung Function Measured by Oscillometry in the Healthy Start and Pregnancy Environment and Lifestyle Study (PETALS) Cohorts
Katharine Hamlington Smith, PhD
Neighborhood Opportunities and Disparities in Child health Outcomes
Izzuddin M. Aris, PhD
2022
Bridging Differences Across Cohorts in the Relationship Between Prenatal Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Birth Weight: Transportability of Effect Estimates in the ECHO Consortium
Andreas Neophytou, ScD
Green Spaces and Health: Novel Metrics in Exposure and Outcome Assessment
Peter James, ScD, MHS
Tell It Like It Is! How to Share Individual Chemical Results With Your ECHO Participants Using DERBI (Digital Exposure Report Back Interface)
Amy Padula, PhD
2021
Validation of Shortened Versions for the Social Responsiveness Scale: Implications for ECHO and Quantitative Trait Research
Kristen Lyall, ScD
Integration of Non-Nutritive Suck and Eye Tracking as Markers of Neurodevelopment Across Five ECHO Cohorts
Emily Zimmerman, PhD