NIH: ECHO Data Analysis Center Grant for Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes

NIH is establishing the new ECHO program to investigate the longitudinal impact of prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal environmental exposures on pediatric health outcomes with high public health impact. To do so, NIH will support multiple synergistic, prospective longitudinal studies using extant cohorts that represent variable environmental exposures (e.g., physical, chemical, biological, behavioral, social). These studies will collaborate on standardization and collection of core data elements to answer research questions of how environmental exposures impact one or more of four key pediatric outcomes. The program will be overseen by a Steering Committee of Investigators and an NIH Program Director, and an External Scientific Board. A separate, but related research effort, will support an IDeA States National Pediatric Clinical Research Network to help address access gaps for rural children by leveraging the infrastructure at existing IDeA state centers.

ECHO is being supported through 7 FOAs, including this FOA inviting applications for the ECHO Data Analysis Center. In addition, FOAs are being released to solicit applications to support new research questions for existing cohorts (Pediatric Cohorts), a Coordinating Center, a Patient Reported Outcomes (PRO) Core, an IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Research Network Data Coordination and Operating Center, and IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Research Network Sites, as well as supplements to the Children’s Health Exposure Analysis Resource (CHEAR).