# Environment, Epigenetics, Neurodevelopment & Health of Extremely Preterm Children

> **NIH NIH UG3** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2024 · $801,705

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The goal of the second phase (2023-2030) of the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO)
Program is to extend and expand the ECHO Cohort to further investigate the impact of a broad range of early
social and biological exposures during the preconception period and into young adulthood, on ECHO’s five
key child health outcomes among diverse populations. Our pediatric ECHO cohort, ELGAN-ECHO, proposes
to continue to: (1) lead collaborative ECHO Cohort science, (2) follow up existing ECHO Cohort participants,
and (3) implement the ECHO Cohort Data and Biospecimen Collection Protocol. The broad goals of this
proposal are to: (1) evaluate predictors of exposure to environmental stressors (chemical and non-chemical)
during preconception, pregnancy, and early childhood; (2) identify factors that have the potential to modify the
relationships between environmental exposures, perinatal biomarkers of inflammation (e.g., epigenetic,
genomic and proteomic) and neurodevelopmental outcomes as our proposed specialty outcome area; and (3)
maximize retention of diverse ELGAN participants. We will bring specialized expertise in environmental
epidemiology related to metals, placental epigenetics, antecedents and correlates of preterm birth, and
neurodevelopmental outcomes to the proposed project. In the first two years of the project (the UG3 phase)
investigators from the ECHO-ELGAN team will collaborate with the ECHO Program to collaborate on the
development of the ECHO Cohort Protocol for the preconception period and harmonization of data; lead and
participate on ECHO committees, working groups, and task forces; plan participant follow-up, obtain approval
for conducting the ECHO Cohort Protocol with oversight from the ECHO Cohort Consortium’s single IRB;
reconsent existing ECHO Cohort participants; implement the ECHO Cohort Protocol for collection of data and
biospecimens specified in that protocol; use the central data capture system to populate the ECHO Cohort
Data Platform; retain study participants with an emphasis on diverse populations; and produce and
disseminate ECHO Cohort science through publications and other public presentations. In the following five
years (the UH3 phase) we will expand development, production, and dissemination of ECHO Cohort science,
and continue to lend expertise on maintaining high retention rates and fidelity to the ECHO Cohort Protocol.
Our over-arching perspective will be solution-oriented research questions that take advantage of the large
sample size, diversity, and longitudinal nature of the ECHO Cohort and have potential to influence practices,
programs, and policies to improve children’s health.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10917242
- **Project number:** 5UG3OD023348-09
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Rebecca Fry
- **Activity code:** UG3 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $801,705
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-09-21 → 2025-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10917242

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10917242, Environment, Epigenetics, Neurodevelopment & Health of Extremely Preterm Children (5UG3OD023348-09). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10917242. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*