# Penn State University's Translational Center for Child Maltreatment Studies TCCMS

> **NIH NIH P50** · PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE · 2020 · $1,530,505

## Abstract

The Translational Center for Child Maltreatment Studies (TCCMS) at Penn State will increase the rigor and
quality of research conducted in the field of child maltreatment via exciting research projects and cores.
Through a large-scale partnership with the State of Pennsylvania's Department of Human Services, Project 1
is a prospective cohort study of 1200 maltreated and comparison children aimed at elucidating the multiple
etiological processes believed to play a role in the onset and maintenance of adverse health outcomes for
victims. By using state-of-the-art assessment methods across multiple levels of analysis—neuroendocrine,
autonomic, epigenomic, immunological, behavioral, familial, contextual, and several aspects of resilience—
Project 1 will identify the putative and protective mechanisms of subsequent health outcomes, including
physical health, behavioral health, and brain development. This rigorous science will significantly advance
knowledge of the complex interplay between biological and behavioral mechanisms responsible for health
disparities in maltreatment victims and illuminate avenues for promoting resilience and opportunities for
reversibility. Project 2 is stratified cluster randomized trial (SCRT) of a Clinical Decision Rule (CDR) for
Abusive Head Trauma (AHT) designed to increase child abuse evaluations of high-risk head trauma cases and
saving lives where AHT is currently unrecognized. This SCRT will comprise 416 AHT patients aged 0-3 in 8
Pediatric ICUs across the country. Project 2 also includes a sustainability trial of implementation strategies
utilizing another 104 AHT patients. By translating high-quality science into fiscal messages that will leverage
legislative action, the TCCMS's Dissemination and Outreach Core (DOC) will develop a national model for
advancing the basic, yet illusive, tenet of science as a vehicle for impacting and mobilizing social change.
Using administrative data the DOC will employ predictive analytics to craft translational messages about the
economic impact of child maltreatment. The DOC will also use predictive models to translate knowledge
generated in Projects 1 & 2 into compelling fiscal messages regarding the public costs incurred by maltreated
children in the Project 1 cohort, and the Return-On-Investment of implementing the Project 2 CDR. By
engaging community providers, the DOC will use a Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) model to
devise and test workable solutions to facilitate implementation of child welfare reform. The DOC will package
TCCMS research into products that will entreat increased public investment. The Admin Core will maximize
and accelerate TCCMS impact by ensuring that its research and products receive high-level exposure to the
public and to policy leaders. The Admin Core will serve as a national model for growing new science and
nurturing budding scientists through access to a national data repository and innovative experiential learning
forums. The TCCM...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9912794
- **Project number:** 5P50HD089922-04
- **Recipient organization:** PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, THE
- **Principal Investigator:** JENNIE G NOLL
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $1,530,505
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-04-20 → 2022-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9912794

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9912794, Penn State University's Translational Center for Child Maltreatment Studies TCCMS (5P50HD089922-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9912794. Licensed CC0.

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