$44 Million to Study Children’s Health

The UA Department of Pediatrics has been awarded a $44 million, six-year contract to participate in the National Institutes of Health’s National Children’s Study, a major effort to investigate the interaction of genes and the environment on children’s health. This study will follow a representative national sample of 100,000 children from before birth to age 21 to investigate factors that may influence the development of conditions such as autism, cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, birth defects, diabetes, asthma and obesity. The principal investigator for the UA portion of the study is Fernando Martinez, MD, professor of pediatrics and director of the UA’s Arizona Respiratory Center. “I am convinced that this study, if successful, will be remembered for years to come as one of the most important scientific enterprises ever started regarding children’s health,” Dr. Martinez said.