For ECHO PATHWAYS we are pooling the participants and data from three pre-existing research studies (CANDLE, GAPPS, TIDES) and their participating families in Memphis, TN; Minneapolis, MN; Rochester, NY; San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA; and Yakima, WA.
Combining CANDLE, GAPPS and TIDES provides us with the strengths of a large sample size as well as geographic, cultural, and economic diversity. We will leverage the rich data and biospecimens that were previously collected by these three successful cohorts to gain insight into child development, from the prenatal period through adolescence. This synthesis brings together not only participants, biospecimens and data, but also multiple study teams in a collaborative team science approach.
Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early Childhood (CANDLE)
The UTHSC CANDLE Study enrolled 1503 pregnant women in the Memphis, TN, region between 2006 and 2011 and continues to follow the families as the children approach adolescence. CANDLE was originally funded by the Urban Childhood Institute and aimed to identify factors during pregnancy and early childhood impacting neurodevelopment and the ability to learn.
ECHO PATHWAYS aims to recruit all interested CANDLE study participants into our combined cohort.
Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth (GAPPS)
GAPPS is a collaborative global initiative to stimulate research to improve maternal, newborn and child health outcomes around the word. GAPPS has enrolled thousands of pregnant women at multiple sites in the U.S., building a large repository of biological samples and data collected during pregnancy and right after birth.
We are re-contacting participants who had enrolled in GAPPS sites in Washington State and inviting the mothers and children to join the ECHO PATHWAYS cohort.
The Infant Development and Environment Study (TIDES)
TIDES recruited women in pregnancy from 2010 to 2012 in Minneapolis, MN; Rochester, NY; San Francisco, CA; and Seattle, WA. TIDES was originally designed to examine how everyday chemicals in food, cosmetics and household products may affect children’s health and development, particularly sexual development, neurodevelopment and other aspects of fetal development.
ECHO PATHWAYS collaborates with another ECHO research center at NYU and TIDES leadership to recruit participants at all four TIDES sites.