Current Research Studies
For information about participating in a study, click here.
BamBam 3D
Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit substance by pregnant women in the US. With decreasing legal and medical sanctions, increasing availability, and increasing potency of US marijuana, there is high potential for increasing maternal use and fetal exposure. The goal of this study is to investigate specific effects of maternal prenatal marijuana use on infant neurobehavior including signs of withdrawal, infant stress response, and epigenetic regulation of endocannabinoid and glucocorticoid pathways. To learn more about this comprehensive and innovative investigation, and to be informed on how this study will provide data critically needed in order to inform policy, regulations, and public health messaging regarding marijuana use by pregnant and reproductive age women, click here.
3D Ultrasound Study (Cohort 2)
Rates of e-cigarette use have doubled annually in most age groups between 2008 and 2014, and in 2014, young adults were found to have higher rates of e-cigarette use than youth and adults. Electronic cigarettes contain nicotine without the combustion of tobacco. Although e-cigarettes are marketed and perceived by users (including pregnant women) as a safer alternative to conventional cigarettes, there is enormous controversy in the public health and tobacco research community regarding risks vs potential harm reduction of e-cigarettes. The question of risks vs harm reduction of e-cigarettes is even more salient during pregnancy due to impact of use on both mother and fetus, and evidence for fetal toxicity from both nicotine and tobacco combustion products. Our goal in this study is to investigate the impact of e-cigarette use on fetal growth, brain development, and infant neurobehavior relative to conventional cigarette use and non-use. To learn more about this study, click here.
Rhode Island Child Health Follow-Up Study
This is a follow-up study of nearly 1,000 mother-offspring pairs of the Rhode Island Child Health Study (RICHS) who were originally seen at Women & Infants Hospital (WIH) in Providence, Rhode Island between 2009 and 2018. This cohort was developed to examine the impact of the environment on newborn and early childhood health outcomes with a novel focus on the mechanistic role of placenta molecular function. The goal of this study is to re-contact all RICHS mother-child pairs to allow for continued and expanded follow-up, examine prospective associations between prenatal environments and children’s executive functioning, behavioral, and emotional development, and to develop systems for broad sharing of cohort data with the larger research community. For more information about this study, click here.