The University of Maryland is a site for a nationwide study on child development, known as the Healthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study, the largest long-term research study of early brain and child development in the United States. The project includes 60 principal investigators (PIs) from multiple institutions, including Nathan Fox, Brenda Jones Harden, and Tracy Riggins from the University of Maryland.
This ambitious project is enrolling over 7,000 participating families from across the United States in this study and following them and their children from pregnancy through early childhood. The goal of the study is to understand how the brain develops and is affected by exposure to environmental, social, psychological, and biological factors during pregnancy and after birth.
The HBCD team invites interested individuals to participate in this study. Researchers will collect information during pregnancy and through early childhood, including: pictures of the brain; growth measurements; samples of blood and saliva; medical and family history surveys; and information and assessments of children’s their social, emotional, and cognitive development.
The research team is flexible regarding when and how the data collection visits are done (e.g., we do evenings and weekends). Families are compensated for their time.
For more information and to sign up for the study, please visit: https://hbcdstudy.org/
For more information about additional opportunities to participate in University of Maryland research studies, visit: https://research.umd.edu/research-studies.