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Principal Investigator: Marie Camerota
Organization: WOMEN AND INFANTS HOSPITAL-RHODE ISLAND
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $189,464
Funding agency: National Institute of Mental Health
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
This K01 proposal will prepare the candidate for an independent research career studying environmental and
biological contributors to child neurodevelopmental trajectories in typically-developing and high-risk populations,
with specific expertise in human developmental behavioral epigenetics and clinically-relevant cognitive
phenotypes (e.g., inattention). Research in developmental psychopathology has been successful in identifying
risk factors for attention problems across multiple domains, including biological, cognitive, and caregiving factors.
However, a missed opportunity is the study of multiple, longitudinal trajectories of risk factors in relation to
trajectories of inattention. Specifically, there is a need to understand whether there are heterogeneous
trajectories of inattention in early childhood, particularly during the transition to formal schooling (age 5-7) when
increases in inattention are common. Further, understanding how changes in risk factors across early childhood
relate to changes in inattention across the transition to formal schooling could provide critical information
regarding modifiable targets and optimal timing for screening and intervening with high-risk children. The
proposed study will leverage existing data from two parent grants (R01HD072267; R01HD084515; NOVI study)
focused on neurodevelopmental outcomes in children born very preterm. The current study proposes to test
associations between trajectories of biological (i.e., DNA methylation), cognitive (i.e., executive function) and
caregiving (i.e., psychological distress) factors and trajectories of child inattention in a sample of children born
very preterm, a group known to be at elevated risk for attention problems. Specific aims are as follows: (1) to
characterize trajectories of inattention in very preterm children; (2) to test the contributions of biological, cognitive,
and caregiving factors to trajectories of inattention; and (3) to test how changes in biological, cognitive, and
caregiving factors relate to trajectories of inattention. The applicant’s mentorship team will scaffold completion
of the study aims and provide needed training in (1) processing and (2) analysis of high-dimensional, longitudinal
epigenetic data, (3) advanced statistical techniques for longitudinal data analysis, and (4) frameworks (e.g.,
RDOC) for studying child psychopathology. The resources and intellectual environment at the Brown Center for
the Study of Children at Risk, Women and Infant’s Hospital, and Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown
University constitute an ideal setting to launch an independent research career. This project will provide
preliminary data for a future R01 investigating how trajectories of DNA methylation are established and altered
across development (e.g., as a function of environmental risk factors) as well as grants that follow NOVI children
into later childhood. This project is aligned with NIMH strategic priorities given its focus on charting the
development of inattention in childhood, identifying risk factors and biomarkers for inattention that could serve
as novel intervention targets, and isolating sensitive periods for interventions aimed at mitigating long-term
functional impairment.
Terms: <0-11 years old><AD/HD><ADHD><Age><Attention><Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder><Behavioral><Biological><Biological Markers><Birth><Care Givers><Career Development Awards><Career Development Awards and Programs><Career Development Programs K-Series><Caregivers><Child><Child Youth><Childhood><Children (0-21)><Cognitive><DNA Methylation><DNA Sequence><Data><Data Analyses><Data Analysis><Development><Early Intervention><Early identification><Environment><Environmental Factor><Environmental Risk Factor><Epigenetic><Epigenetic Change><Epigenetic Mechanism><Epigenetic Process><Functional impairment><Future><Gene Expression><Genes><Gestation><Grant><Heterogeneity><Hospitals><Human><IQ Deficit><Individual><Individual Differences><Infant><Intervention><Intervention Strategies><Joints><K-Awards><K-Series Research Career Programs><Life><Location><Longitudinal Studies><Measures><Mediating><Mental disorders><Mental health disorders><Mentors><Mentorship><Mission><Modern Man><NIMH><National Institute of Mental Health><Neonatal><Neurocognitive Deficit><Outcome><Parturition><Pattern><Phenotype><Population><Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type Attention-Deficit Disorder><Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type Hyperactivity Disorder><Pregnancy><Probabilistic Models><Probability Models><Psychiatric Disease><Psychiatric Disorder><Psychopathology><Research><Research Activity><Research Career Program><Research Resources><Resources><Risk><Risk Factors><Role><Sampling><Schools><Statistical Models><Strategic Planning><Structure><Symptoms><Techniques><Testing><Training><Training Activity><Universities><Woman><Work><abnormal psychology><adverse consequence><adverse outcome><ages><bio-markers><biologic><biologic marker><biomarker><care giving><career><caregiving><clinical relevance><clinical significance><clinically relevant><clinically significant><data interpretation><developmental><diagnostic criteria><early childhood><endophenotype><environmental risk><epigenetically><executive control><executive function><experience><extreme prematurity><extremely premature infant><extremely preterm><extremely preterm infant><functional outcomes><high dimensionality><high risk><high risk group><high risk individual><high risk people><high risk population><improved><inattention><inattentiveness><intelligence quotient deficit><interventional strategy><kids><life span><lifespan><long-term study><longitudinal outcome studies><longterm study><medical college><medical schools><mental illness><neural><neurobehavior><neurocognitive decline><neurocognitive impairment><novel><parent grant><pediatric><performance based assessments><performance based measurement><performance based measures><premature neonates><premature newborn><preterm neonate><preterm newborn><programs><psychiatric illness><psychological disorder><psychological distress><rate of change><resilience><resilient><response><scaffold><scaffolding><school of medicine><screen time><skills><social role><statistical linear mixed models><statistical linear models><synergism><television watching><training module><tv watching><very premature><very preterm><youngster>