This application is responsive to RFA-ES-18-009: Maintain and Enrich Resource Infrastructure for Existing Environmental Epidemiology Cohorts Project Viva is a Boston-area cohort of 2,128 mother-child pairs from whom we have collected information on numerous environmental exposures and health outcomes beginning in early pregnancy in 1999-2002. Our almost two decades of data thus traverse numerous sensitive periods of the lifecourse: from gestation though adolescence for index participants, and from pregnancy into the perimenopausal period for their mothers. Our rich database comprises detailed information on a wealth of environmental exposures including daily air pollution exposure estimates from satellites, local monitors, and geographic information systems; measures of built and natural environments; biomarkers of toxicants including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and metals; and maternal and child diet. Existing research-quality outcomes include measures of cardiometabolic health for both mothers and children (anthropometry, body composition, blood pressure, and biomarkers of glycemia, lipids, and adipokines); child cognition and behavior; child lung function and atopy; as well as genetic variants and epigenetic markers. The overall goals of the current proposal are to 1) bolster retention of Project Viva index participants through adolescence into the young adult transition, 2) build infrastructure for future science through development and implementation of remote data collection methods using modern technology, with a focus on environmental exposures, and 3) enhance our data management infrastructure to facilitate data sharing with the broader scientific community. These activities will complement our existing active grants supporting data collection and analysis, including participation in the NIH?s Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program. The wealth of data and biosamples already available in Project Viva provide a unique opportunity to continue to advance the research priorities of NIEHS, including examining the influence of early-life environmental exposures, alone and in combination with other exposures and genetics, on development of chronic disease. The proposed infrastructure activities will improve the availability of Project Viva data to the wider research community, while simultaneously supporting our efforts to maintain this valuable resource and position our cohort to examine novel scientific questions in the future. The enhanced infrastructure will also provide a scalable foundation to support ongoing enrichment of the Project Viva protocols and datasets.
Project Viva is a longitudinal cohort study of mothers and their children, originally enrolled during early pregnancy 1999-2002. The wealth of data and bio samples already available in the cohort provide a unique opportunity to continue to study the influence of early-life environmental exposures on development of chronic diseases including obesity, cardiovascular disease, and asthma. The support from this application will help improve the availability of Project Viva data to the wider research community, maintain participants? engagement in the study, and position Project Viva to continue to examine novel scientific questions into the future.
