Welcome to the University of Miami Study Center for the National Children’s Study, the largest long-term study of children’s health ever conducted in the United States. The University of Miami Study Center is the administrative and research home for the Study in Florida.
This Study Center, along with the eventual 105 other national locations, will work together to address a wide range of biological, physical, genetic, social, cultural, and other factors comprising a child’s environment that can affect health and development.
The National Children's Study is unique, as it includes children and families from different areas of the country, from varied backgrounds, and of different family types, to allow investigation of issues important to the diverse U.S. population. The Study will be one of the richest information resources available for answering questions related to children’s health and development and will form the basis of child health guidance, interventions, and policy for generations to come.
The University of Miami Study Center team will examine family genetics, neighborhoods and schools, chemical exposures, food, and water, as well as children’s social and behavioral environments to try to pinpoint the root causes of many of today’s major childhood diseases and disorders. What we learn in the Study will help determine not only which aspects of the environment are harmful, but also which are harmless or helpful to children’s health and development, not only in Florida, but throughout the United States.