Ongoing Research Projects

Learn more about ongoing research projects at the Division of General Academic Pediatrics at Mass General for Children.

First 1000 Days

Maternal-child obesity prevention beginning in pregnancy and lasting through the first 2 years of life
Systematic improvement of clinical care for pregnant women and families of infants to prevent obesity risk factors
Working with Obstetricians, Pediatricians, Community Health, The Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC), Home Visitation Program, Behavioral Health, and Fatherhood Programs in Chelsea and Revere Community Health Centers

Birth cohort examining the inter-relationship of sleep, feeding, and growth in infants and toddlers
Mother/child pairs are recruited from MGH Newborn Unit
Exploratory aims will look at father involvement in infant care giving, co-parenting and parent-child sleep synchrony and the exposures and risk factors associated with microbiome composition.

CDC-funded study to implement and evaluate an improved model of obesity care at two MA federally-qualified community health centers
Conduct a RCT to compare the effectiveness of two intensive (26+ contact hours) weight management programs for 6-12 year old children with overweight or obesity- one based in the clinical setting and one based at a local YMCA
Parents surveyed at baseline, 6 months and 12 months to evaluate obesogenic behaviors, socio-demographics, quality of life, and related domains

BOKS, a free program, is powered by communities and empowers parents, teachers, schools and local volunteers to give kids a body and brain boost that will set them up for a day of learning.
Two-phase study to evaluate if BOKS increases physical, social, behavioral, cognitive and affective health and increase academic outcomes.

Clinical-community intervention to manage overweight and obesity among children 2-12 years old
Intervention strategies include clinical decision support and personalized health coaching, enhanced with technology such as GPS mapped neighborhood resources and text message support

NIH/NCI funded study that examines associations of sleep duration in infancy and childhood with obesity, energy balance, insulin resistance and other cancer-related indicators.
Available data includes children’s sleep patterns, body composition, biomarkers of metabolic syndrome and cancer risk, dietary intake and eating behaviors, physical activity, socio-demographics and behavior, and household factors.

Implementation study funded by the Boston Foundation (TBF) which provides services to stabilize housing coupled with services to maintain housing at CONNECT/The Neighborhood Developers.
Children must be under 12 years old, meet MassHealth income guidelines, and be experiencing housing instability. 150 families will be enrolled.
Data on housing instability, conditions, and affordability; adult and child behavioral health; height/weight and other EHR data; and more at enrollment, 6-months and 12-months follow-up.