About the Study

What is this study about?

The purpose of this research study is to examine how eating behaviors and food choices develop in early childhood

What kind of commitment is involved?

Parents will complete a brief online assessment at 2 years postpartum. In-person visits will be scheduled once per year, at approximately child ages 3.5, 4.5, and 5.5 years. The in-person assessments will last approximately 1 ½ hours

Study Organization

This study is funded and led by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) of the National Institutes of Health, in collaboration with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Tonja Nansel, PhD

Dr. Nansel is a senior investigator in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Branch of the Division of Intramural Population Health Research at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Dr. Nansel has expertise in the study of health-related and dietary behaviors, including the development and testing of behavioral interventions within the health care setting. Dr. Nansel serves as the study's overall Principal Investigator and has technical responsibility for the Sprouts study including its scientific integrity.

Leah Lipsky, PhD, MHS

Dr. Lipsky is a behavioral nutrition epidemiologist with a focus on understanding the development and trajectories of eating behaviors and body weight in youth and families, and their impact on health outcomes. Her research incorporates experimental and observational research methods to develop interventions targeting long-term adoption of eating behaviors that support optimal health and development.

Aiyi Liu, PhD

Aiyi Liu, PhD, is a Senior Investigator who has been a member of the Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Branch since 2002. He received his doctorate degree from the University of Rochester in 1997. His research interests include: general statistical estimation theory, sequential methodology and adaptive designs with applications to clinical trials and other medical studies, linear models and regression analysis, analysis of repeated measurements and longitudinal data, multivariate data analysis and related topics, statistical methods for biomarkers including diagnostic biomarkers and ROC curve analysis, statistical methods for pooled assessments, and measurement errors.

Kyle Burger, MPH, RD, PhD

Dr. Burger's primary area of research focuses on eating behavior, how it evolves, implicit drivers and explicit perceptions of food intake. Specifically, how these aspects of ingestive behavior relate to habitual consumption, executive control, and weight regulation. His labs examines these questions using direct and indirect measures of food intake, brain imaging techniques (functional MRI), and a variety of behavioral and self-report measures.

Grace Shearrer, PhD

Dr. Shearrer studies the homeostatic and hedonic motivations to eat. Specifically, how hedonic signals influence homeostatic mechanisms both neurologically and hormonally.

Olivia Barnes, BS - Research Assistant

Olivia graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May of 2016 with a degree in Biology. Olivia previously works as a research assistant with the PEAS project and will continue in this role on the Sprouts study.

Anna Maria Siega-Riz, PhD, RD

Dr. Siega-Riz, a nutritional epidemiologist, uses a multidisciplinary team perspective as a way to address complex problems such as prematurity, fetal programming, racial disparities and obesity. She has been involved in several large cohort studies involving pregnant women, children and Hispanics.

Myles Faith, PhD

Dr. Faith studies familial influences on the development of child eating patterns and obesity. His work also focuses on lifestyle interventions for childhood obesity treatment/prevention, having received funding from the NIH and the American Diabetes Association to investigate these issues in children ages 4 to 8 years. He served on the Nutrition Committee for the American Heart Association's Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism (NPAM), and was a standing member of the NIH Psychosocial Risk and Disease Prevention Study Section.

Michael Willoughby

Mike Willoughby, a developmental psychologist by training, is a fellow in early childhood at RTI International. He studies the development of self-regulation in young children.