Developing Brain Institute Research initiatives

Research spotlight

For a staggering number of women, pregnancy is not a time of joy. Women often struggle with stress, depression and anxiety during pregnancy, and this maternal mental health distress can persist a year after giving birth. Under the auspices of a new PCORI award, the Developing Brain Institute and our community partners will track health - including mental health - of moms starting during pregnancy and will monitor how their newborns develop. Our overall goal is to partner with former patients, moms with experience giving birth in D.C., and other members of low-income Black communities to develop and test different approaches to overcome obstacles and achieve health equity by providing effective mental health screening and care. #NoMotherLeftBehind

The Developing Brain Institute at Children’s National, directed by Catherine Limperopoulos, Ph.D., focuses on the developing brain, in utero, after birth and through preschool. We are developing advanced MRI techniques to examine the structure, connectivity and metabolism of the brain in ways that cannot be done with conventional MRI studies. Our long-term goal is to be able to identify babies with impaired brain growth as soon as possible, so that proper interventions and clinical planning can take place earlier.

DEVELOPING BRAIN INSTITUTE at Children's National | https://developingbrainresearchlaboratory.org/