Project Grant R01HD117393

Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) awarded the University of Houston System a project grant of $597,736 on June 9, 2026, under the Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.865). The award supports a randomized controlled trial of a scalable, web-based parenting program designed to support brain development, autonomic regulation, and socio-emotional development in preterm infants through May 31, 2031. The research addresses the significant clinical need to improve long-term mental health outcomes for the growing population of preterm birth survivors in the United States, where premature births account for over 10% of annual live births and generate more than $26 billion in annual direct and indirect costs.

The program delivers a scalable parenting intervention that begins early in infancy following hospital discharge, with particular emphasis on engaging both mothers and fathers as active participants in supporting infant neurodevelopment. The research will measure program effectiveness at both behavioral and neurodevelopmental levels, targeting improvements in frontal-limbic brain pathway maturation, which prior developmental studies indicate is compromised as a secondary consequence of preterm birth. By testing this intervention model, the study aims to generate evidence for a cost-effective, widely implementable approach to promoting lasting developmental improvements and reducing the prevalence of mental health disorders among preterm birth survivors.