The Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes Program (ECHO) Office intends to publish a Program Announcement with Special Receipt, Referral, and/or Review Considerations (PAR) to solicit applications to access ECHO Cohort data or biospecimen resources for studying high-priority areas of maternal and child health.

The PAR will provide opportunities for individuals across the scientific community to leverage non-ECHO funding to conduct ancillary studies on the ECHO Cohort Consortium’s data platform, including assay of ECHO’s large number of biospecimen resources. The ECHO Cohort’s dataset integrates longitudinal data from more than 130,000 maternal and child participants across the U.S. The data include prenatal and child environmental exposures of many kinds, and five primary pediatric outcome areas: pre-, peri-, and postnatal outcomes; upper and lower airway outcomes; obesity and its consequences; neurodevelopment; and positive health. The ECHO Cohort Biorepository includes over 100,000 biospecimen samples, including blood and urine.

ECHO Cohort ancillary studies should propose to:

• Study high-priority areas of maternal and child health;
• Investigate exposures, including the natural and built environments as well as physical, chemical, social, behavioral, and biological factors;
• Explore outcomes, including but not limited to ECHO’s five priority areas: pre-, peri-, and postnatal outcomes, upper and lower airway, obesity, neurodevelopment, and positive health or well-being; and
• Elucidate pathways linking these exposures and outcomes.

ECHO aims to publish the PAR in the early summer of 2025 with an expected application due date in July 2025. The PAR will use the X01 activity code.

Government

• Federally recognized Native American tribal governments
• State governments
• County governments
• Public and Indian housing authorities

Education

• Private institutions of higher education
• Public and state institutions of higher education
• Independent school districts

Business

• Small businesses
• For-profit organizations other than small businesses

Nonprofit

• Nonprofits non-higher education with 501(c)(3)
• Other Native American tribal organizations