NICHD News Releases

Division of Epidemiology, Statistics, and Prevention Research 2012 Annual Report
This NICHD Division recently released its annual report highlighting research that covers a range of topics, from understanding fertility and preventing birth defects to promoting healthy lifestyles and behaviors and developing new ways to analyze data.

NICHD Director’s podcast features research on adolescent health behavior
The January 2013 NICHD Research Perspectives features adolescent health research undertaken by scientists in the institute’s Prevention Research Branch.

Scientific Vision: The Next Decade
The NICHD embarked upon a collaborative process in 2011 to create a scientific Vision, identifying the most promising scientific opportunities for the Institute and its partners to pursue over the next decade. The newly published Scientific Vision statement presents the results of that process and outlines scientific goals for the coming decade.

NICHD reorganizes extramural program
​Alan Guttmacher, M.D., Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) announced a number of changes to streamline the institute’s organizational structure and accelerate the exchange of scientific ideas.

NICHD vision statement now available online
A document charting a research course for the many collaborators who share an interest in promoting the science concerning human development through the life span, child health, women's health, and rehabilitation research is now available online.

Research for a Lifetime: Commemorating the NICHD’s 50th Anniversary
On October 17, 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed into law the legislation establishing the NICHD to examine “the complex process of human development from conception to old age.” The Institute marks its golden anniversary with Research for a Lifetime, an all-day scientific colloquium to highlight the Institute’s mission, accomplishments, and future research directions.

Distracted Driving Awareness Month & NICHD Research on Young Drivers
April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and the message from the U.S. Department of Transportation and other organizations is crystal clear: stop using cell phones while driving. NICHD-funded research reveals that other factors, such as restricting driving at night and encouraging parents to set driving limits, also help reduce the number of crashes and fatal crashes among teen drivers.

Graduated Drivers Licensing Programs Reduce Fatal Teen Crashes
Programs that grant privileges to new drivers in phases--known as graduated licensing programs--dramatically reduce the rate of teen driver fatal crashes, according to three studies funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Audio Briefing: NICHD Scientists Identify Risk Factors for Teen Driving Accidents
Newly licensed teen drivers have higher crash rates than do older drivers and the teens are much more likely to engage in risky maneuvers that increase the gravitational force on their vehicles, reported a team of scientists from the NIH and other institutions. Publishing in the American Journal of Public Health, the researchers were led by Bruce Simons-Morton, Ed.D, M.P.H., Chief, of the Prevention Research Branch in the NICHD's Division of Epidemiology, Statistics, and Prevention Research. Although the risky behaviors declined shortly after the teens received their licenses, the behaviors were much more prevalent than they were for the adult drivers in the study.

Teens' Driving Riskier with Male Teen Passenger: Teen Boy's Driving Safer with Female Teen Passenger
Teenage drivers--both males and females were more likely to tailgate and exceed the speed limit if there was a teenage male passenger in the front seat, according to a study by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health.

NICHD Program Helps Parents Set Limits to Reduce Teens' Driving Under Risky Conditions
A new program reduces the likelihood that teens will drive under conditions that place them at the greatest risk for a car crash, according to a study from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, one of the National Institutes of Health.

Parent-Teen Intervention May Reduce Teen Driving Risk
A program that teaches parents how to set limits on their teens' driving greatly reduces the teens' chances of risky driving behavior that could lead to accidents, according to a recent study by researchers at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).