News & Updates

Drivers eat, reach for the phone, text, or otherwise take their eyes off the road about 10 percent of the time they are behind the wheel, according to a study using video technology and in-vehicle sensors.

The Division’s 2012 Annual Report highlights the extensive and comprehensive work of DESPR investigators and researchers.

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

On December 5, 2012, the NICHD released the Scientific Vision: The Next Decade, the culmination of a collaborative process that began in 2011 to identify the most promising scientific opportunities for the Institute and the research community to pursue over the next decade. The Vision statement was made available during the NICHD’s 50th anniversary colloquium.

​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.

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.

As the Institute marks its golden anniversary, we look back on the NICHD's early years, its scientific accomplishments, and its future.

Car accidents are the leading cause of death and disability for adolescents. As they shift from learning to drive in classrooms and parking lots to real on-road driving situations, they encounter shifts in weather, traffic, and road conditions, as well as potential distractions.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).