An official website of the United States government
National Advisory Child Health and Human Development (NACHHD) Council is charged with advising, consulting with, and making recommendations to the NICHD Director on matters relating to NICHD research and research support activities and functions.
In 2022, NICHD formed the Stillbirth Working Group of Council, a subgroup of the NACHHD Council, in response to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) request to lead a congressionally mandated task force to examine stillbirth in the United States.
In 2023, NICHD formed the Task Force on Research Specific to Pregnant Women and Lactating Women (PRGLAC) Implementation Working Group of Council, also a subgroup of the NACHHD Council. This working group monitors and reports on implementation of recommendations to improve knowledge and research on safe and effective therapies for pregnant and lactating women. The recommendations were made by the PRGLAC, established as part of the 21st Century Cures Act to identify gaps in knowledge and research on therapies for pregnant and lactating women.
In 2024, NICHD formed the Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) Working Group of Council, a third subgroup of the NACHHD Council, in response to an HHS request to evaluate the current state of the science on enteral nutrition and NEC in preterm infants.
Upcoming Meetings
- October 14, 2026
- January 25-26, 2027
- June 7-8, 2027
- September 7-8, 2027
- January 25-26, 2028
- June 12-13, 2028
- September 12-13, 2028
Dates are subject to change.
Past Meetings
Council Meeting Materials
May 2026 Council (to be held on July 8, 2026)
Presentations
- 202605 NICHD Director’s Report (Hazra) (PDF 1.6 MB)
- 202605 NIH Strategic Plan for Disability Health Research (Cruz, Politis) (PDF 1.3 MB)
- 202605 VOICE OF THE TRAINEE
- 202605 PRESENTATIONS: K12 Program and Special Council Review (Belter)
- 202605 Council Statement of Understanding (Rasooly)
Concept Review
Concept Review by Council
- 202605 Elucidation and Validation of the Role of Transporters in the Placenta, Lactating Mammary Gland, Developing Gut, and Blood-Brain Barrier (Pawlyk/OPPTB)
- 202605 Chemical Screening and Optimization Facility (Lindsey/FIB)
Meeting Info
- 202605 Meeting Roster (PDF 167 KB)
- 202605 Agenda (PDF 235 KB)
- 202601 Minutes (PDF 395)
- NICHD Funding Strategies: Guidance for Fiscal Year 2026
- 2026 Statement of Understanding (PDF 127 KB)
January 2026 Council (to be held on January 26, 2026)
Presentations
- 202601 NICHD Acting Director's Report (Cernich)
- 202601 INVITED DIRECTOR: National Institute of Aging (NIA) (Hodes)
- 202601 SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATION: Add Health, the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Hummer)
- 202601 SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATION: The Role of Early Motor-Based Problem Solving in Physical Therapy Interventions for Infants: A synthesis of 2 NICHD funded clinical trials (Dusing)
- 202601 VOICE OF THE PARTICIPANT (McNab)
Concept Review
Concept Review by Council
Meeting Info
- 202601 Meeting Roster (PDF 163 KB)
- 202601 Agenda (PDF 224 KB)
- 202510 Minutes (PDF 569)
- 202601 Minutes (PDF 453)
- NICHD Funding Strategies: Guidance for Fiscal Year 2026
- 2025 Statement of Understanding (PDF 124 KB)
October 2025 Council (to be held on September 9-10, 2025)
Presentations
- 202510 NICHD Director’s Report (Cernich) (PDF 1.5 MB)
- 202510 Annual Division of Intramural Research (DIR) Report (McBain) (PDF 3.4 MB)
- 202510 SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATION: Developmental regulation of recently discovered best4+ intestinal epithelial cells (Farrell) (PDF 18 MB)
- 202510 VOICE OF THE PARTICIPANT (PDF 947 KB)
- 202510 NICHD Clinical Network Update and the Unified Pediatric Research Consortium Proposal (Tamburro) (PDF 1.3 MB)
- 202510 INVITED DIRECTOR, National Institutes of Health (NIH) (Bhattacharya) (PDF 3 MB)
Concept Review
Concept Review by Council
- 202510 Unified Pediatric Research Consortium (Tamburro/DER)
- 202510 Autism Centers of Excellence (Kau/IDDB)
- 202510 Data Sharing for Demographic Research (DSDR) (Capps/PDB)
Meeting Info
May 2025 Council (to be held on June 9-10, 2025)
Presentations
- 202505 NICHD Director’s Report (Cernich) (PDF 1.4 MB)
- 202505 INVITED DIRECTOR: NIH Center for Information Technology (CIT) (Mooney) (PDF 3.2 MB)
- 202505 SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATION: Biomedical Informatics in Pediatrics Research (Mandl) (no slides)
- 202505 SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATION: Immune dysregulation in Down syndrome: mechanisms and clinical trials (Espinosa) (PDF 7.03 MB)
- 202505 VOICE OF THE PARTICIPANT (INCLUDE) (Lombardo, Roan) (no slides)
- 202505 Council Statement of Understanding (Rasooly)
- Supporting Documentation: 2025 Statement of Understanding (PDF 124 KB)
Concept Review
Concept Review by Council
- 202505 National Pediatric Medical Device Ecosystem (Pileggi/OPPTB)
- 202505 Pediatric Scientist Development Program (PSDP) (Winer/PGNB)
- 202505 HIV Pediatric, Adolescent and Maternal Clinical Trials (S. Lee/MPIDB)
- 202505 Impact of Technology and Digital Media Exposure/ Usage on Child and Adolescent Development (Salo/CDBB)
- 202505 ClinGen Genomic Curation Expert Panels (O’Reilly/IDDB)
Meeting Info
January 2025 Council (to be held on January 13-14, 2025)
Presentations
- 202501 NICHD Director’s Report (Bianchi) (PDF 2.6 MB)
- 202501 Budget Report (A. Clark) (PPTX 1.8 MB)
- 202501 INVITED DIRECTOR: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) (Marrazzo) (PDF 9.3 MB)
NIAID Update on Priorities for Research in Women & Children - 202501 VOICE OF THE PARTICIPANT: Maternal Sepsis Patient Story (Chavez) (PDF 2.5 MB)
- 202501 SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATION: Improving Maternal Sepsis Care through Patient and Community Engagement (Bauer) (PDF 4.5 MB)
- 202501 NIH Research Plan on Rehabilitation (Cruz) (PDF 1.4 MB)
- 202501 Triennial Report (Popkin)
Concept Review
Concept Review by Council
- 202501 Advancing Prevention and Treatment of Bacterial STIs in HIV-affected Adolescent and Maternal Populations (Yates/MPIDB)
- 202501 Maternal and Pediatric Precision in Therapeutics (MPRINT) (Samedy-Bates/OPPTB)
- 202501 Effects of Contraception as Treatment for Gynecologic Disorders (Allen/CRB)
- 202501 Biological Testing Facility (BTF) (M. Lee/DiPHR)
Meeting Info
October 2024 Council (to be held on September 4-5, 2024)
Presentations
- 202410 NICHD Director’s Report (Bianchi) (PDF 2 MB)
- 202410 Annual Division of Intramural Research (DIR) Report (McBain) (PDF 11.5 MB)
- 202410 SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATION: Genomics, Models and Therapeutic Targets of Genetic Skeletal Disorders (Ferreira) (PDF 3 MB)
- 202410 Simplifying Peer Review (Byrnes) (PDF 1.5 MB)
- 202410 NICHD Strategic Plan Refresh: Research Objectives & Request for Information (Philogene) (PDF 2 MB)
- 202410 Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) in Premature Infants Working Group (Maldonado, Patel) (PDF 495 KB)
Concept Review
Concept Review by Council
- 202410 Biological Testing Facility (BTF) (M. Lee/DiPHR)
- 202410 Development of Novel or Improved Infertility Technologies (Kent/FIB)
- 202410 NICHD Program Project Grants for HIV Research (Russo/MPIDB)
- 202410 Navigating Pediatric to Adult Healthcare: Lostin Transition (S. Lee/MPIDB)
- 202410 Natural History of Disorders Screenable in the Newborn Period (Huntzicker/IDDB)
- 202410 Research on Drowning Prevention (Dixon/PTCIB)
- 202410 Child Health Research Career Development Award (CHRCDA); K12Mentoring for Pediatrician Scientists (Winer/PGNB)
- 202410 Learning Disabilities Hubs (Miller/CDBB)
- 202410 Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) in Premature Infants (Chakhtoura/PPB)
Meeting Info
May 2024 Council (to be held on June 3-4, 2024)
Presentations
- 202405 NICHD Director’s Report (Bianchi) (PDF 2.75 MB)
- 202405 NICHD Training Workgroup Update:
- 202405 INVITED DIRECTOR: Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) (Simoni) (PDF 2.6 MB)
- 202405 SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATION: The Unpredictability of Life Outcomes: Evidence from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (Edin, Salganik) (PDF 10.7 MB)
- 202405 VOICE OF THE PARTICIPANT (no slides)
- 202405 Report on ODSS and Data at NICHD (Rosen) (PDF 2 MB)
- 202405 Pregnant Women and Lactating Women (PRGLAC) Implementation Working Group (Bucci-Rechtweg, Abdel-Rahman) (PDF 671 KB)
- 202405 Stillbirth Working Group (Jain, Reddy) (PDF 887 KB)
- 202405 Council Statement of Understanding (Rasooly)
- Supporting Documentation: 2024 Statement of Understanding (PDF 124 KB)
Concept Review
Concept Review by Council
- 202405 Archiving and Documenting Child Health and Human Development Data Sets (Jekielek/PDB)
- 202405 Early Immune System Development and Ontogeny (Majji/MPIDB)
- 202405 Contraceptive Development Research Centers (Lindsey/CRB)
- 202405 NICHD Small Research Grant Program (Nurminskaya/NCMRR)
- 202405 Small Research Grants for Analyses of Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Data (Fournier/DBCAB)
- 202405 In-Depth Phenotyping and Research Using IMPC-Generated Knockout Mouse Strains (Mukhopadhyay/DBCAB)
Meeting Info
January 2024 Council (to be held on January 22-23, 2024)
Presentations
- 202401 NICHD Director’s Report (Bianchi) (PDF 4.2 MB)
- 202401 SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATION: The role of simulation models to improve care for adolescents and young adults affected by HIV (Neilan) (PDF 2 MB)
- 202401 VOICE OF THE PARTICIPANT (no .ppt) (Diaz)
- 202401 Report from the NICHD Extramural Training Workgroup (Cruz, October, Taymans) (PDF 2 MB)
- 202401 Panel Discussion on Recruitment and Retention of Junior Faculty (Barkin, Gyamfi-Bannerman, Neal-Perry, Rowitch)
Concept Review
Concept Review by Council
- 202401 Advancement and Innovation in Measurement of Language Development and Predictors (Salo/CDBB)
- 202401 Pediatric HIV/AIDS Cohort Study (PHACS) (Russo/MPIDB)
- 202401 Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Centers (Kau/IDDB)
- 202401 Advancing cures and therapies and ending endometriosis diagnostic delays to improve outcomes (ACT ENDO) (Tingen/GHDB)
- 202401 Sustaining the Gabriella Miller Kids First Data Resource (Coulombe/DBCAB)
- 202401 NICHD Resource Program Grants in Bioinformatics (Stein/DBCAB)
Meeting Info
October 2023 Council (to be held on September 6-7, 2023)
Presentations
- 202310 NICHD Director’s Report (Bianchi) (PDF 2.2 MB)
- 202310 Annual DIR Report (McBain) (PDF 3.5 MB)
- 202310 INVITED DIRECTOR: National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) (Rutter) (PDF 9.6 MB)
- 202310 SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATION: Young Women’s Health: Supporting Adolescents, Young Adults & Their Families (Gordon) (PDF 5 MB)
- 202310 VOICE OF THE PARTICIPANT (Carolina Rodriguez/Nereida Rodrigues) (no .ppt)
Concept Review
Concept Review by Council
- 202310 Centers for Collaborative Research in Fragile X and FMR1-Associated Conditions (T. King/IDDB)
- 202310 Optimizing Health of Children and Adolescents with Perinatal HIV Exposure (S. Lee/MPIDB)
- 202310 Women’s Reproductive Health Research (WRHR) Program (Kaufman/CRB)
- 202310 Population Dynamics Research Infrastructure Program (iPOP) (R. Clark/PDB)
Meeting Info
May 2023 Council (to be held on June 6-7, 2023)
Presentations
- 202305 2023 Council Statement of Understanding (Rasooly) (PDF 168 KB)
- 202305 NICHD Director’s Report (Bianchi) (PDF 2.2 MB)
- 202305 Special Council Review (Rasooly) (PDF 588 KB)
- 202305 INVITED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DIRECTOR: National Cancer Institute (Reaman) (PDF 2.5 KB)
- 202305 SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATION: The Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program
- 202305 VOICE OF THE PARTICIPANT (Miller)
Concept Review
Concept Review by Council
- 202305 Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions (Mukhopadhyay/DBCAB)
- 202305 National Centers for Translational Research in Reproduction and Infertility (NCTRI) (Kent/FI)
- 202305 HEAL Initiative: KIDS PAIN – Acute (Taylor-Zapata/OPPTB, Tammy Jenkins/PTCIB)
- 202305 HEAL Initiative: Outcomes of Babies with Opioid Exposure (Walsh/PPB)
- 202305 IMPROVE Initiative (Nahida Chakhtoura/PPB)
- 202305 The Road to Prevention of Stillbirth (Monica Longo/PPB)
Meeting Info
January 2023 Council (to be held on January 24-25, 2023)
Presentations
- 202301 NICHD Director’s Report (Bianchi) (PDF 2.3 MB)
- 202301 Report from the Stillbirth Working Group (Jain, Reddy) (PDF 676 KB)
- 202301 INVITED DIRECTOR, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) (Woychik) (PDF 4.9 MB)
- 202301 SCIENTIFIC PRESENATION: The Double-burden of Heat stress and Maternal Malnutrition on Maternal Child Health Outcomes (Krebs, Shankar) (PDF 5.5 MB)
- 202301 VOICE OF THE PARTICIPANT: Impact of climate changes on the day-to-day lives of the women and their family members in Thatta Pakistan: Voices of local community (Aziz) (PDF 4 MB)
- 202301 NICHD Data Sharing (Rosen) (PDF 2.2 MB)
Concept Review
Concept Review by Council
- 202301 New Approaches for Measuring Brain Changes Across Longer Timespans (Buhring/IDDB, Lee/MPIDB)
- 202301 Collaborative Rare Diseases Research for Long-Term Follow-Up of Newborn Screening Conditions (Minear/IDDB)
- 202301 NICHD High Priority Research Projects (Signore/DER)
- Supporting Presentation (PDF 543 KB)
Meeting Info
October 2022 Council (to be held on September 12-13, 2022)
Presentations
- 202210 NICHD Director’s Report (Bianchi) (PDF 1.4 MB)
- 202210 Annual DIR Report (McBain) (PDF 2.9 MB)
- 202210 Invited Director, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) (Criswell) (PDF 2.4 MB)
- 202210 SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATION: Precision mouse models of childhood ALS caused by excess sphingolipid synthesis (Le Pichon) (PDF 22 MB)
- 202210 VOICE OF THE PARTICIPANT: Genetic childhood amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Herzfeld, Mohassel) (PDF 1.5 MB)
- 202210 Special Council Review (Rasooly) (PDF 448 KB)
Concept Review
Concept Review by Council
- 202210 Using Archived Data and Specimen Collections to Advance Maternal and Pediatric HIV-AIDS Research (Lorenzo/MPIDB)
- 202210 Development of Novel Nonsteroidal Contraceptive Methods (Allen/CRB)
- 202210 Centers for Research on Health Disparities in Uterine Fibroids (Tingen/GHDB)
- 202210 Opportunities for Advancing Limb Regeneration Research (Mukhopadhyay/DBSVB)
- 202210 Pediatric Critical Care and Trauma Scientist Development Program (October/PTCIB)
- 202210 Translational Research in Pediatric and Obstetric Pharmacology (Vance/OPPTB)
- 220210 INCLUDE 202210 Initiatives (Parisi/IDDB)
Meeting Info
May 2022 Council (to be held on June 14-15, 2022)
Presentations
- 202205 NICHD Director’s Report (Bianchi) (PDF 2.1 MB)
- 202205 Budget 101 (A. Clark) (PDF 913 KB)
- 202205 Functional Reorganization of DEA/DER (Cernich) (PDF 1.1 MB)
- 202205 Planning New Initiatives (Signore) (PDF 1.6 MB)
- 202205 Invited Director, National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) (Zenk) (PDF 3.4 MB)
- 202205 SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATION: Participation in an NICHD P50 Funded First-in-Woman Study of a Human Contraceptive Antibody (Thurman) (PDF 2.3 MB)
- 202205 Voice of the Participant (White/Video Interview)
- 202205 Statement of Understanding (Young) (PDF 149 KB)
- 202205 Leveraging Network Infrastructure for Clinical Trials (Tamburro) (PDF 1.3 MB)
Concept Review
Concept Review by Council
- 202205 Multicenter Clinical Trials; Leveraging Network Infrastructure to Advance Research and Outcomes (DER/Tamburro)
- 202205 Coordinating Center for the NICHD Population Dynamics Centers Research Infrastructure Program (PDB/King)
- 202205 Opioid Exposure and Effects on Placenta Function, Brain Development, and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes (PPB/Weinberg)
- 202205 Advancing Methods for Safe, Noninvasive, Real Time Assessment of Placenta Development and Function Across Pregnancy (PPB/Weinberg)
- 202205 Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence (PPB/Chakhtoura)
- 202205 NICHD Laboratory of Developmental Biology (FI/Ravindranath)
- 202205 Reproductive Scientist Development Program (RSDP) (FI/Eisenberg)
- 202205 Small Research Grants for Analyses of Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Data (DBSVB/Coulombe)
- 202205 Biological Testing Facility (CRB/Johnston)
- 202205 Chemical Screening and Optimization Facility (CRB/Lindsey)
Meeting Info
January 2022 Council (to be held on January 11-12, 2022)
Presentations
- 202201 NICHD Director’s Report (Bianchi) (PDF 1.2 MB)
- 202201 Mitigating Bias in Review (Byrnes) (PDF 2.5 MB)
- 202201 STRIVE Health Disparities Research (Lamar) (PDF 1.7 MB)
- 202201 Inclusion Triennial Report (Popkin) (PDF 814 KB)
- 202201 Invited Director, National Eye Institute (Chiang) (PDF 2.8 MB)
- 202201 Parent-Provider Alliance and Bereavement Research in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (Suttle) (PDF 1.5 MB)
- 202201 VOICE OF THE PARTICIPANT: A Father’s Perspective on Pediatric Critical Care Research and Bereavement (Coleman) (PDF 2 MB)
Concept Review
Concept Review by Council
- 202201 CAPSTONE Centers for Multidisciplinary Research in Child Abuse and Neglect (Maholmes/PTCIB)
- 202201 Learning Disabilities Research Centers (Miller/CDBB)
- 202201 Neonatal Research Network (Bremer/PPB)
- 202201 Physiomimetics and Organoids for Reproductive Health (Ravindranath/FI, Tingen/GHDB)
- 202201 Integrative Research in Gynecologic Health (Tingen/GHDB)
Meeting Info
October 2021 Council (to be held on September 9-10, 2021)
Presentations
- 202110 NICHD Director’s Report (Bianchi) (PDF 2.4 MB)
- 202110 Annual DIR Report (McBain) (PDF 6.3 MB)
- 202110 SCIENTIFIC PRESENTATION: Fertility Preservation in Children at Risk for Gonadal Dysfunction (Gomez-Lobo) (PDF 4.3 MB)
- 202110 VOICE OF THE PARTICIPANT: Turner Syndrome and Premature Ovarian Insufficiency – Impact on Children and Families (Renallo) (PDF 3.6 MB)
- 202110 RADx-UP Return to School Initiative (Lee) (PDF 10 MB)
Concept Review
Concept Review by Council
- 202110 Prevention research from human milk to the origins of disease and development in the life course (PRiMORDIAL) (Vargas/PGNB)
- 202110 Global Network for Women’s and Children’s Health Research (Bremer/PPB)
- 202110 Prevention and Treatment through a Comprehensive Care Continuum for HIV-affected Adolescents in Resource Constrained Settings Implementation Science Network (PATC3H-IN) (Kapogiannis/MPIDB)
- 202110 NICHD Domestic & International Pediatric & Maternal HIV & Other High-Priority Infectious Diseases Clinical Studies Network (Lorenzo/MPIDB)
Meeting Info
Current NACHHD Council Members
| Chairperson |
|---|
| Rohan Hazra, M.D., Designated NACHHD Council Chair Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD |
| Council Members | |
|---|---|
| Anna Aizer, Ph.D., Professor Department of Economics, Brown University Providence, RI | |
| Susan Brooks, J.D., Professor of Law Drexel University Kline School of Law Philadelphia, PA | |
| Marcelle Ivonne Ceders, M.D., Professor Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine San Francisco, CA | |
| Cynthia Cyamfi-Bannerman, M.D., Chair and Professor Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences University of California San Diego School of Medicine San Diego, CA | |
| Ethylin Wang Jabs, M.D., Chair of the Department of Clinical Genomics Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN 55905 | |
| Yvonne Maldonado, M.D., Professor Department of Pediatrics Division of Infectious Diseases Stanford University School of Medicine Stanford, CA | |
| Ignatia B. Van Den Veyver, M.D., Professor Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Baylor College of Medicine Houston, TX | |
| Subject Matter Experts | |
|---|---|
| Derek McLean, Ph.D., Dean College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Utah State University Logan, UT | |
| Ex Officio |
|---|
| Timothy Brindle, P.T., Ph.D., Scientific Program Manager Office of Research and Development, Veterans Health Administration U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Washington, DC |
| Reem Ghandour, Dr.P.H., M.P.A., Director Division of Epidemiology, Office of Epidemiology and Research Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration Rockville, MD |
| Department of Defense |
|---|
| Gayle Vaday, Ph.D., Civilian Deputy Director Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command Fort Detrick, MD |
| NABMMR Liaison |
|---|
| Linda Ehrlich-Jones Ph.D., R.N., FAAN Associate Director, Center for Rehabilitation Outcomes Research Research Professor, Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine Chicago, IL |
| Executive Secretary |
|---|
| Rebekah Rasooly, Ph.D., Director Division of Extramural Activities, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD |