Welcome to the Salt Lake County Vanguard Location for the National Children’s Study. The Salt Lake County Vanguard Location is led by the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Utah and includes the Salt Lake County Vanguard Location Research Team, data collectors, and support staff. This Web site provides more information about the Study location and our efforts to conduct the National Children’s Study in Salt Lake County, Utah. 

A team of researchers from the University of Utah are working together to plan and implement the Study in our community. This team is made up of social scientists, obstetricians (doctors who deliver babies), pediatricians (doctors who care for infants and children), public health researchers, and data collection experts who have an interest in improving the health of families and their children. 

Study scientists will examine family genetics, neighborhoods and schools, chemical exposures, food, and water, as well as children’s social and behavioral environments to try to pinpoint the root causes of many of today’s major childhood diseases and disorders. What we learn in the Study will help determine not only which aspects of the environment are harmful, but also which are harmless or helpful to children’s health and development.

Children are not simply “little adults.” Their young bodies often make them more vulnerable than adults to environmental exposures. Young children interact with the environment differently. They spend more time on the ground, close to dust, soil, and other elements of the environment, and scientists understand too little about how these factors affect children’s health and development. For example, research findings on the effects of lead on child development and findings on the impact of maternal alcohol use on the fetus have emphasized the need for studies that examine the impact of environmental factors on children’s health. 

Our vision is a Study location that inspires research on health issues relevant to children in Salt Lake County and throughout Utah as a whole.