The Michigan Alliance for the National Children’s Study (MANCS) is a coalition of scientists that are working together to carry out the National Children’s Study in Michigan. The MANCS team comes from the four largest academic health centers in Michigan and the Michigan Department of Community Health. MANCS is led by Nigel Paneth, M.D., M.P.H., at Michigan State University, and an Executive Committee made up of highly competent and nationally known researchers from each institution.
The National Children’s Study will examine the effects of environmental influences on the health and development of 100,000 children across the United States, following them from before birth until age 21. The goal of the Study is to improve the health and well-being of children.
The Study defines “environment” broadly, taking a number of natural and man-made environmental, biological, genetic, and psychosocial factors into account. By studying children through their different phases of growth and development, researchers will be better able to understand the role these factors have on health and disease. Findings from the Study will be made available as the research progresses, making potential benefits known to the public as soon as possible.
Ultimately, the National Children’s Study will be one of the richest research efforts geared towards studying children’s health and development and will form the basis of child health guidance, interventions, and policy for generations to come.