Environmental Toxicity, Malnutrition, and Children's Externalizing Behavior

这项为期四年的FIC发展奖将培养候选人实现其长期目标的能力 成为一名独立的跨学科研究人员。最终，她将发展技能、知识和 从事专注于全球卫生挑战的国际合作研究事业的经验， 尤其是环境和营养方面的危险因素导致儿童行为问题。这个目标一定会实现的 通过参与以导师为导向的国际合作研究，通过从事研究 活动、课程工作、实验室培训和会议/讲习班。 拟议的培训计划旨在以候选人以前的研究经验为基础，进行新的培训 了解环境毒性和/或微营养不良对儿童行为问题的影响。 五个具体的培训目标是(1)扩大关于环境毒性的新知识，(2)进一步获得 营养评估培训及其对儿童行为问题的影响；(3)获得进一步培训 精神病理学，(4)提高研究方法和高级统计的技能，以及(5)开发新的 具备国际合作研究和跨文化研究方面的知识和技能。 这项拟议的研究计划旨在研究环境毒性和 微量营养素缺乏与儿童外化行为。四个具体目标是：(1)评估 铅暴露和微量营养素缺乏对儿童外化行为的直接影响 生物和心理社会危险因素对儿童外显行为的交互影响 上述直接和交互影响的中介因素；以及(4)确定 导致儿童的环境毒性/微量营养素缺乏症和心理社会风险因素 外化行为。假设将在正在进行的国际合作的背景下进行检验 780名5~6岁中国幼儿园男女幼儿的前瞻性研究。措施包括 血液中铅和微量营养素的水平、智商、心理社会障碍和行为问题清单。 将使用结构方程模型进行数据分析。 / 总之，这项拟议有指导的国际协作研究/培训将面向全球三个国家 公共卫生问题：环境毒性、微营养不良和儿童行为障碍，一个焦点 与FIC解决全球卫生研究优先事项的使命一致。

This four-year FIC Development Award will foster the candidate's ability to achieve her long-term goal of becoming an independent interdisciplinary researcher. Ultimately she will develop the skills, knowledge and experience to pursue an international collaborative research career focused on global health challenges, particularly environmental and nutritional risk factors for child behavior problems. This goal will be achieved through involvment in a mentor-oriented international collaborative research study, through pursuing research activities, course work, laboratory training, and conferences/workshops. The proposed training plan aims to build on the candidate's prior research experience with new training in understanding the impact of environmental toxicity and / or micromalnutrition on children's behavior problems. The five specific training goals are to (1) expand new knowledge on environment toxicity, (2) receive further training in nutrition assessment and its implication in child behavior problems, (3) obtain further training in psychopathology, (4) enhance skills in research methodology and advanced statistics, and (5) develop new knowledge and skills in international collaborative research and cross-cultural research. The proposed research plan aims to examine the link between both environmental toxicity and micronutrition deficiency and childhood externalizing behavior. The four specific aims are to: (1) assess the direct effect of lead exposure and micronutrient deficiency on children's externalizing behavior; (2) examine the interactive effect of biological and psychosocial risk factors on childhood externalizing behavior; (3) test which factors mediate the above direct and interactive effects; and (4) identify the specific components of environmental toxicity/micronutrient deficiency and psychosocial risk factors which give rise to childhood externalizing behavior. Hypotheses will be tested in the context of an ongoing international collaborative prospective study of 780 five to six-year-old male and female Chinese kindergarten children. Measures include blood levels of lead and micronutrients, IQ, psychosocial confounds, and behavior problem checklists. Structural Equation Modeling will be used for data analysis. / In summary, this proposed mentored international collaborative research/ training will target three global public health problems: environmental toxicity, micromalnutrition, and childhood behavior disorder, a focus consistent with mission of FIC of addressing global health research priorities.