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  University of California, Davis
  1120B Haring Hall
  Davis, California, 95616
  530.754.8157 - phone
  530.752.3761 - fax
  rlmorrison@ucdavis.edu
In the News & Recent Center Publications:

Blood Mercury Concentrations in CHARGE Study Children with and without Autism - October 2009

Mother Jones: Corn Syrup's Mercury Surprise - July/ August 2009

JAMA: PCBs and Brain Cells - June 2009

J. of Neuroimmunology: Effects of BDE-47 on Immune Responses in Children - March 2009

Frontline - Legacy Pollutants (scroll to the bottom of article and click on 2009 Research) - April 2009

How PCBs May Hurt the Brain - New Studies Shed Light on Exposure to Environmental Toxin and Development of Brain Cells - 4/13/09

Antibacterial Personal Hygiene Products May Not be Worth Potential Risks - 12/11/08

Autism Research - 11/20/08 - KXTV

Autism Study Spots Behavior Differences in 1-Year-Olds - Listen to the Podcast

Researchers Attempt to Solve the Mystery of Autism

Read our latest research papers

View a list of our presentations

Mission

The Center for Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention is a multi-disciplinary collaborative research organization established to examine how toxic chemicals may influence the development of autism in children. The Center's goal is to contribute knowledge about autism that will lead to new strategies for the prevention and treatment of this mysterious condition.

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that typically affects a person's ability to communicate, form relationships with others, and respond appropriately to their environment. Autistic children are limited in their social interactions, often locking into repetitive behaviors and rigid patterns of thinking.

Parents and health professionals have raised concerns about how environmental factors such as pesticides, a variety of chemicals, or even some ingredients included in vaccines may effect the development of the disorder. We are the first center to examine the roles of a wide range of toxic chemicals, genetic predisposition, and the interplay between these two in altering brain development during early life and leading to abnormal social behavior in children.

To learn more about the NIEHS/EPA Centers for Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research program, please click on the following links: U.S. EPA Children's Centers website and NIEHS Children's Health website.


Center Directors

Isaac Pessah, Ph.D., Director - Center for Children's Environmental Health
Irva Hertz-Picciotto, Ph.D., Deputy Director - Center for Children's Environmental Health
David Amaral, Ph.D., Research Director - UC Davis MIND Institute
This center is funded by U.S. EPA Grants #R829388 and #R833292 and NIEHS Grant #2P01ES011269. Funding is also provided by the University of California School of Veterinary Medicine, School of Medicine, the Office of Graduate Studies and the Office of Research.

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