The first 1,000 days of life — the time spanning roughly between conception and a child’s second birthday — are the most rapid period of human development. That span also represents a critical period that helps determine lifelong patterns of health, growth, and neurodevelopment.
The Project HOPE 1000 research initiative, led by Jillian Hurst, PhD, assistant professor of pediatrics at Duke School of Medicine, and Jennifer B. Gilner, MD, PhD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology and a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, lays the groundwork to answer questions about maternal and childhood health such as the impact of obesity during pregnancy or pathological factors underlying pre-term birth.