Michigan State University researcher Jean Kerver, a Traverse City-based associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics in the MSU College of Human Medicine, leads one of the largest National Institutes of Health-funded studies of environmental influences on child health outcomes. She works with families in Michigan to understand a broad range of environmental factors, including air pollution, chemical exposure, inadequate nutrition and others, that may adversely affect pregnancy and child health.

“I think there is a lot that is unknown about children’s development,” said Katie Laatsch, a study volunteer from Kalamazoo. “Taking the time to invest in that with my own child is worth it to me.”

Laatsch traveled to East Lansing with her 2-year-old son to help researchers train to accurately collect data for the ECHO study, which stands for Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes.

More than 2,000 families in Michigan are already enrolled in ECHO — a study created by NIH to improve children’s health for generations to come.