Major Research Areas

Genetics/Biological –CANDLE collects and stores biological samples from both mothers and children during their participation in the study. Currently, the CANDLE biorepository contains over 185,000 specimen aliquots, which are available to CANDLE investigators for analysis.

Neurocognitive – CANDLE children undergo multiple cognitive assessments that examine cognitive ability, receptive language, expressive language, executive functioning, motor skills, adaptive skills, and behavior observation. CANDLE investigators are continually working to develop research questions focusing on neurocognitive outcomes.

Stress – CANDLE assesses stress in mothers and children at multiple timepoints using self-report questionnaires and has a team of experts who develop research questions regarding stress and child outcomes.

Substance Use – CANDLE examines the development of substance use and how risk and protective factors affect the course of substance use development.

Other Research Areas

In addition to the areas mentioned above, CANDLE focuses substantial analysis on demographic, physical health, environmental, and nutrition data. Please explore our current publications page to learn more about studies using CANDLE data.