Wheelock Awarded Grant to Further Child Brain Development Research

Muriah D. Wheelock, PhD, assistant professor of radiology and principal investigator in the Neuroimaging Labs Research Center, has been awarded a $3.1 million grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development. The five-year grant will fund her research into how sleep patterns influence brain development.

Wheelock’s study focuses on the first two years of life, examining how different stages of sleep at various ages impact how the brain develops. Collecting this state-specific data on brain networks could improve the accuracy of developmental outcome predictions, potentially enabling new opportunities for early invention.