Lucas, Lynnette J

Purpose

Establish the infrastructure, capacity and partnerships necessary to develop and ultimately conduct an Indigenous-driven I-HeLTI DOHaD Intervention Cohort Research Study, including: Recruiting women, both preconception and during pregnancy, their infants and the fathers; Designing an intervention to develop, conduct and evaluate interventions for and with women and men during preconception, pregnancy and, for infants, during the postnatal period to substantially reduce the prevalence of NCDs; Conducting evaluative and mechanistic studies that will explain the effect of the selected interventions on outcomes, including epigenetic and economic analyses of interventions; and Developing governance processes, including research data management practices. Develop cross-community collaborations that will provide a multi-disciplinary learning platform and training environment for early career researchers and trainees; Generate evidence that will guide policy and other decision making, and identify opportunities for future research and interventions as part of a longer-term strategy for NCD prevention; Decrease the incidence of risk factors for later-life NCDs by targeting early exposures and early development, particularly related to women and men’s health preconception, during pregnancy, early life and in early childhood. Establish a platform for sustained investment through long-term Indigenous community engagement and institutional commitments.