The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study site at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, Virginia began recruiting 9- and 10- year- old participants in November 2016. Led by Drs. James Bjork and Michael Neale, the VCU ABCD Study team has enrolled over 450 children in the study. Along with Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Minnesota, VCU has a special focus on twins. Studying twins gives scientists the extraordinary power to untangle the relationships among genetic and environmental factors that make everyone unique.

Helped by the recruitment efforts of the Mid-Atlantic Twin Registry (MATR), we have enrolled nearly 200 twin pairs in the ABCD Study so far. Our twin families travel from all over the state of Virginia and a few neighboring states, including North Carolina and West Virginia, to participate in this landmark study. We have also enrolled nearly 100 non-twin families from the surrounding area. We are so thankful to all our families for being a part of the ABCD Study!

Richmond is rich in history, and many of our traveling families enjoy visiting local attractions while making their ABCD trip, such as visits to nearby Jamestown or Colonial Williamsburg. They also enjoy catching up with the VCU ABCD Study team (see photo), getting a picture of their brain to take home, and picking out a prize at the end of their visit – often the hardest mission of the day!

Researchers question effects of hurricanes on kids’ brains (FIU News, 5/24/18)
Using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD) — the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States — FIU psychologists Jonathan Comer and Anthony Dick are comparing child brain function before and after hurricane Irma to learn about how children respond to stressful situations and how parents, first responders, media, and policymakers can promote resiliency in children exposed to stress. Click here to read more.

ABCD Staff Member of the Month!
Congratulations to Dr. Aimee Goldstone, post-doctoral researcher at SRI International, for her invaluable contributions to the success of the ABCD Fitbit projects, attention to data accuracy, child sleep expertise, and collegiality!