Training in Developmental Cascades and Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Research (TiDeCIRR)

The Training in Developmental Cascades and Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation Research (TiDeCIRR) program focuses on an interdisciplinary understanding of pediatric rehabilitation and human developmental cascades and their implications for children with and without disabilities. The developmental cascades framework (DCF) refers to the cumulative consequences and far-reaching downstream effects resulting from an individual's interactions and transactions across different systems, levels, and domains over time. Much pediatric rehabilitation research currently focuses on discrete developmental domains and discrete or limited outcome metrics, rarely considering long-term follow-up, multiple linked mediation, or transactional effects across biopsychosocial levels. Without changes to the current training, the future generation of pediatric rehabilitation researchers will be less likely to advance knowledge in the field, hindering our understanding of nuanced developmental processes and our ability to detect and intervene in a timely and appropriate manner when problems in development occur. The trainees are predoctoral candidates interested in pediatrics in one of two PhD programs, Occupational Science or Biokinesiology. They are being trained by a highly regarded faculty including 18 faculty mentors who are federally funded, with research foci on infant sensory and motor development, early detection of neurodevelopmental differences, motor and sensory intervention, and downstream childhood outcomes of developmental disturbances. The training program activities, include seminars, research experience, program milestones and coursework designed to prepare trainees with comprehensive knowledge of typical and atypical development and environmental factors that influence development, advanced statistical and research methods, grant writing, career planning, and research ethic. This innovative training program will help the next generation of scientists build a foundation of rigorous research in infant and child development and rehabilitation principles while building skills to become leaders in rehabilitation research. Project Number: 1T32HD117731-01A1 | Fiscal Year: 2026 | NIH Institute/Center: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) | Principal Investigator: Stacey Dusing (+1 co-PI) | Institution: UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, Los Angeles, CA | Award Amount: $95,722 | Activity Code: T32 | Study Section: Special Emphasis Panel[ZRG1 BP-G (80)] View on NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11334879