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Shlomit Aizik, PhD, founder and executive director of the UC Irvine Health Pediatric Exercise and Genomics Center.

Join us on our journey to improve children's health through exercise.

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Exercise training in children with spina bifida »

"A Six-Week Therapeutic Ballet Intervention Improved Gait and Inhibitory Control in Children with Cerebral Palsy" »

Alexa Lucas, UCI Medical Student talks about her PERC experience »

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Jackie Joyner-Kersee, the most decorated woman athlete in Olympic track-and-field history

Olympian helps launch exercise-as-medicine initiative

Exercise as medicine — powerful treatment for today’s children.

We all agree that exercise is good for kids. Yet we know surprisingly little about why or how it can be prescribed to optimize growth and help prevent adult diseases.

What kind of exercise is most effective for a child with asthma, a disability, injury or a serious illness? How much exercise is appropriate, and how often?

Here at the UCI Health Pediatric Exercise and Genomics Research Center (PERC), our scientists believe the answers exist at the most fundamental level of human biology — the gene — and how it is expressed.

Learn more about PERC ›

Latest News

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APR 14	Dr. Shlomit Radom-Aizik Blog about COVID-19, Exercise, Children and their Developing Immune System posted in the ACSM Exercise is Medicine e-newsletter
SEP 23	PERC welcomed 126 5th graders from Martin Elementary School to the PERC laboratories at the UCI School of Medicine. Our young scholars were engaged in activities and learned about pediatric exercise research and healthy habits and lifestyle.
SEP 08	NIH and MoTrPAC study leaders gave an enthusiastic “thumbs-up” to MoTrPAC Pediatric Clinical Site Principal Investigators Dr. Shlomit Radom-Aizik, PERC Executive Director, and Dr. Dan Cooper, Associate Vice Chancellor for Clinical and Translational Science and Director of UCI ICTS. Enrollment is set to begin in October.
SEP 05	PERC opened a new cutting edge tele-exercise room made possible by a generous gift from the UC Irvine Class of 2017.
JUN 24	"A Six-Week Therapeutic Ballet Intervention Improved Gait and Inhibitory Control in Children with Cerebral Palsy—a Pilot Study" was published in Frontiers in Public Health, section Children and Health. [View presentation]

Latest Events

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JUN 08	#TEAMPERC was proud to honor Dr. Frank Zaldivar, Director of PERC Education and Outreach Program and cancer survivor, and join in on running and cycling at the Anti-Cancer Challenge. They also hosted a both educating attendees on the benefits of exercise and harms of sugary drinks.
MAY 22	Dr. Nitsan Dror, Visiting Research Fellow, presented on the effect of cycling and running on bone health at the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) 2019 Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida.
MAY 18	PERC's Bio 199 students and Undergraduate Outreach Program were both featured at the annual Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) Symposium. Three PERC studies were selected to be displayed in Aldrich Hall.
MAY 18	PERC partnered with CHOC's Breathmobile and Asthma Outreach Team at the annual Air Power Games, a track and field day for children ages 5-14 diagnosed with Asthma. Attendees participated in numerous physical challenges and were also educated about the benefits of exercise and better beverage choices at the Santa Ana College Stadium.
MAR 25	PERC Faculty and Students participated at the Anaheim Ducks Captain's Challenge for the second year in a row and educated 5th graders on sugary drinks in addition to their participation in the fitness testing challenges.