Welcome message from the center founder and executive director

Pediatric health: A journey of discovery

Welcome to the UC Irvine Health Pediatric Exercise and Genomics Research Center (PERC).

We thank you for your interest in PERC and the cutting-edge research we are doing to benefit children today and tomorrow.

We know that the emerging epidemics of pediatric obesity, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome are ominous consequences of physical inactivity in many children.

We also know that children who live with conditions such as asthma, cerebral palsy, spina bifida and acute lymphocytic leukemia must cope with the effects of inactivity because they don’t know how to move safely.

The knowledge we are gaining at PERC is moving exercise science in the direction of personal “prescriptions” for physical activities.

These antidotes to ill health are being tailored to individual profiles, both to promote growth and development in childhood as well as to lay the foundation for better health over a lifetime.    

Nationally, our center is the host for a new, privately funded project to develop innovative approaches to embed exercise-as-medicine concepts for children's health. We are doing this by reaching out to primary care pediatricians, family physicians, school teachers and others in our communities. 

It has been exciting to see children improve their health and their outlook on life as a result of exercise and the physical activity research we and others have done. We are very proud of the positive impact this work is having on young people in our local community and beyond.

We invite you to join our journey of discovery as a collaborator, a donor or a research participant.

Shlomit Radom-Aizik, PhD
Founder and Executive Director
UC Irvine Pediatric Exercise and Genomics Research Center