"Families and Child Health", Penn State's 19th Annual Symposium on Family Issues, will be held October 4-5, 2011 on the University Park campus. In recent years, there has been an explosion of interest in the early origins of adult health. A growing body of evidence documents that maternal health before conception, prenatal and perinatal exposures, and conditions in childhood play critical roles in health over the life course. While the broad outlines are clear, scientific understanding of the multiple and interacting influences on child health and their role in later health continues to evolve rapidly. With attention to the role of the family in shaping the conditions of early life, this symposium will focus on children's health and development. Health disparities are set in motion very early in life, and a theme of the 2011 Family Symposium is to further our understanding of the mechanisms through which such disparities emerge and are sustained across the lifespan. Lead speakers include David Barker, Patrick Davies, Nancy Reichman, and Lisa Berkman.

For the entire list of presenters and to register, visit http://www.pop.psu.edu/events/2011/nsfi/penn-states-19th-annual-symposium-on-family-issues/view