Support Pediatric Exercise and Genomics Research

UC Irvine School of Medicine's Pediatric Exercise and Genomics Research Center (PERC) bridges a gap in treatment, training and research focused on physical activity and its relationship to child health.

The center's core concept is simple: Exercise is good medicine for today's children, including kids with chronic disease and disabilities.

We know that physical activity early in life plays an important role in the prevention and treatment of childhood disease, and that it also influences health throughout a child's lifespan. Scientists at PERC, which was established in 2006, use leading-edge research tools to develop innovative and technologically advanced exercise programs to improve and maintain the health of children with chronic illnesses and disabilities.

PERC is one of the few centers in the nation that is investigating the connection between exercise and epigenome — the intermediary between genes and factors in the environment that can cause changes in how genes express themselves.

PERC leaders are taking pediatric fitness ideas to national leadership conferences, such as the White House Workshop on Improved Health and Fitness for Americans with Disabilities, to build recognition and support for the study of pediatric exercise as medicine.

At PERC, our national renowned clinicians, exercise physiologists, basic and behavioral researchers engage in team science, working together to pursue exercise as medicine from multiple perspectives. Together, with your support, we can unleash the healing power of exercise.

Give to the Pediatric Exercise and Genomics Research Center ›

Our key faculty members are:

• Dan Cooper, MD
• Shlomit Radom-Aizik, PhD

For more information, contact Carley Fox, director of development for the Department of Pediatrics, UC Irvine Health Advancement, at 714-456-6226 or foxc@uci.edu.