Physical activity is a critical moderator of growth and development in children and adolescents. Exercise may also have substantial therapeutic benefits for children who suffer from a variety of chronic disease and disabilities.
Despite the clinical and biological importance of exercise in children, there is a surprising lack of research focused on the fundamental mechanisms that link exercise with growth and development in the healthy child or that identifies the mechanisms of therapeutic exercise effects in specific disease conditions.
The Pediatric Exercise and Genomics Research Center (PERC) was established in 2006 under the leadership of Dan M. Cooper, MD. The goal of the center is to expand the conduct of interdisciplinary clinical and basic science research and research training in pediatric exercise science.