How can we ensure our children grow into healthy adolescents and adults? That question animates all our work at home and abroad. And one starting point is a better understanding of where chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes and heart disease begin.

Evidence points to factors like the absence of safe playgrounds and the convenience of unhealthy foods -- even in the absence of other deprivations -- as associated with the risk of health problems that can begin in childhood and contribute to chronic illness much later in life. But scientists are still connecting the dots to understand the potential impact of early intervention on lifetime health outcomes. Likewise, they are still trying to understand why certain chronic diseases disproportionately affect certain populations.

To accelerate understanding of the relationship between childhood health and chronic disease, we’ve funded the world-class Dell Pediatric Research Institute. We’ve also extended our efforts to combat these chronic diseases through funding the Texas Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Obesity, the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living, and the Dell Children’s Medical Center. 

This network of Texas-based facilities and institutions enables us to conduct cutting-edge clinical research at the bench, the bedside and everywhere in between while maintaining our ability to perform – and learn from – frontline medical interventions.