As childhood obesity rates climb nationwide, a psychology professor will spend the next five years investigating factors contributing to the trend with the help of a new $3 million federal grant.

With funding from the National Institutes of Health, Jody Ganiban will explore the effect of a child’s genetic makeup, prenatal history and home environment in causing obesity.

By tracking the growth of 561 adopted children from birth up to 9 years old, Ganiban said in a press release that she hopes to “tease apart genetic and prenatal influences on child weight from their current home environments.”

“The long term goal of this project is to understand how the home environment can mitigate or boost the impact of a child’s genetic and prenatal risk for obesity,” Ganiban said in the release.

In collaboration with researchers from the Oregon Social Learning Center, a non-profit research institute, and the Pennsylvania State University, Ganiban will also interview adoptive parents about their child’s daily habits and connect with birth families to assess genetic-based risks for obesity.

Since 2007, obesity has the central focus of the STOP Obesity Alliance, a research effort based in School of Public Health and Health Services that looks to find ways to improve prevention and care for obesity.