Centers of Emphasis
Children's Hospital makes a significant investment in translational research. This investment includes the creation of the following Centers of Emphasis, established to target effort and resources to areas of research that will have the greatest impact on translating basic research findings to medical innovations.
Here are our current Centers of Emphasis.
Center for Applied Genomics
The Center for Applied Genomics is one of the world's largest genotyping programs and the only center at a pediatric hospital to have access to state-of-the-art high-throughput genotyping technology at this scale. The program detects gene variations and links them to particular illnesses, and focuses on some of the most prevalent diseases of childhood — asthma, obesity, ADHD and diabetes, among others — as well as pediatric cancer, all of which are thought to involved the contributions of multiple, interacting genes.
The goals for the center, led by Hakon Hakonarson, MD, PhD, are to generate new diagnostic tests for childhood diseases and use this diagnostic knowledge to guide physicians to the most appropriate therapies. The center plans to analyze blood samples from more than 100,000 children in three years. To accomplish this large-scale genotyping analysis, the center uses the BeadLab, a highly automated laboratory produced by Illumina Inc. The BeadLab, operational since July 2006, is capable of processing 264 patient samples a day and analyzing more than 550,000 genetic variants for each sample.
Center for Autism Research
The Center for Autism Research coordinates and supports research into the causes of the autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The Center's programs of research are predicated on the belief that effective treatments will follow from a better understanding of causal mechanisms.
Led by Robert T. Schultz, PhD, in collaboration with other Children’s Hospital faculty, the CAR establishes a broad-based research program aimed at fundamental discoveries into causes of the ASDs. The Center establishes programs of research focused on developmental, neurobiological and genetic mechanisms of the ASDs, with a particular emphasis on understanding the individual differences across the spectrum. Affiliated faculty also engage in research to evaluate the current standard of care for patients with an ASD and to test the effectiveness of promising new treatments.
Center for Biomedical Informatics
The Center for Biomedical Informatics (CBMi) is an innovative, interdisciplinary and academically focused group that facilitates the utilization of biomedical information. CBMi's mission is to provide the expertise and infrastructure needed to maximize the value of information relevant to all biomedical research, education and clinical activities occurring at Children's Hospital. This endeavor blends the disciplines of bioinformatics and clinical information, which themselves require excellence in and integration of various knowledge domains, including biology, medicine, statistics, mathematics, linguistics and computer science.
The aim of CBMi, led by Peter White, PhD, is to empower researchers, clinical staff, patients and families to most effectively utilize the ever-expanding totality of pediatric health information. In turn, these processes are expected to result in more effective pediatric healthcare interventions.
Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics
The Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics facilitates rapid translation of pre-clinical discoveries into clinical application. One of few such programs based at a pediatric institution, the center collaborates with other major programs to pursue new therapies for inherited and acquired disorders. Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator Katherine High, MD, Division of Hematology, leads the new center, which also serves as an educational resource for investigators, clinicians, students, patient families and the general public.
The center has dedicated resources and personnel to help facilitate rapid translation. For example, the cGMP facility produces clinical-graded vectors in accordance with Food and Drug Administration regulations. In addition, given the complicated nature and the government's stringent regulations of cell and gene therapy, the center guides and assists investigators through the regulatory approval process.
Center for Childhood Cancer Research
The Center for Childhood Cancer Research, directed by John Maris, MD, represents a highly integrated basic, translational and clinical research environment dedicated to eradicating the pain and suffering caused by cancer in children. This goal will be realized by bringing together the diverse talents of investigators in the Hospital's renowned multidisciplinary program in pediatric cancer research, patient care and genomics.
The Center's organization supports an environment where basic scientists interact with master clinicians around the central theme of improving cure rates through translational research initiatives. Recruitment of leading talent in areas that can facilitate this progress, spanning the laboratory and clinical research ends of the spectrum, enable the Center's mission. Key to the Center's success is translating the latest scientific findings obtained from cutting-edge basic research into innovative clinical trials designed to dramatically improve the cure rates for pediatric cancers while simultaneously eliminating long-term side effects.
Center for Injury Research and Prevention
The Center for Injury Research and Prevention is a comprehensive pediatric trauma research facility dedicated exclusively to addressing injury, the leading cause of death for children and adolescents. The center advances the safety of children, adolescents and young adults through research into the origin and nature of childhood injuries, and develops effective interventions that will prevent the recurrence of those injuries. The center's cornerstone programs, Partners for Child Passenger Safety and the Young Driver Research Initiative, are ongoing research partnerships with State Farm® focused on mitigating motor vehicle crash injuries and death to children and young drivers.
Led by Flaura K. Winston, MD, PhD, and Dennis R. Durbin, MD, MSCE, the center uses a multidisciplinary approach, drawing on a team of scientists from the fields of emergency medicine, pediatric trauma, pediatric and adolescent development, epidemiology and biostatistics, bioengineering, computational engineering, psychology, behavioral development, communications and health education. These different points of view form the foundation of a methodology in which research into the pre-event, event and post-event causes of injury and trauma can lead to action and ultimately make an impact on our nation's youth. The center's findings are not only published in peer-reviewed medical and scientific journals but are translated into recommendations for parents, educators, policymakers and product manufacturers by the center's outreach and advocacy professionals.
Center for Developmental Biology
Disorders and illnesses of childhood are unique from those in adults as a result of development. Thus, understanding pathobiology within the context of development is essential for the diagnosis, management, cure and prevention of pediatric diseases. The goal of the Center for Developmental Biology is to increase our understanding of these developmental issues in order to support the Hospital's mission of being the leader in caring for children.
Established in 2004, the center employs basic research focused on elucidating the mechanisms of developmental processes. The interdepartmental and interdivisional nature of the center augments and elevates ongoing research efforts at Children's Hospital. Led by Jeffrey Golden, MD, the center aspires to implement a "bench to bedside and back to the bench" paradigm inherent when developmental biology research is tightly linked to the ongoing care of children. In addition to providing leadership in developmental research, the center provides training for the next generation of pediatric physician-scientists, and will help Children's Hospital to maintain a leadership role in defining healthcare practice and policy.
Center for Pediatric Clinical Effectiveness
The mission of the Center for Pediatric Clinical Effectiveness is to discover and disseminate knowledge about best practices in the management of pediatric disease. Led by Ron Keren, MD, MPH, the center provides infrastructure for training in and performance of clinical effectiveness research — research aimed at understanding the best ways to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases in children.
The center builds on the existing research expertise and infrastructure at Children's Hospital to create an environment and opportunities for the exchange of ideas among clinical effectiveness researchers, facilitate the performance of clinical effectiveness research through a pilot grant program and assistance with projects that use existing national and local databases, and educate the next generation of clinical effectiveness researchers in the methods of clinical epidemiology. In addition, the center aims to partner with other Hospital organizations to improve the care of our patients and disseminate research findings that define the most effective healthcare for children.