NIH-funded Clinical and Translational Science Institute awards granted to five investigators at Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Children's Hospital Los Angeles, an academic partner of the Los Angeles Basin Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), has received funding for two pilot grants and three research training awards.
"The goal of the CTSI is to remove barriers impeding a laboratory discovery from becoming an innovative patient treatment, to involve our communities in clinical research, and to train the next generation of clinical and translational scientists," explains D. Brent Polk, MD, chair of the department of Pediatrics at Children's Hospital and member of the CTSI Board of Oversight. "We are pleased to receive this funding to support our ongoing work in these important areas."
Pilot grants support early stage development of novel solutions that will ultimately improve patient and community health.
"Despite various efforts over the last two decades, successfully pacing a human fetus has remained elusive," said Yaniv Bar-Cohen, MD, a pediatric cardiologist at Children's Hospital. "We have designed a fetal pacemaker that can overcome the hurdles of safely pacing the first human fetus, and the device has a broader applicability to infants, children and adults." Dr. Bar-Cohen, who is also an assistant professor at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, was awarded a pilot grant to conduct an early stage clinical trial using the fetal pacing device.
Michael Valente, MD, a clinical fellow in the department of Emergency Medicine at Children's Hospital, also received a pilot grant for his study of cerebral perfusion during pediatric and neonatal transport.
"We strive to give researchers the skills they need for successful careers at this crossroads of science and medicine," said Emil Bogenmann, PhD, EdD, associate professor of Pediatrics at Children's Hospital and co-director of the CTSI Center for Education, Training, and Career Development. "The training awards play a significant role in that education."
A career development award, KL2, was given to Robert J. Brown, MD, for work in pediatric neuro-oncology.
"Children with brain tumors often require irradiation to the brain to treat their disease," explained Dr. Brown. "Irradiation may treat or even cure their disease but it is also associated with significant, long-lasting side effects. By studying the mechanism responsible for these side effects, we can begin to minimize or even reverse those deleterious changes."
A training award was given to Melissa Warden, MS, pre-doctoral candidate at the USC Department of Preventive Medicine, for her research on identifying a genetic susceptibility to the development of Ewing sarcoma, the second most common bone tumor in children. "Ewing sarcoma primarily affects children and young adults of European descent and rarely occurs in those of African descent," explained Shahab Asgharzadeh, MD, Ms. Warden's thesis advisor. "Melissa's project will uncover the genetic reasons for this ethnic variation and lead to understanding of how this tumor develops."
Ian Holloway, MSW, MPH, also received a pre-doctoral training award for his research on the social interaction of healthy young men that is being conducted jointly with Children's Hospital and the USC School of Social Work. His mentor is Michele Kipke, PhD, director of the Community, Health Outcomes, and Intervention Research program at Children's Hospital and associate director for Community Engagement of the CTSI.
The Los Angeles Basin CTSI is comprised of a multidisciplinary team including faculty from Children's Hospital Los Angeles, eight schools from the University of Southern California, the Los Angeles Department of Health Services and Mental Health, the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County and more than 30 community health organizations in the greater Los Angeles area.
The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles is among the largest and most productive pediatric research facilities in the United States, with 100 investigators at work on 186 laboratory studies, clinical trials and community-based research and health services. The Saban Research Institute is ranked eighth in National Institutes of Health funding among children's hospitals in the United States.
Founded in 1901, Children's Hospital Los Angeles is one of the nation's leading children's hospitals and is acknowledged worldwide for its leadership in pediatric and adolescent health. Children's Hospital Los Angeles is one of only seven children's hospitals in the nation – and the only children's hospital on the West Coast – ranked for two consecutive years in all 10 pediatric specialties in the U.S. News & World Report rankings and named to the magazine's "Honor Roll" of children's hospitals.
Children's Hospital Los Angeles is a premier teaching hospital and has been affiliated with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California since 1932.
Contacts:
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Ellin Kavanagh, 323-361-8505
ekavanagh@chla.usc.edu