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Science & Discovery

From the laboratory to the clinics and out into our communities, research at Lurie Children’s is conducted through the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute

Genetic basis for AF found

Pediatric cardiologist Gregory Webster, MD, MPH, Section Chief of Electrophysiology, was awarded a grant from the NIH for research on the genetic basis of early-onset atrial fibrillation (AF), a disordered rhythm in the top part of the heart. Preliminary work from Dr. Webster’s group has demonstrated that heart muscle genes are responsible in some patients. His team will lead a consortium of 33 centers across the United States and Canada to enroll patients with early onset AF, perform genomic sequencing and monitor clinical recurrence of disease.

Risk scores for pneumonia patients

Todd Florin, MD, MSCE, Director of Research for Emergency Medicine, was awarded nearly $6 million in NIH funding to lead a 14-center study in developing risk scores that emergency department physicians can use to predict pneumonia severity in children. Although community-acquired pneumonia is a leading reason that children seek emergency care, no validated tools exist to predict disease severity in children. This objective score will help avoid many unnecessary hospitalizations in children at low risk of severe outcomes, while targeting more focused therapies towards the children at highest risk for severe disease.

Gene research promises hope for elderly

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in the elderly can be caused by severe COVID-19, pneumonia, flu or sepsis and currently has no pharmacological or cell-based treatments. New research from the lab of Youyang Zhao, PhD, identified a gene important in the repair of blood vessels through regeneration of endothelial cells, which line the vessels of the lung. He found that aging impairs this gene’s expression, and showed the gene’s expression could be reactivated to restore the gene’s function and improve survival from ARDS in aged mice.

One key to rising youth suicide rates found

Suicide, the second leading cause of death among U.S. adolescents, was linked to a shortage of mental health professionals at the county level according to research published in JAMA Pediatrics. Lead author and emergency medicine physician Jennifer Hoffmann, MD, MS, found that disparities exist by area geography, with higher suicide rates in rural and high poverty areas of the U.S., where mental health professionals are scarce. She noted that policies that restrict firearm access to young people may be considered as a suicide prevention strategy.

Neonatal stem cells suggest treatment for Crohn’s disease

A study published in Advanced Therapeutics offers a promising new treatment that avoids the pitfalls of current Crohn’s disease medications, including diminishing effectiveness, severe side effects and increased risk of gastrointestinal dysfunction. Senior author Arun Sharma, PhD, Director of Pediatric Urological Regenerative Medicine and Surgical Research, found that direct injection of neonatal stem cells, derived from heart tissue discarded during surgery, reduces intestinal inflammation and promotes wound healing in a mouse model of Crohn’s disease-like ileitis, an illness marked by chronic intestinal inflammation and progressive tissue damage.

Key Stats

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clinical trials and active studies

$000.2M

in external funding, a 29% increase over FY22

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publications