NIH grant advances UI child health research
The UI Department of Pediatrics has been awarded a five-year, $2.1 million grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to continue a mentorship project that helps junior faculty members embark on research careers. The grant renews support that has been in place since 1990 and resulted in the training of 26 UI clinician-scientists in pediatrics. They learn research skills to study the underlying mechanisms of conditions such as prematurity, heritable disorders such as hemophilia and cystic fibrosis, and adult-onset diseases that are thought to have fetal origins. Known as “scholars,” the trainees also gain the skills needed to ultimately secure their own grant funding.
“Science is more complicated and challenging than ever before, so the program is essential to developing the next generation of leaders in pediatric science and health,” said Dr. Michael Artman, physician-in-chief of UI Children’s Hospital and principal investigator for the grant. “In particular, the program involves experts across departments and colleges who serve as research mentors for the scholars. We are excited that the grant will renew efforts to help physicians, who are clinically trained, to develop the skills necessary to succeed as clinician-scientists.”
The grant is titled “Molecular and Cellular Research to Advance Child Health” and emphasizes developmental biology, applied genetics and genomics, animal models of human disease and translational research. In addition to taking advantage of strengths of UI Health Care and UI colleges and centers, the training funded by the grant will involve the new UI Institute for Clinical and Translational Science. The program also involves eight UI internal advisors and three external advisors at other institutions.