Research

Overview

The Department of Pediatrics faculty conducts cutting-edge research across the entire breadth of pediatrics.

Our facilities, talented leadership, increased funding and new programs are working together to ensure the Department continues to make discoveries that will improve children’s health and will train the future pediatric investigators who will discover tomorrow’s treatments and cures.

History: Research Discoveries and Milestones

The Department of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado and Children's Hospital Colorado has a long and proud history of major research accomplishments which include the following pediatric research discoveries and milestones:

• Performing the first pediatric liver transplant in the world (1963)
• First description of the medical consequences of child abuse (The Battered Child Syndrome) (early 1960s)
• Participation in clinical trials leading to the licensure of new pediatric vaccines, including Haemophilus influenza and meningococcus (1970s)
• The description of toxic shock syndrome (TSS) (1978)
• The first statewide newborn screening program for cystic fibrosis in the U.S. (1983)
• Discovering the effects of Zinc and Vitamin E nutritional deficiencies in infants and children (1983)
• Description of Kawasaki Syndrome (1976) in the U.S. and clinical trials, leading to its successful treatment with IVIG (1990s)
• Groundbreaking research in the treatment of hemophilia and blood-clotting disorders (1980s and 1990s)
• Methods to save newborns with severe lung disorders, including the treatment of pediatric pulmonary hypertension by using a non-invasive method of inhaled nitric oxide (1992)
• Pioneering pediatric AIDS research, as one of a handful of AIDS clinical trial groups in U.S. (1993)
• The Cystic Fibrosis Center participated in early research and drug trials for Kalydeco, the first drug that treats the underlying causes of CF (2006)
• The development and licensure of a new shingles vaccine (2006)
  
  

Anschutz Medical Campus

The Anschutz Medical Campus – which is the home to the University of Colorado Hospital, Children’s Hospital Colorado, and the University of Colorado School of Medicine – features state-of-the-art research laboratories and educational tools that encourage new collaborations and interdisciplinary research teams. These facilities create opportunities for the Department of Pediatrics to expand on its reputation as one of the top academic pediatric departments in the nation. 

Research and Innovation

The Children’s Hospital Colorado Research and Innovation website shows we are a leader in developing basic and clinical knowledge that drives our supply of new medicines, devices, diagnostic approaches and other health care innovations.

As the umbrella organization for all research at Children’s Colorado, research at Children's Hospital Colorado provides resources, oversight, funding, and expertise to new research programs at Children’s Colorado.

Key focus areas of research include:

• Cardiology and Cardiothoracic Surgery
• Endocrinology
• Gastroenterology and GI Surgery
• Maternal and Fetal Medicine
• Neonatology
• Neurology and Neurosurgery
• Oncology and Hematology
• Orthopedics and Orthopedic Surgery
• Pulmonary Medicine

Support for the our research initiatives is aimed at funding promising physician scientists and pioneering their new ideas. To this end, we are working collaboratively in:

• conducting innovative basic laboratory investigation
• performing patient-oriented research to translate discoveries at the laboratory bench into the improved clinical care for children
• investigating the outcomes of treatments and methods of diagnosis to provide the best patient care
• developing the next generation of clinical and basic pediatric investigators
• engaging our community in studies to assure the health and well-being of all children.

Our research sponsors new initiatives in all disciplines found at Children’s Colorado (including nursing and pathology). To learn more, visit the Children's Hospital Colorado Research and Innovation website.

Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute

The Colorado Clinical Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI) brings together health organizations across Colorado with a goal to accelerate the translation of research discoveries into improved patient care and public health.

The mission of the CCTSI is to transform the current clinical and translational research and training efforts of all schools at the University of Colorado and affiliated institutions into an innovative, interdisciplinary, integrated, collaborative campus and hospital-wide academic home for clinical and translational sciences, scientists and trainees.

The CCTSI was established in 2008 with a $76 million Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from the NIH. 

As part of the CTSA grant, the former Adult General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) at University of Colorado Hospital and the Children's Hospital Colorado CTRC – which were already being supported by the NIH – are now part of the Institute and have been transformed into a new network of Clinical Translational Research Centers (CTRCs).  

To learn more, visit the Colorado Clinical Translational Sciences Institute website.

Grants and Grants Management

With our Grants Program Director and Associate Grants Program Director, and specialists positions, we have created an infrastructure that supports our growing research portfolio, as well as addresses the complex issues that are involved with effective grants management. 

Grants Program Director Jeanette Leeser is responsible for the overall program management and focus on strategic research needs for the future, as well as, the advancement of collaborative efforts. 

Associate Grants Program Director Peggy Roddy​ is responsible for the day-today oversight and management of the team of grant specialists. 

The grant specialists are assigned to work with specific sections/principle investigators within the Department of Pediatrics.