Research
has always been an integral part of the mission of Texas Children’s
Hospital. Since 1954, Texas Children’s strong
commitment to research
has improved the health and welfare of generations of children.
Known for its expertise and breakthrough developments
in the treatment of cancer, newborn diseases, cardiac disorders,
diabetes, asthma, HIV/AIDS and attention-related disorders, Texas
Children’s is home to the
Feigin Center for Pediatric Research – a
200,000-square-foot facility housing more than 120 Texas Children’s
and Baylor College of Medicine researchers who seek cures for
childhood diseases and conditions.
" Advances in the next 10 years will dwarf anything
that we have seen previously." -
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Dr.
Ralph D. Feigin
Physician-in-Chief
Texas Children's Hospital
These researchers participate in approximately 400
research projects funded by nearly $58 million each year. In 2003, the
Baylor – Texas Children’s pediatric research partnership was named
number one in grant funding by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) at Texas
Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine provides a clinical
research infrastructure for medical scientists to conduct
patient-oriented research.
Many medical advances pioneered at the Feigin Center
and the GCRC become cutting-edge treatments for Texas Children’s
patients, moving science from the bench to the bedside and resulting
in better lives for children.
Texas Children’s was the first hospital to use
non-compatible bone marrow transplants to cure severe immunodeficiency
disease in children, and the first capable of diagnosing
cystic
fibrosis prenatally and identifying carriers of the CF gene.
Researchers at Texas Children’s are currently studying
subjects such as:
Medications to
improve the quality of life for children with
HIV/AIDS and other
chronic illnesses
Diganostic methods
based on DNA analysis for cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy and
other genetic disorders
Baylor/Texas Children’s
physician-investigators have been:
Participants
in the first study to demonstrate ways to prevent
transmission of HIV from an infected mother to her baby,
resulting in thousands of infant lives saved.
Among
the first to document the efficacy of surfactant therapy in
neonates, resulting in a decline by half in mortality for
premature infants.
Credited
with the development of the Mullins sheath for left heart
catheterization, now the standard equipment used today.
Integral
in the isolation of genes responsible for various forms of
spinocerebellar ataxia as well as Rett syndrome.
Credited
with the development of many of today’s human milk
fortifiers used nationally and internationally.
Key
to the understanding of group B streptococcal infection –
the leading cause of infection death in newborn infants.
Critical
to the ultimate approval of many antibiotics and to the
approval of many forms of therapy for childhood cancer.
Identifiers
of numerous genes and their function, permitting the
detection of many inherent diseases in utero or early in
life.
Successful
in furthering understanding of the molecular basis for
seizure disorders of various types.
Research
has always been an integral part of the mission of Texas Children’s
Hospital. Since 1954, Texas Children’s strong
