Thirty Years Later, James Heubi Continues to Advance Research
When James Heubi, MD, arrived at Cincinnati Children's in 1975 for his fellowship, he never envisioned that he would still be a part of the hospital's fabric 30 years later. In those 30 years, Dr. Heubi has expanded his scope significantly and is now, in addition to being a practicing pediatric gastroenterologist, the program director for the General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) at Cincinnati Children's.
In his time at the medical center, Dr. Heubi has seen and been part of a terrific amount of change and growth. "The institution has grown tremendously and the research enterprise has grown exponentially, particularly clinical research," says Dr. Heubi.
'Hooked on Research'
In fact, Dr. Heubi says clinical research is the reason he has remained at Cincinnati Children's for such a long time. "When I came as a fellow in 1975, I had planned to do training in GI and become a clinical gastroenterologist," he says. "I got hooked on research and the rest is pretty much history."
Dr. Heubi is particularly pleased with the growth and vitality of the GCRC during his 16-year tenure as the center's director. When he took the position in 1989, the center was struggling as a result of losing its funding. It was Dr. Heubi's main priority to renew this funding as quickly as possible. "I think the refunding of the center in the 1980s was my most significant accomplishment," he says. "This allowed us to have extramural funding and to develop into the outstanding center that we are today." Today, it is one of only eight pediatric GCRCs in the country to receive funding from the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Heubi himself even makes use of the GCRC for his own research. In a recently published study on the effects of cholesterol intake on cholesterol biosynthesis among infants, Dr. Heubi used the GCRC extensively.
Important Findings
The study, which was done in conjunction with researchers from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, measured whether intake of cholesterol in breast milk during infancy induced changes in the cholesterol fractional synthesis rate (FSR) and plasma lipid levels that persisted at 18 months. The study found that, while there are differences at four months in the FSR in the patients that received cholesterol during infancy, these differences did not persist at 18 months. The study was an important step for researchers to determine whether cholesterol, which occurs naturally in breast milk, should be added to infant formula.
Dr. Heubi says the analysis for the study was done in Montreal but all the clinical work was done in Cincinnati. Researchers recruited 47 patients and randomized them into three groups for the study. They then had to measure each patient at four and 18 months. "The GCRC provided the study coordinators who brought the patients in and did the blood work needed for the study," says Dr. Heubi. "We couldn't have done the study without the help of the GCRC."
Making a Difference
As the GCRC moves ahead, Dr. Heubi is enthusiastic about the center's expanding role in the area of translational research. The main goal in translational research is to take what is learned in the laboratory and apply it to real-world cases at the bedside. He predicts, "I think that the partnering of our program with translational research efforts here at Cincinnati Children's will make a huge difference in the future with the application of basic science findings at the bedside."
