Research Horizons News Briefs
Cincinnati Children's recently welcomed the Colorectal Center for Children as another multidisciplinary service available to the families it serves.
The Colorectal Center provides surgery for anorectal malformations, Hirschsprung's disease and related disorders, the medical management for conditions that cannot be treated surgically, and long-term management of bowel function. Pediatric surgeons Alberto Peña, MD, and Marc Levitt, MD, will direct the center.
A pioneer in the treatment of anorectal malformations, Dr. Peña redefined the anatomic concepts and developed a new surgical approach to correcting this congenital abnormality. Surgical techniques first introduced by Dr. Peña in 1980 greatly improve the likelihood that these young patients can achieve fecal continence.
At Cincinnati Children's, Dr. Peña and Dr. Levitt join a team that includes urology, nephrology, gastroenterology, neurosurgery, kidney transplantation, orthopaedics, radiology, genetics, fetal care, and obstetrics and gynecology. They also will participate on a research team that includes geneticists, developmental biologists and pharmacists.
Cincinnati Children's has signed an affiliation agreement with The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. This regional collaboration will stimulate novel research in vancer that will benefit pediatric and adult patients nationwide.
Under the terms of the affiliation agreement, the newly established Ohio State University / Cincinnati Children's Cancer Consortium will focus on enhancing development of translational research, basic science that can be readily transformed into actual patient treatments.
As the collaboration matures, it is expected to generate enhanced educational and clinical opportunities for medical students and faculty seeking an energetic and productive cancer research program and increased cancer funding.
Jeffrey Robbins, PhD, Molecular Cardiovascular Biology, received the American Heart Association's Research Achievement Award for his contributions to the field of cardiovascular biology.
Richard Harris, MD, Hematology / Oncology, earned the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund.
The University of Cincinnati Department of Pediatrics Women's Faculty Association awarded Sandra Degen, PhD, Developmental Biology, the Founders Award in recognition of outstanding contributions in the areas of mentoring and faculty development. Dr. Degen also received the 2005 Special Recognition Award in Thrombosis from the American Heart Association.
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations awarded Cincinnati Children's the Ernest A. Codman Award. This award recognizes achievement in the use of process and outcomes measures to improve organization performance and quality of care.
The award was in recognition of a federally funded AARQ Patient Project, led by Uma Kotagal, MD, Health Policy and Clinical Effectiveness, that involved 10 other area hospitals.
