From Our Director

It’s an honor to support Cincinnati Children’s mission in research and discovery, leading the way in helping children live their best possible lives. As I often say, yesterday’s research produced today’s cures, and today’s research offers hope for the future. 

Fiscal 2024 was an exceptional year for our Research Foundation. Our researchers produced over 3,400 publications and secured a record $308.7M in grants and $17.5M in philanthropic support. We expanded our footprint with centers for gene and cell therapy and vaccine research and launched programs in training, cystic fibrosis, and immunology. Progress in our areas of focus included organoids for personalized medicine, brain assembloids with a functional blood-brain barrier, and insights into maternal-offspring cellular crosstalk. We advanced treatments for eosinophilic esophagitis, pediatric brain tumors, and behavioral health.  

These achievements reinforce our commitment to excellent and equitable outcomes for every child and affirm Cincinnati Children’s role as a research powerhouse, driving discovery to transform lives in our region and around the world.

Read More from Cincinnati Children's Research Foundation Director, Tina L. Cheng, MD, MPH

Progress in Priority Research

In 1931, Cincinnati Children’s became the first pediatric hospital in the country to have a building dedicated solely to research. Ever since, clinicians and scientists here have worked together to improve outcomes through discovery, innovation, and the translation of new knowledge into care. Our research mission has grown dramatically through the decades, thanks to funding from government, industry, philanthropy and other sources. 

Today, the research and innovation occurring at Cincinnati Children’s spans the full arc of the human life course, shedding light upon prenatal development and conditions that emerge in infancy, childhood and adolescence. Many of these conditions have a profound influence upon adult life, with ramifications extending all the way to our senior years. The impact of this work can be seen as thriving children overcome health challenges and through measured improvements in population health. The following stories recount research highlights from fiscal 2024 along our seven priority areas, which include: