Internal Funding
Academic and Research Committee (ARC) Awards
These grants support multi-disciplinary programs that can become self-sustaining within one to three years. Awardees this year are:
| Topic | PI | Division | Title |
| Education | Keith Marsolo, PhD | Biomedical Informatics | Enabling Scalable Data Collection, Decision Support and Quality Management |
| Clinical/Research | Mary Greiner, MD | General Pediatrics | Integrated Systems Data Hub for Foster Care |
| Clinical/Research | Lesley Breech, MD | Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology | Fertility Care and Preservation |
| Clinical/Research | Lee Ann Conard, RPh, DO, MPH | Adolescent Medicine | Transgender Clinic Expansion |
| Clinical/Research | Andrew Dauber, MD, MMSc | Endocrinology | Cincinnati Children's Undiagnosed Diseases Program |
| Clinical/Research | Gurjit Khurana Hershey, MD, PhD* | Asthma Research | Personalized Treatment Algorithms for Difficult-to-Treat Asthma |
| Research | Lilliam Ambroggio, PhD | Hospital Medicine | Metabolomics of Community Acquired Pneumonia |
| Research | Claire Chougnet, PhD | Immunobiology | Perinatal Infection and Inflammation |
| Research | James Mulloy, PhD | Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute | Avatars |
| *Multi-PI includes Theresa Guilbert, MD, MS, General Pediatrics and Carolyn Kercsmar, MD, Pulmonary Medicine | |||
Center for Clinical and Translational Science and Training (CCTST) Program Awards
Cincinnati Children’s partners with the University of Cincinnati and other institutions to support programs funded through the Center for Clinical and Translational Science and Training (CCTST).
| Type | Title | PI | PI Department/Division | Co-Is | Co-I Department/Division |
| T1 | Improved DTI and fMRI of the neonatal brain | Jean Tkach, PhD | Imaging Research Center | Randy Giaquinto | Radiology |
| T1 | Reduced expression of Kv4.2 as disease-causing and treatable mechanism in autism | Christina Gross, PhD | Neurology | Tori Schaefer | Psychiatry |
| T1 | Characterization of belatacept-refractory T cells in kidney transplantation | David Hildeman, PhD | Immunobiology | Steve Woodle | Surgery |
| T1 | A new hydrogen peroxide-activated agent that selectively targets AML cancer cells | Eddie Merino, PhD | Chemistry | James Mulloy, PhD | Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology |
| T1 | Prevention of red cell storage damage by a combinatorial approach | Jose Cancelas Perez, MD, PhD | Hoxworth Blood Center | Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology | |
| Jr.T1 | Role of CD38Bright CD8+ effector Memory T cells in a GVDH | Pooja Khandelwal, MD | Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute | Rebecca Marsh, MD | Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute |
| Core | Hyperpolarized-gas Core: Lighting up the lungs | Jason Woods, PhD | Pulmonary Medicine | Zackary Cleveland, PhD | Pulmonary Medicine |
| Core | Epigenomics Data Analysis Core | Artem Barski, PhD | Allergy and Immunology and Human Genetics | ||
| Core YR2 | Pediatric Lower-Airway Specimen Core | Theresa Guilbert, MD, MS | Pulmonary Medicine | John Clancy, MD | Pulmonary Medicine |
| Core YR2 | Translational Genomics Analysis Core | Kenneth Kaufman, PhD | Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology | John Harley, MD, PhD | Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology |
| JiT | Harnessing The Hippo Signaling Pathway For Treating MPNSTs | Qing Richard Lu, PhD | Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology | ||
| JiT | Allele-specific ChIP-seq analyses of hnRNP U to uncover Xist RNA binding sites | Yuya Ogawa, PhD | Reproductive Sciences | ||
| JiT | Transcriptome Analysis of a Ras-Inhibitory Compound in High-Risk B-ALL | Nicolas Nassar, PhD | Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology | ||
| JiT | Epigenetic signature of memory Th2 cells in allergy | Yrina Rochman, PhD | Immunobiology | ||
| JiT | Chemical Dissection of IRAK and FLT3-ITD in AML | Daniel Starczynowski, PhD | Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology | ||
| JiT | Targeting adaptive endoplasmic reticulum stress for neurofibroma therapy | Jianqiang Wu, MD, MS | Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology | ||
| Process & Methods | It's the Process that Matters: Understanding the Risks in Clinical Research | Richard Ittenbach, PhD | Biostatistics and Epidemiology | ||
| Process & Methods | The HopeFest ePassport | Melinda Butsch Kovacic, MPH, PhD | Asthma Research | Bradley Sherman | Hopefest Health |
| Process & Methods | Adjustment for Differential Loss to Follow-up in ECS | Alonzo Folger, PhD | Biostatistics and Epidemiology | Katherine Bowers, PhD, MPH | Biostatistics and Epidemiology |
| Process & Methods | Automated De-Identification of School-Based Mental Health Interviews | John Pestian, PhD, MBA | Biomedical Informatics | ||
| Process & Methods | Strategies to Recruit Community Health Workers in Immigrant Communities | Kelly Kamimura-Nishimura, MD | Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics | Karen Burkett, PhD, APRN, PPCNP | |
| TRP | Child Adult Relationship Enhancement for Foster Care | Erica Messer, PsyD | Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology | ||
| TRP | Avondale Moms Empowered to Nurse! | Julie Ware, MD, MPH | General and Community Pediatrics | ||
| Retreats, Workshops & Symposia | Introduction to Community Based Participatory Research | Lisa Vaughn, PhD | |||
| Retreats, Workshops & Symposia | 2015 Mentorship Symposium | Jessica Kahn, MD, MPH | |||
| Retreats, Workshops & Symposia | 27th Annual Workshop on MR Angiography-Educational Session | Charles Dumoulin, PhD | |||
| Retreats, Workshops & Symposia | Biology and Therapy of Adolescent and Young Adult Sarcomas | Joseph Pressey, MD |
Center for Pediatric Genomics Awards
The Center for Pediatric Genomics (CpG) has established a fund to distribute $1 million annually among projects that accelerate innovative research, development, and implementation of genomic science. Awardees this year are:
| Faculty | Division | Title |
| Vidya Chidambaran, MD | Anesthesia | Genetic-epigenetic approach to predict chronic post-surgical pain in children |
| Andrew Dauber, MD | Endocrinology | Confronting the Dreaded VUS: Validation of Exome Sequencing Candidates in Human Growth Disorders Using Genome Editing |
| David Haslam, MD | Infectious Diseases | Fecal Metagenomics as a Tool to Identify and Mitigate Risk of Bloodstream Infection in High Risk Children |
| Hong Ji, PhD | Asthma Research | Epigenetic Mediation of Genetic Effects in Childhood Asthma |
| Andrew Lindsley, MD, PhD Artem Barski, PhD | Allergy and Immunology | Epigenetic Mechanisms of Humoral Immune Deficiency in Kabuki Syndrome |
| Q. Richard Lu, PhD | Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology | Functional Genomic Analysis of Oncogenic Pathways in Primary and Recurrent Medullablastomas |
| Melanie Myers, PhD | Human Genetics | A Decision Aid for Return of Results Across Genomic Sequencing Studies |
| Mihaela Pavlicev, PhD | Center for the Prevention of Preterm Birth | The Contribution of Non-Coding Genome to Placental Defects: The Establishment and Application of a Novel Tool to Reliably Map and Quantify Active Enhancers |
| Matthew Weirauch, PhD | Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology | Etiology of Inflammatory Diseases Revealed by Shared Molecular Mechanisms |
| Susanne Wells, PhD | Oncology | HPV Infection of Human Epidermis: Single Cell Resolution and Metabolomic Consequences |
Children’s Health Research Career Development Award (CHRCDA)
This program provides $93,000 grants to support training physician-scientists to stimulate pediatric research across a variety of disciplines. This year’s awardees are:
| Name | Division | Title of Research |
| Andrew Lindsley, MD, PhD | Allergy and Immunology | Pulmonary Ceramide Function in Allergic Asthma |
| Kasiani Myers, MD | Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute - Bone Marrow Transplant and Immune Deficiency | Hematopoietic Defects in Shwachman Diamond Syndrome |
| Matthew Alder, MD, PhD | Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute - Bone Marrow Transplant and Immune Deficiency | A Potential Role for olfm4 In Sepsis |
| Kathryn Weaver, MD | Human Genetics | Ttc21b Is Critical for Craniofacial Development |
Cincinnati Children's Innovation Fund
The Cincinnati Children’s Innovation Fund is designed to accelerate the commercialization of discoveries, innovations, projects or products. Recipients this year are:
| PI | Title |
| Hector Wong, MD | Rapid Biomarker Assay for Septic Shock Mortality Risk Stratification |
| Bruce Trapnell, MD, MS | A Pilot Study of Pioglitazone Therapy of Autoimmune Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis |
| Doug Millay, PhD | Harnessing Cell Fusion to Deliver Therapeutic Material to Skeletal Muscle |
| Yizhao Ni, PhD | Automated Patient Identification for Research Studies in Emergency Departments |
| Stuart Goldstein, MD, FAAP, FNKF | Development of Electronic Health Record Diagnostic Service to Identify and Direct Biomarker Assessment in Critically Ill Children at Risk for Acute Kidney Injury |
| Abby Hess, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC | Development of a Game Application that Interfaces with Anesthesia Equipment to Facilitate Improved Anesthesia Induction Experiences and Post-Operative Outcomes in Pediatric Patients |
Adare Drug Repurposing and Optimization Innovation Fund
This new fund focuses on research to help medications initially developed for adults better meet the needs of children. This year's recipient is:
| PI | Title |
| Gurjit (Neeru) Hershey, MD, PhD | Biomarker of Poor Steroid Treatment Responder |
Fifth Third Bank/Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Women Scholars Awards
This program provides grants to support the academic career development of women faculty who have demonstrated academic potential and leadership skills as they progress toward the ranks of associate and full professor. This year’s awardees are:
| Name | Division | Year |
| Fumika Hamada, PhD | Visual Systems Group/Pediatric Ophthalmology | 2015-2016 |
| Patricia Fulkerson, MD, PhD | Allergy and Immunology | 2016-2017 |
| Ellen Lipstein, MD, MPH (1 year award) | Adolescent Medicine | 2016 |
GAP Funding Awards
This program provides one year of support to bridge gaps in R01-level funding or equivalent. Awardees this year are:
| PI | Division | Grant Title | Funding Round |
| Rulang Jiang, PhD | Developmental Biology | Molecular Genetic Analysis of Craniofacial Development | 2015 - July |
| Kimberly Yolton, PhD/Kim Cecil, PhD | General Pediatrics/Radiology | Impact of PBDE and PFC Exposures on Internalizing Behaviors and Neuroimaging Outcomes | 2015 - November |
| Kenneth Campbell, PhD | Developmental Biology and Neurosurgery | Molecular mechanisms controlling formation of basal ganglia circuitry | 2015 - November |
| Sanjoy Das, PhD | Reproductive Sciences | Hoxa10-cMet pathway regulates uterine decidualization and angiogenesis | 2015 - November |
| Paul Andreassen, PhD | Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute | A novel and rapid system to functionally stratify BRCA2 variants in human cells | 2016 - March |
| Satoshi Namekawa, PhD | Reproductive Sciences | DNA Damage Response Pathways in meiotic sex chromosome inactivation | 2016 - March |
| Yan Xu, PhD/James Bridges, PhD | Pulmonary Biology/Neonatology and Pulmonary Biology | Glucocorticoid regulation of mesenchymal cell maturation during lung development | 2016 - March |
Place Outcome Awards
This program, administered by the James M. Anderson Center for Health Systems Excellence, provides grants to stimulate the development of health services and quality improvement research at Cincinnati Children’s and to ensure optimal implementation of clinical and operational innovations in the care delivery system. Awardees receiving funding are:
| Project Period | |||||
| PI Name | Division Name | CO PI Name | Award Start Date | Award End Date | Award Title |
| Kristen Copeland, MD | General and Community Pediatrics | 7/1/2015 | 6/30/2017 | Innovations in management of obesity and inactivity in pediatric primary care | |
| Natoshia Cunningham, PhD | Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics | 7/1/2015 | 6/30/2017 | Improving screening and care for anxious youth with functional abdominal pain | |
| Chris Dandoy, MD, MSc | Bone Marrow Transplantation and Immune Deficiency | 7/1/2015 | 6/30/2017 | Factorial design to improve sleep hygiene in patients and families undergoing stem cell transplant | |
| Mark Paterno, PT, PhD, MBA, SCS | Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine | 7/1/2015 | 6/30/2017 | Redefining rehabilitation after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction | |
| Thomas Sitzman, MD | Plastic Surgery | 7/1/2015 | 6/30/2017 | Standardizing assessment and improving outcomes in cleft palate surgery | |
| Kathleen Walsh, MD, MSc | James M. Anderson Center/Behavioral Medicine & Psychology | Lori Crosby, PsyD | 7/1/2015 | 6/30/2017 | A multifaceted intervention to improve adherence to hydroxyurea among children with sickle cell disease |
Procter Scholar Grant
The Procter Scholar Program supports faculty members from the Departments of Pediatrics, Surgery, Radiology, Patient Services, and Anesthesia who are committed to pursuing academic research careers.
| Year | Recipient | Division | Title |
| Second Year | Ernest Pedapati, MD | Psychiatry | Cortical Plasticity and Neuromodulation of Social Cognition in Autism Spectrum Disorders |
| Second Year | Hitesh Deshmukh, MD, PhD | Neonatology | Developmental Regulation of Host Resistance and Innate Immune Response by Intestinal Microbes |
| Third Year | Andrew Lindsley, MD, PhD | Allergy and Immunology | ORMDL3-Driven Airway Inflammation Triggers Pediatric Asthma |
| Third Year | Jeffrey Tenney, MD, PHD | Neurology | Seizure Generator Location and Neurocognitive Deficits in CAE |
| Third Year | Jennifer Davis, DO | Oncology | ETV2 Role in Embryonic and Tumor Induced Lymphangiogenesis |
| Third Year | Patrick McGann, MD | Hematology | A Phase I/II Study of Hydroxyurea for Children with Sickle Cell Anemia in Angola |
| Third Year (only 6 months of funding) | Brian Varisco, MD | Critical Care Medicine | Chymotrypsin Like Elastase-1 Regulates Pulmonary Vascular Morphogenesis |
Research, Innovation & Pilot (RIP) Funding Awards
This program provides grants to support collecting preliminary data for innovative and essential projects considered to be good candidates for future external funding. Awardees receiving funding this year include:
| PI | Division | Grant Title | Funding Round |
| Kakajan Komurov, PhD | Experimental Hematology | Global Cryptic Transcription: a novel clinically significant phenotype that dictates response to cancer therapy | 2015 - July |
| Michael Jankowski, PhD | Anesthesia | Growth Hormone, Pediatric Pain and Sensory Development | 2015 - July |
| Samantha Brugmann, PhD | Plastic Surgery/Developmental Biology | Using the Developing Embryo to Identify Factors that Influence the Primary Ciliome | 2015 - July |
| Edith Janssen, PhD | Immunobiology | Immunogenicity of MRg-HIFU mediated tumor ablation | 2015 - July |
| Daniel Grossoehme | Pulmonary Medicine | Less depression, better adherence: addressing parental spiritual struggle in CF | 2015 - November |
| Katherine Holland, MD, PhD | Neurology | TMS Measures of Brain Excitability in People Genetically at Risl fore Seizures | 2015 - November |
| Nick Pratap, MB BChir, MRCPCH, FRCA | Anesthesiology | Gastric emptying of novel protein-and carbohydrate-rich clear liquids | 2015 - November |
| Kenneth Setchell, PhD | Pathology | Global Metabolomics/lipidomics Study of Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis | 2015 - November |
| Shari Wade, PhD | Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation | Online Intervention to promote Quality of life in adolescent brain tumor survivors | 2015 - November |
| Mohammad Azam, PhD | Cancer Pathology | A therapeutic strategy to eradicate the Leukemia Stem Cells in Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) | 2015 - November |
| Biplap DasGupta, PhD, MS | Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute | Therapeutic passenger vulnerability in GBM | 2015 - November |
| Tony De Falco, PhD | Reproductive Sciences | Macrophage regulation of the spermatogonial stem cell niche | 2015 - November |
| Simon Hogan, PhD | Allergy and Immunology | Ciprofloxacin driven antigen sampling through goblet cells in the predisposition of atopic susceptible mice to the development of food allergy | 2015 - November |
| Jun Ma, PhD | Biomedical Informatics | Using embryos to monitor insulin-regulated maternal metabolic states | 2015 - November |
| Satoshi Namekawa, PhD | Reproductive Sciences | Germline epigenome and programmed differentiation during spermatogenesis | 2015 - November |
| Saulius Sumanas, PhD | Developmental Biology | Characterization of a novel hematopoietic site in zebrafish | 2015 - November |
| Fumika Hamada, PhD | Ophthalmology | Molecular mechanisms of starvation-induced temperature preference in Drosophilia | 2016 - March |
| Xinhua Lin, PhD | Developmental Biology | Roles of Znhit1 in intestinal stem cell maintenance and differentiation | 2016 - March |
| Daniel Starczynowski, PhD | Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute | Development of novel therapeutic modalities for Myelodysplastic syndromes | 2016 - March |
| Daniel Lovell, MD, MPH/Diana Taft, PhD | Rheumatology | Intestinal Microbiome dysbiosis in oligoarthritis juvenile idiopathic arthritis | 2016 - March |
| Assem Ziady, PhD | Pulmonary Medicine | Examining early pulmonary inflammation in CF | 2016 - March |
Trustee Grant Awards
This program provides research funds for junior faculty to support rapid achievement of independent, sustained extramural funding for their research. This year’s awardees are:
| Award Recipient | Department/Discipline | Title of Trustee Award Project |
| Theresa Alenghat | Immunobiology | Regulation of Intestinal Homeostasis by Commensal Bacteria-Derived Metabolites |
| Lilliam Ambroggio, PhD | Hospital Medicine | Identifying Etiology of Childhood Pneumonia with Metabolomics |
| Artem Barski, PhD | Allergy and Immunology | Epigenetic Suppression of IL4 Expression in T Cells |
| Sarah Beal, PhD | Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology | Understanding Health and Wellbeing Among Adolescents in Protective Custody |
| Stephen Becker | Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology | Phenotypic Correlates Distinguishing Sluggish Cognitive Tempo from ADHD |
| Katherine Bowers, PhD | Biostatistics and Epidemiology | Prenatal Maternal Distress and Offspring Neurodevelopment |
| Iouri Chepelev, PhD | Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology | Functional Analysis of Lupus Disease SNPs Using Chromosome Conformation Capture |
| Zackary Cleveland, PhD | Pulmonary Medicine | Tissue Density and Specific Ventilation MRI in Models of Progressive Lung Disease |
| Steven Crone, PhD | Neurosurgery | Degeneration and Plasticity of Respiratory Circuits in ALS |
| Andrew Dauber, MD | Endocrinology | Functional and Developmental Characterization of Activation Mutations in CDKN1C |
| Patricia Fulkerson, MD-PhD | Allergy and Immunology | Roles of Helios and Aiolos in Eosinophil Development |
| Christina Gross, PhD | Neurology | MicroRNA-mediated Silencing of the Potassium Channel Kv4.2 in Epilepsy |
| Tzipi Horowitz-Kraus, PhD | General and Community Pediatrics | The Role of Executive Functions in Reading in Children with Dyslexia |
| Darren Kadis, PhD | Neurology | Mapping Language with fMRI-constrained MEG Effective Connectivity Analyses |
| Yu Lan, PhD | Plastic Surgery | Golgb1 in Craniofacial Development |
| Satish Madala, PhD | Pulmonary Medicine | Wilms' Tumor 1 - Regulation of Pulmonary Fibrosis |
| Jun Nakamura, PhD | Neurosurgery | Molecular characterization of choroid plexus cilia in a novel mouse mutant with communicating hydrocephalus |
| Catherine Quatman-Yates, PT-DPT | Sports Medicine | Autonomic Dysfunction: A Systemic Impairment and Therapeutic Target for Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries |
| Michael Rosen, MD-MS | Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition | Myeloid Cell-Derived IL-33 in Chronic IL-10-Deficient Colitis |
| Takuji Suzuki, PhD | Pulmonary Biology | Patient-Specific iPS Cells and a Novel Cell/Gene Therapy of Heredity PAP |
| Matthew Weirauch, PhD | Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology | Viral Transcription Factor Interactions with Disease-Associated Genetic Variants |
| Mei Xin, PhD | Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology | Regulation of Vascular Endothelial Network and Remodeling Through Hippo Signaling Pathway |
| Chunyue Yin, PhD | Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition | Molecular and Genetic Regulation of Congenital Polycystic Liver Diseases |
