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/Research | Melissa Klein, MD/MEd | Dan Schumacher MD/MEd | General & Community Pediatrics | Emergency Medicine | Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Education Research Unit (CERU) and Educational Research Scholars Program |
| Clinical/Research | Alexei Grom, MD | Grant Schulert, MD/PhD | Rheumatology | Cincinnati Autoinflammatory Disease (AIFD) Treatment and Research |
| Clinical/Research | Jason Woods, PhD | Pulmonary Medicine | BPD Center of Excellence |
| Research | Peter White, PhD | Marianne James | Biomedical Informatics | IS | Scalable and Sustainable Registry Project |
| Research | Nathan Salomonis, PhD | Raphael Kopan, PhD | Biomedical Informatics | Developmental Biology | Cincinnati Pediatric Cell Atlas Center |
| Research | Stephen Waggoner, PhD | CAGE | Kawasaki Disease—Diagnosis and Treatment |
| Clinical | Michael Sorter, MD | Jennifer Ruschman | Psychiatry | IS | Center for Telehealth (ECHO) |
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). This list shows faculty who received grants to support translational research, build core capabilities, develop innovative research methods, or collaborate with community partners.
| Type | Title | PI | PI Department/Division | Co-I | Co-I Department/Division |
| Pilot | Persistent Gene Expression Changes in Lung Macrophage Following Smoking Cessation | Michael Borchers | Pulmonary | Critical Care | and Sleep Medicine | Mario Medvedovic, PhD | Environmental Health |
| Pilot | Targeting c-ABL as a novel strategy to treat vascular malformations | Elisa Boscolo, PhD | Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology | ||
| Pilot | Pilot Study of AZD7325 in Fragile X Syndrome | Craig Erickson, MD | Child Psychiatry | ||
| Pilot | Mechanism-targeted treatment strategy in PTEN-associated autism and epilepsy | Christina Gross, PhD | Neurology | ||
| Pilot | Cdc42 as a therapeutic target in multiple myeloma | FuKun Guo, PhD | Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology | Stephen Medlin | Hematology-Oncology |
| Pilot | SHARED DECISION-MAKING, PATIENT ENGAGEMENT AND ADHERENCE IN ADULTS WITH CF | Patricia Joseph | Pulmonary | Critical Care | and Sleep Medicine | Mark Eckman | General Internal Medicine |
| Pilot | Injectable gel depot of simvastatin beta-hydroxy acid to treat low back pain | Chia-Ying (James) Lin | Biomedical Engineering | Steve Agabegi | Orthopaedic Surgery |
| Pilot | Developing a Standardized Risk Assessment Approach to Improve School Safety | Yizhao Ni, PhD | Biomedical Informatics | Drew Barzman, MD | Psychiatry |
| Mentored Pilot | Maternal diet during pregnancy and Diet-associated epigenetic markers | Carina Venter | Allergy and Immunology | Marc Rothenberg, MD, PhD | Allergy and Immunology |
| Mentored Pilot | Targeted Combinatorial Treatment of BRAF-driven Melanoma | Yuhang Zhang | Pharmaceutical Science | Zalfa Abdel-Malek | Dermatology |
| JIT C1 | Examining SCD methylation status as a biomarker for SCD inhibitor therapy in Glio | Biplab DasGupta, PhD | Oncology | Hong Ji | Asthma Research |
| JIT C1 | Targeted sequencing of mouse and human angiosarcoma samples | Jun-Lin Guan | Cancer Biology | ||
| JIT C1 | Comparability of exosomal RNA across human biofluids | Scott Langevin | Environmental Health / Epidemiology | ||
| JIT C1 | Transcriptome Analysis of a Novel High-Risk B-ALL Inhibitor | Nicholas Nassar | Experimental Hematology & Cancer Biology | José Cancelas | Research & Experimental Hematology / Cancer Biology |
| Impact of Metabolic Health on Lactocyte Gene Expression | Laurie Nommsen-Rivers | College of Allied Health / Nutritional Sciences | Aaron Marshall | Rebekah Karns | Medical Education | Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition | |
| JIT C1 | C5a-C5aR1 function for brain storage of glucosylceramide in Gaucher disease | Manoj Pandey, PhD | Human Genetics | ||
| JIT C1 | A Next-Century Approach to Cholesteatoma Treatment | Ravi Samy | Otology/Neurotology/ Skull Base Surgery / Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery | Brian Earl | Communication Sciences & Disorders / Audiology |
| JIT C1 | Modeling Inflammation and Fibrosis in Human with iPSC-derived Multi-Cellular Liver Organoid | Takanori Takebe, MD | Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition | Developmental Biology | ||
| JIT C2 | Refrigerated preservation of human platelets | Jose Cancelas-Perez, MD, PhD | Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology | Yi Zheng, PhD | Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology |
| JIT C2 | Genetic variation in cytolytic pathway and IFN induced cascade in Macrophage Activation Syndrome | Alexei Grom, MD | Rheumatology | Sherry Thornton, PhD | Rheumatology |
| JIT C2 | Role of circadian rhythms in gastrointestinal systems | Christian Hong | Pharmacology and Systems Physiology | ||
| JIT C2 | Re-evaluation of Xist repeat-B for X-chromosome inactivation | Yuya Ogawa, PhD | Reproductive Sciences | ||
| JIT C2 | Single-cell RNAseq in Pediatric Ulcerative Colitis | Michael Rosen, MD, MSCI | Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition | Nathan Salomonis, PhD | Biomedical Informatics |
| JIT C3 | Metabolomics Analysis of in vitro Co-culturing System for Pneumocystis (Pn) | Melanie Cushion | Infectious Diseases | Nikeya Tisdale | Infectious Diseases |
| JIT C3 | Identifying marrow-stroma/leukemia cytokine crosstalk | H. Leighton Grimes, PhD | Immunobiology | ||
| JIT C3 | Exploring Pseudohypoxia in Myelodysplastic Syndromes using Stable Isotope-Resolved Metabolomics | Gang Huang, PhD | Cancer Pathology | ||
| JIT C3 | Generation of knock out mice for the long non coding RNA for Endothelin-1 | Punam Malik, MD | Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology | ||
| Community Leaders Institute | Place-Based Bike Clubs | Jasmine Humphries | |||
| Community Leaders Institute | Avondale Children Thrive Initiative | Jodi Cunningham | |||
| Community Leaders Institute | Healthy Cooking Club for Kids at Gabriel’s Place | Michael Vinegar | |||
| Community Leaders Institute | Health Effects of Stress on Youth | Mildred Patterson | |||
| Community Leaders Institute | Heal Through Creation—An Intentional Space for Single Women | Nkem Kayla Iheukwu | |||
| Community Leaders Institute | Uniting a Safe Sleep Ambassador Program in the Community (Collaboration with Cradle Cincinnati) | Ruth Kelly | |||
| Community Leaders Institute | Parent Connext | Shermikao Datcher | |||
| Community Leaders Institute | Through Another’s Eyes: Changing the Conversation about Recovery through Photovoice | Tara Jimison | |||
| Community Leaders Institute | Through Another’s Eyes: Changing the Conversation about Recovery through Photovoice | Tyra Scherer | |||
| Community Leaders Institute | Evidence-based Practices and Program Evaluation of Safe Pastures Family Home Life Skills Progra | Valerie Bairnsfather | |||
| Community Leaders Institute-Advocate | Avondale Children Thrive Initiative | Tina Briggs-Brown | |||
| Community Leaders Institute-Advocate | Avondale Children Thrive Initiative | Jennifer Foster | |||
| Community Leaders Institute-Advocate | Avondale Children Thrive Initiative | Jeneya Lawrence | |||
| Community Leaders Institute-Advocate | Avondale Children Thrive Initiative | Audrey Scott | |||
| Community Leaders Institute-Advocate | Walk With Me | Priscilla Nash | |||
| Community Leaders Institute-Advocate | Tree and Climate Education for Williams Avenue Elementary School and Neighborhood | Dana Boll |
Center for Pediatric Genomics Pilot Studies
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 |
| Andrew Herr, PhD | Immunobiology | Defining the pediatric skin microbiome and its role in atopic dermatitis |
| Carlos Prada, MD | Human Genetics | Integrated metabolomics and genomics approach in the RASopathies |
| Ge Zhang MD, PhD | Human Genetics | An integrative approach to clinical variant prioritization and gene discovery |
| Leah Kottyan, PhD | Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology (CAGE) | How does an amino acid change in IRF7 increase SLE risk? |
| Matthew Weirauch, PhD | Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology (CAGE) | Expansion and enhancement of the CisBP transcription factor database |
| Michael Helmrath, MD | Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery | Secretor status-related microbiota to predict Hirschsprung Disease outcomes |
| Nathan Salomonis, PhD | Biomedical Informatics | Targeting the spliceosome in AML oncofusions |
| Stephen Waggoner, PhD | Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology (CAGE) | Defining the genomics of innate regulatory cell dysfunction in lupus |
| Tesfaye Mersha, PhD | Asthma Research | Molecular diagnosis of atopic dermatitis by transcriptome profiling of signature genes |
| Vivian Hwa, PhD | Takanori Takebe, MD | Endocrinology | Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition | Organoid models of endocrine growth disorder for personalized therapy testing |
Children’s Health Research Career Development Award (CHRCDA)
This NICHD-funded program provides 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 |
| Matthew Alder, MD, PhD | Bone Marrow Transplantation & Immune Deficiency | A Potential Role for olfm4 in Sepsis |
| Kathryn Weaver, MD | Human Genetics | Ttc21b Is Critical for Craniofacial Development |
| Andrew Lautz, MD | Critical Care Medicine | Developmental age-related mechanisms of sepsis-associated myocardial dysfunction |
| Maria Barnes Davis, MD, PhD | Neonatology and Pulmonary Biology |
Multimodal neuroimaging of the preterm language connectome: The Search for Biomarkers of Resiliency |
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:
| Innovation Fund | Category | PI | Title |
| 50% Innovation Fund & 50% Ohio Third Frontier Technology Validation Startup Fund | Small Molecule Therapy | Craig Erickson, MD | Pilot Signal Finding Study of AZD7325 in Adults with Fragile X Syndrome |
| 50% Innovation Fund & 50% Ohio Third Frontier Technology Validation Startup Fund | Diagnostics & Medical Devices | Jose Peiro, MD | James Lin | Shape-Memory Patch for Prenatal Spina Bifida Repair by Fetoscopic Approach |
| 100% Innovation Fund | Biologics Cell & Tissue Therapies | Karnail Singh, PhD | Paul Spearman, MD | Development and evaluation of a novel bivalent virus-like particle (VLP)-based Ebola vaccine |
| 100% Innovation Fund | Biologic, Cell & Tissue Therapies | Ming Tan, PhD | A Rotavirus Subunit Vaccine Based on the Novel Norovirus S Particle Platform |
| 50% Innovation Fund & 50% Ohio Third Frontier Technology Validation Startup Fund | Digital Health & Care Delivery | John Perentesis, MD, FAAP | Electronic cancer care navigation |
| 50% Innovation Fund & 50% Ohio Third Frontier Technology Validation Startup Fund | Biologic, Cell & Tissue Therapies | Takanori Takebe, MD | Validation human liver organoid based toxicity (LoT) screen in a dish |
| 50% Innovation Fund & 50% Ohio Third Frontier Technology Validation Startup Fund | Digital Health & Care Delivery | Sander Vinks, PharmD, PhD | Electronic health record embedded decision support platform for precision drug treatment in neonates |
| 50% Innovation Fund & 50% Ohio Third Frontier Technology Validation Startup Fund | Digital Health & Care Delivery | Jing Xiang, MD, PhD | MEG Processor |
| 50% Innovation Fund & 50% Ohio Third Frontier Technology Validation Startup Fund | Biologic, Cell & Tissue Therapies | Yi Zheng, PhD | Jose Cancelas, MD, PhD | Refrigerated preservation of platelets for human transfusion |
| 50% Innovation Fund & 50% Ohio Third Frontier Technology Validation Startup Fund | Diagnostic & Medical Device | Assem Ziady, PhD | Blood protein marker algorithms that predict lung function decline in CF and other pulmonary diseases |
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 |
| Theodosia Kalfa, MD, PhD | Hematology | 2017-2018 |
| Rachel Thienprayoon, MD, PhD | Clinical Anesthesia | 2018-2019 |
GAP Funding Awards
This program provides one year of support to bridge gaps in R01-level funding or equivalent. Awardees this year are:
| Name | Division | Title | Funding Round |
| Rashmi Hegde, PhD | Developmental Biology | DNA damage repair signaling in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension | 2017 - July |
| Jennifer Kaplan, MD, MS | Critical Care | Role of STAT3 in sepsis-induced adipose tissue browning and the impact of obesity | 2017 - July |
| Kakajan Komurov, PhD | CBDI | Loss of transcriptional fidelity in human cancers | 2017 - July |
| Yuya Ogawa, PhD | Reproductive Sciences | Organization of the inactive X-chromosome | 2017 - July |
| Grom Alexei, MD | Rheumatology | Clinical significance of genetic variation in the cytolytic pathway in MAS/sHLH | 2017 - July |
| Adam Kiefer, PhD | Sports Medicine | Biofeedback-enhanced phenotypic plasticity to alter collision injury mechanisms | 2017 - July |
| Rebecca Marsh, MD | CBDI | Precision dosing of Alemtuzumab in reduced intensity conditioning: a Pilot Study | 2017 - July |
| Nathan Salomonis, PhD | BMI | Unbiased identification of spliceosome vulnerabilities across cancer | 2017 - November |
| Mohammad Azam, PhD | CBDI | Role of FOS and DUSP1 in AML | 2017 - November |
| Greg Tiao, MD | Pediatric Surgery | Genetic basis of virus induced biliary atresia | 2017 - November |
| Rulang Jiang, PhD | Dev Biol & Plastic Surgery | Molecular patterning of the midface | 2017 - November |
| Anna Esbensen, PhD | DDBP | Cognitive outcome measures in school-age children with Down Syndrome | 2017 - November |
| Melinda Butsch Kovacic, MPH, PhD | Asthma Research | WE ENGAGE via Data & Stories to Improve Community Health & Foster STEM education | 2018 - April |
| Tony De Falco, PhD | Reproductive Sciences | Exploring vascular-mesenchymal interactions in the stem cell niche | 2018 - April |
| Leah Kottyan, PhD | CAGE | Transcription factor genetics in lupus | 2018 - April |
| Steven Crone, PhD | Neurosurgery | Degeneration of respiratory circuits in ALS | 2018 - April |
| Fukun Guo, PhD | CBDI - Exp Hem | RHoA in T cell mediated airway inflammation | 2018 - April |
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:
| PI Name | Division | Co PI Name | Project Period Start | Project Period End | Award Title |
| Amanda Schondelmeyer, MD, MSc | Hospital Medicine | 7/1/2016 | 6/30/2018 | Understanding continuous physiologic monitoring in hospitalized patients: A Mixed Methods Study | |
| David Hartley, PhD, MPH | Anderson Center/Emerg Med | Nathan Timm, MD | 7/1/2016 | 6/30/2018 | Social media for early warning of epidemics |
| Rachel Thienprayoon, MD, MSCS | Anesthesia | 1/1/2017 | 12/31/2018 | Identifying and defining caregiver and provider-prioritized domains of quality in pediatric hospice/palliative care | |
| Daniel Schumacher, MD, Med | Emergency Medicine | Terri Byczkowski, PhD, MBA | 7/1/2017 | 6/30/2019 | Assocation between entrustment decisions and indicators of quality care (EDIQ) Entrustment Decision Tool Development |
| Lisa Hunter, PhD | Communication Sciences Research Center | John Clancy, MD | 7/1/2017 | 6/30/2019 | Clinical monitoring of Aminoglycoside Ototoxicity to improve safety and quality of life of outcomes in cystic fibrosis (AIM 1 Only) |
| Courtney Brown, MD, MSc | General & Community Pediatrics | 7/1/2017 | 6/30/2019 | Rapid response intervention for children at risk of school suspension | |
| Maya Dewan, MD, MPH | Critical Care | 1/1/2018 | 12/31/2019 | Harnessing the power of the electronic health record to predict and prevent clinical deterioration in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit | |
| Elizabeth Enlow, MD, MS | Neonatology | 1/1/2018 | 12/31/2019 | Patterns of infant health care use and parental needs after NICU discharge | |
| Jason Long, PhD | OT&PT | Karen Harpster, PhD | 1/1/2018 | 12/31/2019 | Pilot Study: Addressing home-based functional challenges via telehealth-based OT |
| Nancy Daraiseh, PhD | James M Anderson Center | 6/1/2018 | 6/30/2020 | Unit-based risk factors lining patient safety and employee safety | |
| Amy Rule, MD, MPH | Perinatal Institute | Beena Kamath, MD, MPH | 6/1/2018 | 6/30/2020 | Microbial and clinical outcomes after reprocessing implementation in Kenya |
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.
| PI | Division | Grant Title |
| Theresa Alenghat, VMD, PhD | Immunobiology | Epigenomic regulation of inflammatory bowel disease |
| Grant Schulert, MD, PhD | Rheumatology | Monocyte and macrophage polarization in systemic JIA and MAS |
| Amy Shah, MD | Endocrinology | The effects of bariatric surgery on high density lipoprotein subspecies and their function |
| John Hutton, MD | Gen Peds/Reading & Literacy | Validation of a "novel" literacy screen tool and the neurobiology of rhyming |
| Pooja Khandelwal, MD | CBDI/BMT | Inhibition of lymphocyte trafficking as novel acute visceral GVHD prophylaxis in pediatrics |
| Lynn Lee, MD | CBDI/Oncology | The roles of MAP kinase activation and hematopoietic stem cell age in histiocytic neoplasms |
| Akihiro Asai, MD, PhD | Gastroenterology | Modeling inherited cholestasis with patient-specific mutations |
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 |
| Iouri Chepelev, PhD | CAGE | R168X mutation in MeCP2 links 3D chromatin structure and pre-mRNA splicing | 2017 - July |
| Ge Zhang, MD, PhD | Human Genetics | Genetic basis of fetal drive for maternal physiological changes during pregnancy | 2017 - July |
| Adam Kiefer, PhD | Sports Medicine | Genetic fuzzy artificial intelligence virtual reality training for collision-based injury prevention in sports | 2017 - July |
| Gregory Lee, PhD | Radiology/PNRC | The effects of mild jugular vein compression collar on brain biomechanics and parenchymal stiffness: Development and validation of a novel ultra-high temporal resolution MRI imaging technique | 2017 - July |
| Tesfaye Mersha, PhD | Asthma Research | Nasal microbiome composition and asthma risk among immigrants | 2017 - July |
| Punam Malik, MD | CBDI | Improving homologous recombination by site-specific suppression of NHEJ | 2017 - November |
| Katherine Yutzey, PhD | HI - MCB | Postnatal heart regeneration in a young porcine model of cardiac injury | 2017 - November |
| Erik Hysinger, MD, MS | Pulmonary Medicine | Quantitative MRI assessment of dynamic trachea collapse: Validation, energy expenditure and outcomes | 2017 - November |
| Christopher Dandoy, MD, MSc | CBDI | Effect of Xylitol on oral health and bloodstream infection prevention during transplant | 2017 - November |
| Christopher King, PhD | Anesthesia | Biological consequences of sleep disturbances in juvenile onset fibromyalgia | 2017 - November |
| Greg Myer, PhD, FACSM, CSCS*D | Sports Medicine | Neural correlates of pain and sensorimotor control in patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome | 2017 - November |
| Dean Beebe, PhD, ABPP | BMCP | Sleep after adolescent mild Traumatic Brain Injury: Nature, Contributors and a Pilot Clinical Trial | 2018 - April |
| Tanya Froehlich, MD, MS, FAAP | DDBP | Epigenetics of Methylphenidate Effects in Children with ADHD | 2018 - April |
| Catherine Gordon, MD, MSc | Adolescent & Transition Medicine | Bone density and marrow composition in transgender youth | 2018 - April |
| Fukun Guo, PhD | CBDI - Exp Hem | Cdc42 regulated Treg stability in tumor immune evasion | 2018 - April |
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:
| PI | Division | Grant Title |
| Jun (Goto) Nakamura, PhD | Neurosurgery | Molecular characterization of choroid plexus cilia in a novel mouse mutant with communicating hydrocephalus |
| Philip Minar, MD | Gastroenterology | Molecular signature to predict response to biologic therapy in pediatric Crohn's |
| Yutaka Maeda, DVM, PhD | Pulmonary Biology | Mechanism of NKX2-1-Mediated suppression of airway hyper-secretion |
| Jennifer Schumacher, PhD | Developmental Biology | Roles of the adaptor protein She in Vegf signaling and vascular maintenance |
| Ting Wen, MD, PhD | Allergy & Immunology | Investigating the roles of FFAR3 in Th2 cytokine production by esophageal lymphocytes |
| Emily Miraldi, PhD | Immunobiology | Transcription regulatory network inference from single-cell genomics measurements |
| Soona Shin, PhD | Pediatric General & Thoracic Surgery | The paracrine role of hepatic progenitor cells in liver cancer |
| Nathan Salomonis, PhD | BMI | New targets for spliceosome therapy in human AML |
| Paritha Arumugam, PhD | Neonatology & Pulmonary Biology | Macrophage engraftment/maintenance and the durability of PMT therapeutic efficacy |
| Yueh-Chiang Hu, PhD | Developmental Biology | Differentiation of primordial germ cells by the genital ridge via BMP signaling |
| Yizhao Ni, PhD | BMI | BRIDGE: A Brain Image-Descriptor Generation Model to assist brain tumor evaluation |
| Lisa Privette-Vinnedge, PhD | CBDI, Oncology | Mechanisms coupling DEK to Wnt signaling and oncogenesis |
| Rachelle Ramsey, PhD | Behavioral Medicine & Clinical Psychology | Using technology-assisted stepped care intervention to improve adherence in adolescents with asthma |
