Last Update: 03/12/2007 Printer Friendly Printer Friendly   Email This Page Email This Page  

Child Health Research Centers

children in a circleThe Child Health Research Center program emerged through a congressional action taken in response to efforts by the National Association of Children's Hospitals and the Pediatric Research Societies. The goal of the program, which relies on the Child Health Research Career Development Award (CHRCDA), is to establish “Centers of Excellence” in pediatric research. The purpose of this Endocrinology, Nutrition, and Growth Branch program is to provide basic science training for pediatricians who have completed their subspecialty training.

Funding began in 1990 with the support of six centers and increased to nineteen centers by 1992. An additional center was added in 1997. These 20 Centers were initially funded through a P30 mechanism, which then changed to the K12 in 2000.

This program provides the background, techniques, and tools that junior investigator-scholars need to perform translational research and to secure independent research funding. In each center, established investigators/mentors provide expertise and make their laboratory facilities available to junior investigator-scholars for research projects that will enhance the scholars' basic research skills. This experience also enables the scholars to generate preliminary data that can be included in grant applications for independent funding.

During the first 15 years of the program, the NICHD funded 550 junior pediatric investigator-scholars, working in 14 different subspecialty areas of pediatrics, in 30 pediatric departments throughout the United States. Within this group, there are now 18 tenured professors and 80 tenure-track associate professors. More than one third of the scholars have been successful in obtaining R funding. In the most successful centers, 80 percent of the scholars have obtained NIH funding (R, U and K awards).