Spring 2026 Pediatric Research Awards

Supported by the Doris J. Biester, PhD, Research Innovation Scholar Award and the CCHRI, Dr. Janas' research seeks to improve understanding of cerebral pathophysiology and outcomes following pediatric traumatic brain injury. Even though thousands of children have a severe traumatic brain injury each year, there have been very few updates to treatment protocols. In fact, many clinicians still take a one-size-fits-all approach to preventing additional brain injury during the critical first days. Dr. Janas’ project aims to improve current treatment guidelines by creating personalized targets based on a child’s age and unique brain physiology. The team will use advanced brain monitoring techniques to identify the “danger zone,” in which a child’s brain is no longer receiving sufficient blood flow. These new personalized targets are essential to preventing additional brain damage and improving a child’s chances of a successful recovery. This work will provide clinicians with a more precise toolkit to protect the long-term health of children who have an acute brain injury.

Through the philanthropic support of Mary Jo Johnson and the CCHRI, Dr. Cookson is investigating a novel paradigm of endothelial dysfunction in bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Each year, more than 10,000 babies born before 28 weeks' gestation develop this serious lung disease, for which there is currently no treatment. Babies born to parents with preeclampsia, a condition caused by a malfunctioning placenta, face an even higher risk of BPD, but the biological link between these conditions is still unknown. In this project, Dr. Cookson will investigate how a placenta-related protein elevated in preeclampsia, called sFlt-1, affects both placental and lung development in animal models of BPD. By identifying shared pathways between the placenta and developing lungs, the team aims to uncover new strategies for early diagnosis and targeted therapies for these vulnerable infants.

Funding from the Welch Family Pilot Award is supporting Dr. Mandell’s work to develop and validate custom-fitted, 3D-printed breathing masks designed to help premature babies with severe chronic lung disease transition from invasive breathing tubes. These efforts address a critical clinical problem where standard "one-size-fits-all" masks often fail due to poor fit. This can lead to air leaks and skin-pressure injuries requiring reintubation and increasing risk for invasive breathing tubes (tracheostomy) — which doubles mortality and quadruples hospital stay lengths. This pilot project uses 3D facial scanning to create custom‑fit masks for each baby’s unique anatomy. It will test feasibility and generate key data for a future trial comparing personalized and standard interfaces, with the potential to prevent tracheostomy, reduce death and improve respiratory care for preterm infants with severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia. The work will also establish a new method for producing personalized, 3D‑printed respiratory interfaces and help overcome a major barrier to providing optimal respiratory support for extremely preterm infants with highly variable anatomy.

Made possible through the support of the Bobrow-Tanabe Family Dr. Elajaili's pilot project seeks to better understand the biological mechanisms that contribute to lung injury and fibrosis in premature infants. Premature babies can develop serious lung disease because their lungs are still developing and can be damaged by oxygen exposure and inflammation in the newborn period. Dr. Elajaili’s research studies how certain protective enzymes in the lung change the way immune cells respond to injury, not just by reducing damage but also by reprogramming how these cells use energy and fats. The research is focusing on a specific genetic variant of a lung antioxidant enzyme to understand how it may help immune cells behave in a healthier, less scar-promoting way. By understanding these mechanisms, the team aims to identify new ways to prevent or reduce long-term lung damage in infants born prematurely.

Through the support of the Bobrow-Tanabe Family, Dr. Dobrinskikh is exploring a novel perspective on pulmonary hypoplasia and its connection to fetal growth restriction. Fetal growth restriction (FGR), which occurs when a fetus does not reach its full genetic growth potential, is a common pregnancy complication, affecting nearly 10% of all pregnancies. Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a heterogeneous chronic lung disease which occurs in neonates with FGR. This happens because of impaired pulmonary development followed by the repetitive postnatal injury to developing lungs. Pulmonary hypoplasia is a known driver of BPD. Dr. Dobrinskikh is working to better understand the mechanisms contributing to the fetal origins of pulmonary hypoplasia and its heterogeneity. To uncover therapeutic interventions, it is critical to develop a deeper understanding of these pathways, as novel approaches can improve lung function and reduce the burden of chronic lung disease in FGR neonates.

The LeClaire Family Research Pilot Award is supporting Dr. Tchou's study, which aims to determine whether children hospitalized with pneumonia can safely start antibiotic treatment by mouth rather than through an intravenous (IV) line. If oral antibiotics work just as well, children could avoid painful needle sticks, have shorter hospital stays and experience safer, more comfortable care. This study will be the first step to learning and preparing for a larger study. In this initial study, the team aims to enroll 20 children who will be randomly assigned to receive either IV antibiotics or oral antibiotics. The team hopes to learn how to make this research understandable and approachable for patients and their caregivers as well. The team also plans to actively engage parents in the design of the larger study to ensure it measures meaningful outcomes for patients and caregivers.

This project, supported by the Marion Esser Kaufmann Foundation, aims to study pediatric lung fibrosis (progressive lung scarring) in detail by comparing diseased lung tissue with healthy lung tissue. To achieve this, the team will apply advanced tissue analysis and imaging approaches that they have already successfully applied to adult lung fibrosis, allowing researchers to directly compare disease patterns in children and adults. By doing this, they will gain a better understanding of what these diseases share and what is unique about fibrosis in children. This work is important since pediatric lung fibrosis lacks treatment options, and the condition is often fatal. The goal of this work is to identify the changes that drive ongoing lung damage in children and to discover new ways to improve diagnosis and treatment in the future.

With philanthropic support from the Mosher Family, Dr. Taylor is researching biliary atresia — a liver disease of infancy that is the leading cause of pediatric liver transplantation. This condition is characterized by damage to the structures needed to drain bile, including bile ducts. However, even when a patient has surgery to restore bile flow, ongoing injury to the bile ducts within the liver occurs. Dr. Taylor will demonstrate evidence that suggests a specific signaling protein, Activin A, is responsible for impaired healing of the bile ducts and ensuing damage to additional liver cell subsets. In the current proposal, the team will define the mechanism by which Activin A contributes to worse outcomes with the ultimate goal of identifying new medical therapies.

With the philanthropic support of Owen McKinnon, Dr. Lewis is exploring complications from preterm birth, such as pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the lungs). This condition can lead to lifelong health problems for infants and creates a significant burden on the healthcare system. This research investigates how a specific protective enzyme in the mother’s lungs can shield the developing fetus from the damaging effects of low oxygen during pregnancy. By identifying the metabolic and genetic signals that pass from mother to baby, Dr. Lewis aims to develop new ways to prevent and treat lifelong heart and lung disease in high-risk infants.

With the philanthropic support of Owen McKinnon, Dr. Archambault is researching pulmonary hypertension (PH), a life-threatening condition that affects premature infants with chronic lung disease (bronchopulmonary dysplasia, BPD). Current treatments are often ineffective and do not address the underlying causes. Platelets, blood cells best known for clotting, are increasingly recognized as key drivers of inflammation and may play a critical role in lung injury and abnormal blood vessel development in these infants. This study will analyze blood samples from preterm infants with and without PH to determine whether platelets are abnormally activated and whether this changes as disease develops or worsens. The team will also assess whether commonly used medications, such as aspirin, meaningfully alter platelet activity in this population. By identifying a distinct platelet activation pattern linked to disease, this work could reveal a previously unrecognized cause of neonatal PH and lead to new, targeted therapies for a condition with few effective treatment options.