March 26, 2024

New Insights Open Up Possibilities in Autism Research

Manne Research Institute's latest President's Message from Dr. Patrick Seed

As we expand our role as a national leader in pediatric research, we recently welcomed a new leader who will develop Manne Research Institute’s area of focus in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In the latest President’s Message, President and Chief Research Officer Patrick Seed, MD, PhD, introduces us to Joshua Ewen, MD, the new Division Head of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics whose research is generating insights into the cognitive changes that cause disability in individuals with ASD to identify improved interventions.

SCIENCE SHOWCASE

Manne Research Institute Names Fall 2023 Internal Funding Opportunities Awardees

Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute has announced recipients of the fall 2023 internal funding opportunities. Manne Research Institute provides internal grant and award opportunities to a faculty member or other person who has principal investigator-eligible status to develop projects that will lead to a highly competitive extramural application for sustained research support within 18 months of receiving the award. Funding opportunities are available bi-annually, in the fall and spring, and may vary depending on the year and cycle. 

Kathleen Boyne, MD

Attending Physician, Pulmonary Medicine, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Award type: Interdisciplinary Colloquia Award

Amount funded: $5,000

Title: Lurie and Northwestern Developing Cystic Fibrosis Research Partnerships

Vidhi Dalal, MD

Attending Physician, Nephrology (Kidney Diseases), Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Instructor of Pediatrics (Nephrology), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Award type: Kenneth C. Griffin Research Catalyst Award

Amount funded: $100,000

Title: The TCF21-TARID Axis in Podocyte Health

Jessica Teresa Fry, MD

Attending Physician, Neonatology, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Neonatology), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Award type: Visionary Award

Amount funded: $75,000

Title: Exploring Parental Decision Making in Maternal-Fetal Surgery: A Retrospective, Mixed-Methods Study

Kyle Honegger, PhD

Senior Data Scientist

Award type: Health@Home Activation Grant

Amount funded: $5,000

Title: Beyond Wearables: An Initial Exploration of No-Contact Wi-Fi Sensing for Monitoring Pediatric Health in the Home Environment

Jami Josefson, MD, MS

Attending Physician, Pediatric Endocrinology, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Endocrinology), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Award type: Interdisciplinary Colloquia Award

Amount funded: $5,000

Title: The GROWTH Study: Investigator Meeting to Expand Research and Funding

Soyang Kwon, PhD

Research Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Award type: Schreiber Family Center GROW to 5 Thrive Award

Amount funded: $50,000

Title: Health in Early Childhood Among Asian Americans Research (HEAR)

Monica Laronda, PhD

Director of Basic and Translational Research, Fertility and Hormone Preservation and Restoration Program, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Gesualdo Family Research Scholar, Lurie Children’s; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Award type: Scientific Advocacy Award

Amount funded: $1,000

Title: Supplying CPS Teachers Who Attend ReproSTEM with Lab Support Kits

Yongchao Ma, PhD

Children’s Research Fund Endowed Professorship in Neurobiology, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Neurology, and Neuroscience, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Award type: Proposal Revision Award

Amount funded: $100,000

Title: Fascin Regulation of Mitochondrial Defects and Neuroinflammation in Motor Neuron Degeneration in SMA

Susanna McColley, MD

Scientific Director, Interdisciplinary Research Partnerships, Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute; Professor of Pediatrics (Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; Associate Clinical Director for Child Health and Director, TL1 Multidisciplinary Training Program in Child and Adolescent Health, Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute

Award type: Health@Home Tomorrow Grant

Amount funded: $29,997

Title: Validation of a Next Generation Mechanoacoustic Sensor for Precision Measurement of Cough in Cystic Fibrosis

Katrina Obleada, PhD

Pediatric Psychologist, Potocsnak Family Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Child Psychology), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Award type: Catalyst’s Spark Award

Amount funded: $28,000

Title: Community Voices: Improving Access and Health Equity for Latinx/Hispanic Adolescents and Young Adults with Eating Disorders

Peter T. Osgood, MD

Attending Physician, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Award type: Visionary Award

Amount funded: $75,000

Title: Pyloric Distensibility in Pediatric Dyspepsia, Nausea, and Vomiting

Amanda Marma Perak, MD, MSCI, FAHA, FACC

Attending Physician, Cardiology, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology) and Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Award type: Health@Home Activation Grant

Amount funded: $5,000

Title: Home Data Collection for Adolescents in the Cardiovascular Health Promotion Program (CPP)

NEWS FROM THE RESEARCH PILLARS

Children Born with HIV Surpass a Year of Remission After Pausing Treatment

Four children who acquired HIV in utero have remained free of detectable HIV for more than one year, according to new findings that were presented today, March 6, at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Denver, Colo.

The study is part of ongoing, multinational research led in part by scientists from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

When a child acquires HIV while in the uterus, during birth or through breastmilk, they must take lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) to control the virus’ ability to replicate, thereby preventing life-threatening complications. ART medications — taken in liquid form for children — are a huge burden on families as they have a rancid flavor (often called “the nasty medicine”), need to be taken on a frequent, rigid schedule to keep the virus at bay, are costly and can have many unpleasant side effects.

“Moving away from reliance on daily ART to control HIV would be a huge improvement to the quality of life of these children,” said study protocol chair Dr. Ellen Chadwick, professor of pediatric infectious diseases at Feinberg and former director of the section of pediatric, adolescent and maternal HIV infection at Lurie Children’s.

Wireless sensors monitoring inflammation could prevent or limit damage to intestines

• Temperature sensor warns of disease flareups, tracks disease progression in real time
• Currently no way to quickly detect inflammation, leading to invasive surgeries
• Strategy could be useful in ulcerative colitis, another inflammatory bowel disease

A team of scientists from Northwestern University and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago has developed the first wireless, implantable temperature sensor to detect inflammatory flareups in patients with Crohn’s disease. The approach offers long-term, real-time monitoring and could enable clinicians to act earlier to prevent or limit the permanent damage caused by inflammatory episodes.

More than 1 million Americans have Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that affects the intestines, causes digestive issues and can lead to weight loss, malnutrition and other complications. People with mild cases are treated with oral medications, but these drugs typically fail over time, requiring approximately 70 percent of Crohn’s patients to undergo at least one surgery to remove portions of damaged intestines.

Clinical Trial Investigates New Treatment for Children with Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease

Researchers at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago are helming a clinical trial studying a new treatment option for adolescents with steatotic liver disease, also commonly referred to as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).

MASLD is the most prevalent liver disease in children and currently there are no effective treatments for it. The condition can lead to cardiovascular complications and severe scarring on the liver (cirrhosis). Some with MASLD ultimately require a liver transplant.

In February, Lurie Children’s investigators, led by Justin Ryder, PhD, an expert in pediatric obesity and vice chair of research for Lurie Children’s Department of Surgery, was awarded a $2.7 million National Institutes of Health grant to study the efficacy of a drug that may improve the condition.

“Currently, there are limited treatment options available for kids with steatotic liver disease,” Dr. Ryder said. “If successful, our study will take a step towards a new medical therapy for this highly prevalent and progressive disease."

Fusionless surgery as a treatment for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is on the rise after FDA approval in 2019 with an ultimate goal of preserving motion throughout the spine while still being able to prevent progression of scoliosis. Patients and families are interested in having the procedure, and surgeons are interested in performing the surgery. But the procedure is still in its infancy and the short- and long-term outcomes are still being evaluated. Tether breakage is a common complication of the fusionless surgery anterior vertebral body tethering, but we don't fully understand the rate at which it happens and its effect on patient outcomes. A study published in Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics determined the incidence of tether breakage and its effect on scoliosis correction and the need for revision surgery.

Key Findings

• Fifty percent of patients who undergo anterior vertebral body tethering are expected to experience tether breakage by three years postoperatively.
• Patients who sustain a tether breakage experience conversion to posterior spinal fusion more often than those who do not.
• Patients who sustain a tether breakage have overall less correction of their scoliosis long-term. 

With such a high incidence of tether breakage in anterior vertebral body tethering, the researchers recommend that surgeons should discuss this with patients preoperatively and use standardized measurements and calculations to identify tether breakage postoperatively. For future studies, the researchers hope to expand upon their work by examining a larger set of curve patterns and further elucidate which patients are more at risk for tether breakage in the hopes of modifying factors to decrease the rate of tether breakage in the future, said Brett Lullo, an attending physician in the Division of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and an instructor of orthopaedic surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. 

Pediatric research at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s is conducted through Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute. 

Article Citation

Cahill PJ, Miyanji F, Lullo BR, et al. Incidence of Tether Breakage in Anterior Vertebral Body Tethering. Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics. 2024. 44(4):p e323–e328. DOI: 10.1097/BPO.0000000000002619 

MANNE RESEARCH INSTITUTE IN THE MEDIA

Amid Rising Maternal, Infant Mortality Rates, Senator Reverend Warnock Champions Father Engagement to Protect Health of Mothers, Children - A statement from Senator Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) recognizing multisite collaboration including Lurie Children's Family & Child Health Innovations Program

• Guns Rise to Leading Cause of Death Among US Children - ABC15 (Ariz.)
• Energy Drinks Are Detrimental to Kids' Physical Health, Doctors Say. - NBC5 Chicago
• New Approach May Prevent Deadly Intestinal Disease in Preemies - MedicaXpress
• Northwestern, Lurie Researchers Find HIV Therapy Can Be Paused in Children - Crain's Chicago Business
• Measles Case Reported at Chicago’s Largest Migrant Shelter - Chicago Tribune
• GlobalData Report Highlights Staggering Economic Costs for Illinois of $17.6 Billion Due to Obesity - Yahoo News
• Many Migrant Students Need Mental Health Support. Here’s Why This Program Is a Go-to for Schools. - Chalkbeat
• Early Treatment Can Push HIV into Remission in Kids: Study - MedicineNet

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