The University of Colorado Denver’s School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, whose doctors and other clinical staff practice at The Children’s Hospital, collected $42.4 million in awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2007-2008. That’s more than any other department of pediatrics in the country. UC Denver’s Department of Pediatrics topped 89 other U.S. medical schools in this category of peer-reviewed awards.
Children face a variety of short-term and chronic illnesses that need research to find treatment and cures that improve their chances of leading healthy lives. Support from the NIH allows researchers to make progress in a variety of areas including childhood cancer, diabetes, lung diseases, liver disease and heart disease which ultimately will make a difference in the lives of children in Colorado and throughout the world.
“The fact that faculty members in the Department of Pediatrics have been so successful in achieving NIH funding demonstrates that we have some of the best pediatric scientists in the world,” said Stephen Daniels, chair of the UC Denver School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics, pediatrician-in-chief and L. Joseph Butterfield Chair of Pediatrics at The Children’s Hospital. “They are committed to solving health problems and applying them to the care of children to make their lives better. “
As members of the Department of Pediatrics, pediatric specialists at Children’s Hospital work closely with physician scientists to translate leading-edge research to everyday patient care. The teamwork between the Department of Pediatrics researchers and clinicians at Children’s, ensures the best care for young patients.