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Spotlight on: Dr. Alex Fiks

High blood pressure in children may be underdiagnosed, according to a study by CPCE Associate Director for Outpatient Research Activities Alexander Fiks, MD, MSCE published in the December issue of Pediatrics. This work was done with colleagues from the Comparative Effectiveness Research through Collaborative Electronic Reporting (CER2) Consortium.

Pediatricians may be attributing high blood pressure readings to anxiety, Fiks told the Philadelphia Inquirer. Electronic medical records could be used to flag repeated elevated pressure readings, he said.

Another study published in the same issue of Pediatrics, looked at the impact of guidelines introduced in 2011 by the American Academy of Pediatrics on diagnosis and treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Dr. Fiks and colleagues found that ADHD diagnoses, which had been increasing before the guidelines, have since leveled off. Behavior therapy is recommended as first-line treatment for ADHD in the preschool age range.  The study was reassuring in that it showed no increase in stimulant medication use in this age group following the guidelines. These results were covered by WebMD and the New York Times.

Upcoming Events

Toy Drive
Dates: now through December 16 at 12:00 pm
Location: 15th Floor Lobby area, 3535 Market Street
CPCE & PolicyLab are hosting a collection drive to support Child Life, Education and Creative Arts Therapy at CHOP. Donated toys, games and arts & craft supplies are given to patients during the holidays and are used in playrooms and patient rooms throughout the year. All donations should be new, in their original packaging, and un-wrapped. Please put any donations in the box located in the 15th floor lobby area by 12:00 pm on Friday, December 16th. More information is available on the Child Life, Education and Creative Arts Therapy website, including a holiday donation wish list. 

R01 Grant Writing Seminar
Date: February 3, 2017
Time: 8:00 am to 3:00 pm
Location: 1100A, Colket Translational Research Building
Dr. John Robertson from Grant Writers' Seminars and Workshops, LLC, will present a grant writing seminar, hosted by the CHOP Office of Faculty Development. Tuition is covered by the Research Institute. Workbooks will be available for purchase ($75) on day of seminar. Register online.

CHOP Research Poster Day and Expo
Date: February 22, 2017
Time: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Location: Lobby and first floor of the Colket Translational Research Building
2017 marks the 27th anniversary of CHOP Research Poster Day, an annual celebration of groundbreaking research happening through out Children's Hospital. Abstract submission is due January 13, 2017. 
CPCE in
the News!
Recent Publications

A Pilot Randomized Trial of a Video Patient Decision Aid to Facilitate Early Intervention Referrals From Primary Care.
Many young children identified with developmental concerns in pediatric settings do not receive early intervention (EI). This study assessed the impact of a video decision aid and text message reminder on knowledge and attitudes regarding developmental delay and EI as well as referral completion. Compared with controls, participants who received the intervention demonstrated increased knowledge regarding developmental delay and EI as well as more favorable attitudes in certain topics. 

Identification of Long Bone Fractures in Radiology Reports Using Natural Language Processing to support Healthcare Quality Improvement.
Important information to support healthcare quality improvement is often recorded in free text documents such as radiology reports. Natural language processing (NLP) methods may help extract this information, but these methods have rarely been applied outside the research laboratories where they were developed. Strategic use of straightforward NLP methods, implemented with freely available software, offers quality improvement teams new opportunities to extract information from narrative documents.

Association of Bystander Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation With Overall and Neurologically Favorable Survival After Pediatric Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest in the United States: A Report From the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival Surveillance Registry.
There are few data on the prevalence or outcome of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (BCPR) in children 18 years and younger. Bystander CPR is associated with improved outcomes in pediatric OHCAs. Improving the provision of BCPR in minority communities and increasing the use of conventional BCPR may improve outcomes for children with OHCA.

The Role of Acuity of Illness at Presentation in Early Mortality in Black Children with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
Black patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) experience higher mortality than White patients. This study compared induction mortality, acuity of illness prior to chemotherapy, and insurance type between Black and White patients to assess whether acuity of presentation mediates the disparity.

Clinical effectiveness in the diagnosis and acute management of pediatric nephrolithiasis.
The incidence of pediatric nephrolithiasis has risen over the past few decades leading to a growing public health burden. Children and adolescents represent a unique patient population secondary to their higher risks from radiation exposure as compared to adults, high risk of recurrence, and longer follow up time given their longer life expectancies.

Dietary Zinc and Incident Calcium Kidney Stones in Adolescence.
This study aimed to determine the association between dietary zinc intake and incident calcium kidney stones and examine the relationship between dietary zinc intake and urinary zinc excretion among adolescents. Lower dietary zinc intake was independently associated with incident calcium nephrolithiasis in this population of adolescents.
Funding Opportunities

Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation 2017 Young Investigator Grant (Dec 15, 2016)
Young Investigator Grants are 3 year awards designed to support scientists in the early stages of their research careers, such as postdoctoral or clinical fellows. Outstanding mentorship and demonstration of a career plan that shows commitment to pediatric cancer investigation are critical components of a successful application.

Alex’s Lemonade Stand Epidemiology Grants are $100,000 per year for two years. Funding allows investigators to pursue research studies in human populations, using epidemiological approaches, in order to significantly contribute to the understanding of childhood cancers. Hypothesis-driven research may focus on risk factors, early detection, prevention, effectiveness and treatment outcomes.

The Emergency Medicine Foundation grant application deadline is January 16, 2017 for several grant categories, including Patient-Centered Outcomes, Career Development, Health Policy, and International Emergency Medicine Outcomes and Efficacy. Funding amount varies by grant category.

Community Access to Child Health Program (CATCH) (due Jan 31, 2017)
The CATCH Program is a national program of the American Academy of Pediatrics that increases children's access to medical homes or specific health services supporting pediatricians and communities who are involved in community-based efforts for children. The CATCH program offers a variety of funding opportunities for pediatricians. 

National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Foundation Research Award (due Feb 15, 2017)
The NIHCM Foundation Health Care Research Award recognizes outstanding published work from researchers furthering innovation in health care financing, delivery and organization or the implementation of health care policy. The 23-year-old award carries a $10,000 prize and is judged by an independent panel of experts.

The  Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation supports projects that broaden and improve health professional education. Macy Scholars are expected to implement new educational innovations at their home institutions and participate in career-development activities. Scholars will receive salary support of up to $100,000 per year for two years; at least 50 percent protected time for two years to pursue educational projects; active mentorship by a senior faculty member at their institution; access to the program's national advisory committee; and opportunities to participate in Macy conferences and other national meetings. Applicants must have been a faculty member for more than five years; be nominated by the dean of their school; and have a faculty mentor who will advise him/her on the educational innovation project and on his/her career development. In addition, all applicants must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States or its territories.

CLRA was founded in 1965 to support research efforts aimed at finding the causes of and a cure for leukemia. To that end, CLRA is seeking applications from investigators for promising research on childhood leukemia. Grants of up to $30,000 will be awarded for the most promising projects with the shared goal of isolating the causes of and finding a cure for childhood leukemia. Any doctor at the Ph.D. or M.D. level involved in research on the causes of and a cure for leukemia may apply.

Grants of up to $20,000 are available to help support the research of faculty members or post-doctoral researchers affiliated with non-profit human service organizations in the United States and Canada. Areas of interest to the Fund are: studies to develop, refine, evaluate, or disseminate innovative interventions designed to prevent or ameliorate major social, psychological, behavioral or public health problems affecting children, adults, couples, families, or communities, or studies that have the potential for adding significantly to knowledge about such problems.

OnPAR Program for Unfunded NIH Proposals
Last year, the NIH received approximately $30 billion in federal support. In spite of this amount, about 42,500 grants were not funded. To address these unfunded proposals, the NIH has a new Pilot Program that is designed to match researchers with nonprofit disease Foundations or with investments from private companies. Through a new collaboration between the NIH and the private contractor Leidos, researchers can now upload their unfunded NIH Proposals into an online portal at the Online Partnership to Accelerate Research (OnPAR). Foundations and other potential funders can review the NIH scores, and decide whether they might be interested in funding the Projects. Currently, this Pilot Program allows researchers with priority scores better than the 30th percentile to submit their abstracts. Interested Foundations might ask that a researcher send their full NIH Application along with its scores. The consensus opinion is that there are a lot of worthy grants being submitted to the NIH, but there is only so much funding available. OnPAR is one way of trying to match researchers with private Foundations. 

About CPCE
We are a pediatric research center dedicated to discovering and sharing knowledge about best practices in pediatric care by facilitating, organizing and centralizing the performance of clinical effectiveness research -- research aimed at understanding the best ways to prevent, diagnose and treat diseases in children. CPCE’s multidisciplinary team conducts research on a diverse range of clinical effectiveness topics grouped within four areas of research: