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Spotlight on: New CPCE Staff

CPCE team members work across a broad spectrum of specialties to research and share knowledge about best practices in pediatric care. The CPCE team consists of about 40 core faculty members, along with a staff of more than 50 research assistants, research associates, data analysts, and research administrators. CPCE has welcomed several new staff over the last few months:

Cadence Bowden is a Clinical Research Coordinator working with Dr. Senbagam Virudachalam on Home Plate, a randomized controlled trial to evaluate a peer-mentored intervention focused on improving food preparation practices among parents of toddlers.

Alanna Butler is a Clinical Research Coordinator working with Dr. Aletha Akers on multiple projects that aim to enhance reproductive health services and programming for adolescent women.

Lauren Faust is a Clinical Research Assistant working with Dr. Andrea Knight on studies related to pediatric lupus and neuropsychiatric function. She is currently working towards a Doctorate in clinical psychology.

Brittany Haltzman is a Research Associate working with the Infectious Disease Epidemiology research team at CPCE. She will be working on several projects, including the SCOUT and SCOUT-CAP studies and the Zosyn study.

Samantha Hanley is a Clinical Research Assistant working with Dr. Julia Sammons, Dr. Susan Coffin, and Dr. Kristen Feemster on a study examining nosocomial viral infections in hospitalized children.

Ellen Hanlon is a Clinical Research Nurse Coordinator working with the Infectious Disease Epidemiology research team at CPCE. She will be working on several projects including SCOUT, SCOUT- CAP, and the Zosyn study.

Rasheeda Lawler is a Clinical Research Nurse Coordinator working with Infectious Disease Epidemiology research team at CPCE. Rasheeda will be working on multiple studies including SCOUT, SCOUT-CAP, PASSFlu, Zosyn and GARPEC.

Jasmine Santos is a Clinical Research Coordinator working with the Infectious Disease Epidemiology research team at CPCE. She will be working on multiple projects including studies involving influenza and healthcare-associated respiratory infections

Kaitlyn Snyder is a Clinical Research Assistant working with Dr. Chris Feudtner and the Pediatric Advanced Care Team (PACT) at CHOP researching medical decision making for children and adolescents in pediatric palliative care, as well as how parents and families cope when a child is seriously ill. 

Clara Warden is a Clinical Research Coordinator working with Dr. Katherine Yun to understand and improve the health and well-being of refugee communities in Philadelphia. She will be assisting with multiple projects including a quality assurance study of Hepatitis B screening and an examination of healthcare utilization among Bhutanese refugees.

Diana Worsley is a Clinical Research Coordinator working with Dr. Joanne Wood and Dr. Stephanie Doupnik on research projects in child abuse and maltreatment and mental health of hospitalized children and their families, specifically PriCARE and IHope. 
Upcoming Events

Penn Center for Public Health Initiatives Junior Scholars Forum
Date: February 10, 2017
Time: 12:00 to 1:30 pm
Location: John Morgan Building, 2nd Floor, John Morgan Wood Room
The Junior Scholars Forum brings together early career researchers interested in public health and the social sciences. Students and trainees at all levels, as well as research staff and junior faculty, are welcome to join the conversation.  The Forum will provide opportunities to connect with mentors and collaborators and to build a community of scholars with shared interests. Discussions will address the challenges and rewards of careers in research. Click here to register.

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. 

Volunteer with the Division of Adolescent Medicine and Students Run Philly Style
The CHOP Division of Adolescent Medicine is conducting a pilot study to evaluate the combined impact of a running training program and adult mentorship on youth risk and youth resilience from toxic stress, in collaboration with Students Run Philly Style. The study team is seeking volunteers to visit practices at area high schools for five weeks to recruit, screen, consent and enroll 300 youth. The visits will occur on the following schedule: 

Weeks: March 13 - 17, March 20-24, March 27-31, April 3-7 and April 18-21
Days: M, T, W, F 
Hours: 2p-5:30p

Contact  Adolescent Medicine Fellow Chris Renjilian if interested.

CPCE/PolicyLab Works in Progress 
Dates are still available for the winter/spring 2017 Works in Progress series. These sessions, co-hosted by CPCE and PolicyLab, are held on Fridays at noon from September through June. Works-in-Progress sessions bring together health services researchers from across the hospital to discuss research projects that are in various stages of development: from protocol development all the way to data analysis, interpretation, and publication. Faculty and fellows interested in receiving feedback on their research are welcome to present. E-mail Casey Frazier for more information or to sign up. 
CPCE in
the News!
Recent Publications

The FLT3 cell-surface receptor tyrosine kinase (CD135) is expressed in a majority of both acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL) and myeloid leukemia (AML). However, the prognostic significance of CD135 expression in AML remains unclear. We therefore evaluated the association between FLT3 surface expression and disease characteristics and outcomes in pediatric patients with AML.

Delayed antimicrobial therapy in sepsis is associated with increased hospital mortality, but the impact of antimicrobial timing on long-term outcomes is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that hourly delays to antimicrobial therapy are associated with 1-year mortality in pediatric severe sepsis.

Our primary aim was to explore themes regarding attitudes toward HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among young transgender women (YTW), in order to develop a theoretical model of PrEP uptake in this population disproportionally affected by HIV. A high proportion of YTW in this study had prior knowledge of PrEP, and attitudes toward PrEP were positive among participants. Our findings suggest several domains to be further explored in PrEP implementation research, including methods of facilitating PrEP dissemination and emotional motivation for PrEP uptake.

Using electronic medical record data to report laboratory adverse events.
Despite the importance of adverse event (AE) reporting, AEs are under-reported on clinical trials. We hypothesized that electronic medical record (EMR) data can ascertain laboratory-based AEs more accurately than those ascertained manually. EMR data on 12 AEs for patients enrolled on two Children's Oncology Group (COG) trials at one institution were extracted, processed and graded. When compared to gold standard chart data, COG AE report sensitivity and positive predictive values (PPV) were 0-21·1% and 20-100%, respectively. EMR sensitivity and PPV were >98·2% for all AEs. These results demonstrate that EMR-based AE ascertainment and grading substantially improves laboratory AE reporting accuracy.
Funding Opportunities

Health Effects Institute Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award (Preliminary Application due February 15)
This award supports creative junior investigators, at Assistant Professor or equivalent level, with outstanding promise who are interested in the health effects of air pollution. This solicitation will fund one or two studies with a funding cap of $450,000 each. All applicants are required to verify their eligibility with HEI before applying. HEI may contact the applicant if there are questions about eligibility and/or the topic of the proposal. The HEI Research Committee will review the Preliminary Applications and invite selected candidates to submit a Full Application by the end of March, 2017. Full applications should be submitted no later than May 15, 2017.

National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Foundation Research Award (due Feb 15)
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.

When Everyone Survives Foundation 2017 RFP in Leukemia Research (due March 1)
This request for proposals is offered by the When Everyone Survives Foundation to solicit innovative research in leukemia. Grants of $50,000 for one year are offered to new and established investigators who are requesting support for laboratory, translational, or clinical research related to acute leukemia.

The Clinical Scholars program aims to provide health care providers with the opportunity to build and develop the unique skills they need to lead communities and organizations toward a Culture of Health. The total award to the grantee organization will be up to $105,000 per team member for a three-year fellowship program. Teams may be between two and five individuals. 

Thrasher Research Fund Early Career Awards (concept due March 14)
The Fund is open to a variety of research topics important to children's health. Both incidence and severity are considered when determining the significance of a problem being studied. In the Early Career Award Program, the Fund is particularly interested in applicants that show great potential to impact that field of children's health through medical research. Both an applicant's aptitude and inclination toward research are considered. The quality of the mentor and the mentoring relationship are also considered to be important predictors of success. The grant amount is based on the actual budgetary needs of the project, with a maximum of $25,000 in direct costs for the entire grant. The duration of the project can be up to two years.

The Damon Runyon Fellowship Award is designed to provide early-career scientists with resources to hone their cancer research skills and explore their own ideas while working with mentors in top universities and cancer research centers. Candidates must apply for the fellowship under the guidance of a sponsor. The award provides a stipend of $223,000 over four years.

Organization for Autism Research 2017 Applied Research Competition (pre-proposals due March 27)
The annual program aims to promote innovative research that directly supports the autism community by expanding the body of knowledge related to autism intervention and treatment, producing practical and objective results, and providing outcomes that enhance the quality of life for persons with autism and their families. In 2017, OAR will award grants of up to $30,000. Studies can range from one to two years. Pre-proposals must be received no later than March 27, 2017. Upon review, selected applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal by August 7, 2017.

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.

The mission of the Gerber Foundation is to enhance the nutrition, care, and development of infants and young children. To that end, the foundation is accepting concept papers for health and/or nutrition-related research projects with potential to have a significant impact on issues affecting infants and young children from birth to three years of age. The total requested grant size should be no more than $350,000. Concept papers must be received no later than June 1, 2017. Upon review, selected applicants will be invited to submit a full proposals by August 15, 2017.

Children's Leukemia Research Association (due June 30)
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.

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: