Apr 11
27
The NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development announced a five year grant totaling $1,463,866 for The Children’s Mercy-Truman-UMKC Center, one of only 18 NIH-funded Neonatal Research Network centers in the nation, and the only one in Missouri or Kansas. This new Neonatal Research Network site at Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics will conduct clinical trials and observational studies in neonatal medicine in order to reduce infant morbidity and mortality and promote healthy outcomes.
“This grant will allow us to test new therapies and interventions to improve outcomes of today’s and tomorrow’s high risk term and preterm infants; and will change practice for the better,” said William Truog, MD, principal investigator, Children’s Mercy neonatologist and Professor and Associate Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the UMKC School of Medicine.
“The new network builds upon existing research and capabilities throughout Children’s Mercy and our community, and will benefit infants and their families throughout the region,” said Randall L. O’Donnell, PhD, President and CEO of Children’s Mercy.
The Children’s Mercy-Truman-UMKC Center will continue the collaboration between the three institutions, and leverage the expertise of the region’s only advanced Level IIIc neonatal intensive care nursery at Children’s Mercy; the Elizabeth J. Ferrell Fetal Health Center at Children’s Mercy, a collaboration with Truman Medical Center and the UMKC School of Medicine; the Children’s Mercy Center for Infant Pulmonary Disorders, which provides clinical research in neonatal disorders; and the academic strength of the departments of pediatrics and obstetrics and gynecology at the UMKC School of Medicine.
“The UMKC School of Medicine and our affiliated hospital partners have a long history of collaboration and, together, play an invaluable role in advancing the health of our community, our state and our region,” said Betty M. Drees, M.D., dean of the UMKC School of Medicine. “The awarding of this grant and the establishment of this new center is an affirmation of the strength of our partnerships and our shared clinical and research missions.”
This Children’s Mercy-Truman-UMKC Center grant was supported by Award Number U10HD068284 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors, and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development or the National Institutes of Health.
