Research In Practice Blog

2023 has come to an end, but we’re looking back on what has been a productive and rewarding year for the Center. We recently celebrated one year since our Center’s renaming, finalized in October 2022. After an extraordinary year, we reflect on this journey and share some of the achievements that illustrate the many successes and critical work of our faculty, principal investigators, and research staff from the past year.

About Clinical Futures:   

• As a Research Institute Center of Emphasis, we celebrate 16 years of innovative pediatric clinical effectiveness research and collaboration.  
• We put together a Clinical Futures video describing who we are and what we do. Watch as our dynamic multidisciplinary team of clinicians, researchers, biostatisticians, and public health experts tell the story.  
• We launched the Research In Practice Blog and have posted over 20 entries.  
• With more than 95 faculty members, nearly 115 researchers, and staff members, we are one of the largest Centers of Emphasis in the CHOP Research Institute.   
• In 2023, we added ten new faculty members to the Center and hired 22 clinical research staff members.  
• We hosted four seminars led by core faculty, fellows, or collaborators.  
• These included 11 works-in-progress sessions, which allowed presenters to receive feedback from fellows and faculty at all levels for projects in all stages of development.   
• We also hosted eight visiting speakers who presented on topics aligned with our methodological pillars and overall mission.  
• Six fellows are currently participating in the Pediatric Hospital Epidemiology and Outcomes Research Training (PHEOT) Fellowship co-directed by Clinical Futures faculty.  

Awards and Funding:  

• Our Pilot Grants Program funded four projects in 2023.  
  • April J. Ancheta, PhD, RN, Nadia Dowshen, MD, MSHP, Catherine C. McDonald, PhD, RN, FAAN, Dalmacio Dennis Flores, PhD, ACRN, FAAN 
    "The Experiences of School Nurses in Caring for Sexual and Gender Minority Youth" 
  • Jennifer Whittaker, PhD, Xi Wang, PhD, Rebecka Rosenquist, MSc, Meredith Matone, DrPH, MHS 
    "Understanding the Geography and Role of Crisis Pregnancy Centers in Rural Maternal Healthcare Deserts in Pennsylvania" 
  • David Weber, MD, MSCE, Jonathan Mitchell, PhD, Jessica Decker, PhD, Rachana Shah, MD 
    "GLP1a Therapy and Effects on Bone Health and Energetic Behavior Profiles in Children with Obesity" 
  • Sarah M. Wood, MD, MSHP, Spandana Makeneni, PhD, Charlotte Schluger, BS 
    "Using Natural Language Processing and Clinical Notes to Assess Clinical Guideline Adherence to HIV Prevention Care in Adolescents and Young Adults"
• Clinical Futures funded three additional projects through other internal funding mechanisms: 
  • Amy Jo Lisanti, PhD, RN, CCNS, Amanda P. Bettencourt, PHD, APRN, CCRN-K, ACCNS-P, Elizabeth Herrup, MD, Abigail Demianczyk, PhD 
    "Examination of Factors Influencing the Implementation of Skin-to-Skin Care in the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit" 
    Funded by the Implementation Science "Preparatory to Trial" grant program, led by the Clinical Futures Implementation Science Pillar 
  • Emily S. Kuschner, PhD, Ariana Garagozzo, PsyD, Colleen Lukens, PhD, Kathleen Rein, PsyD 
    "The BUFFET Program: Leveraging the Single Session Intervention Model to Develop a Brief Treatment for Food Selectivity in Autistic Youth" 
    Funded by the Clinical Trials pilot grant program, led by the Clinical Futures Clinical Trial Pillar and the Clinical Trials Research Affinity Group 
  • Halley Ruppel, PhD, RN, Elizabeth Froh, PhD, RN, Brooke Luo, MD 
    "Re-designing Inpatient Nursing Notes Shared with Families: An Opportunity to enhance Family-centered Care Delivery at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia"
    Funded by the Healthcare Delivery Science Research grant program, led by Clinical Futures, the Possibilities Project, and the Center for Healthcare Quality and Analytics 
• Clinical Futures faculty members were awarded over $33.6M in new grant funding in the past year.   
• This brings total grant funding obtained by Clinical Futures faculty members since inception to approximately $347M. We share this figure to show our gratitude and appreciation to our funding partners and highlight what these awards allow us to do as a Center. These funds support the vital work and research of our faculty, principal investigators, and staff as we continue to discover best practices and improve the standard of care delivered to our patients.  
• Our grant funding effort was greatly aided by the Clinical Futures/PolicyLab Grant Writing unit, which was involved in the submission of over 36 grant proposals in the past calendar year.

Publications and Press:   

• Clinical Futures had over 20 print media features and dozens of interviews with major media outlets like MedPage Today, The New York Times, Today, CNN, CBS News, NBC News, STAT, Medscape, Main Line Today, AAP News, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Visit our Press Room here.   
  Clinical Futures faculty and staff members published nearly 300 peer-reviewed publications in a wide variety of journals. See more Recent Publications here.  
  Clinical Futures was featured on the Research Institute's Cornerstone blog. They expand on the Center's 15-year legacy of pediatric clinical effectiveness research and our unified vision to improve pediatric health outcomes. Read more here. 
• Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) was selected to participate in the Health Systems Implementation Initiative (HSII), a new funding opportunity developed by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to promote the uptake of useful research results in practice. At CHOP, this work will be led by Clinical Futures in partnership with the Center for Healthcare Quality and Analytics (CHQA). Read PCORI's full announcement here. Read the Clinical Futures' Blog announcement here and CHOP's Newsroom alert here.
• Althea Akers, MD, MPH, FACOG, was featured as a Guttmacher Institute 2023 Power Player. Read more here. 
• Sandra Amaral, MD, MHS, was acknowledged by The Inner Circle as a Pinnacle Life Member 2023 for her contributions to the field of Nephrology.
• The American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI) announced the election of 100 Active and International members for 2023, including Clinical Futures Core Faculty member Sandra Amaral, MD, MHS. Read more here. 
• Vivek Ashok, MD, received the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine's MPPDA Walter W. Tunnessen Jr., MD, Award, recognizing his dedication and gifts as an educator, clinician, and advocate for children. View his acceptance video here. 
• Fran Balamuth, MD, PhD, MCSE, was welcomed as a member of American Pediatrics Society. Read more here. 
• Tyra Bryant-Stephens, MD, was recognized as a featured leader in Healthy Newsworks By Kids For Kids Magazine. Read more here. 
• A multidisciplinary group of researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and Penn Medicine, including Heather Burris, MD, MPH, an attending neonatologist at CHOP and co-lead investigator of the Penn-CHOP study site, received a $50 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the impact of environmental influences on pregnancy and children's health. The research program is part of the NIH's Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program, which funds research to uncover how environmental exposures during preconception, pregnancy, and early life affect children's long-term health. Read more here.  
• Heather Burris, MD, MPH, was also elected to the Association of Immunization Managers Executive Committee position. Read more here. 
• Austin DeChalus, MD, was appointed as an Editorial Fellow for the American Academy of Pediatrics' Hospital Pediatrics Editorial Board. Read more here. 
• Congratulations to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia-based Perelman School of Medicine faculty with research programs who have been appointed to their faculty position in 2023, including Clinical Futures Core Faculty Members Molly F. Davis, PhD, Caitlin Elgarten, MD, MSCE, Allison Barz Leahy, MD, MSCE, and Irit Rasooly, MD, MSCE. Read the full announcement here. 
• Christopher Feudtner, MD, PhD, MPH, received the American Pediatric Society's 2023 Norman J. Siegel New Member Outstanding Science Award. Read the press release here. 
• Alexander Fiks, MD, MSCE, received the Penn Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Health System's Samuel Martin Health Evaluation Sciences Research Award. This award recognizes his contributions to health services research. Read the press release here.  
• Robert Grundmeier, MD, received the 2023 Byron Oberst Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Read more about it here. 
• James Guevara, MD, MPH, was recognized by the Pediatric Acedemic Societies with the 2023 Academic Pediatric Association Award for Research. Read more here. 
• Elizabeth Lowenthal, MD, MSCE, received the 2023 Penn Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) Community Advisory Board's Red Ribbon Award for Outstanding Researcher (December). Read about the award here. 
• CHOP recognized two empowering mentors, including Lisa Schwartz, PhD, who received the 2023 Carole Marcus Award. Read more about the awards here. 
• Ariel Williamson, PhD, DBSM, received the PEDS/ SRN Carole L. Marcus Outstanding Achievement Award from the American Thoracic Society. Read more here. 
• Gregory Tasian, MD, MSc, MSCE, received the 2023 Presidential Leadership Award from the Societies for Pediatric Urology. Read the press release here.  
• Joanne Wood, MD, was named the director of Research of Safe Place: Center for Child Protection and Health at CHOP and the director of Child Abuse Pediatrics Fellowship at Safe Place. A national expert in child abuse pediatrics, a remarkably accomplished researcher, and a fabulous mentor, Joanne brings terrific knowledge, skills, and leadership vision to this role.  
• Senbagam Virudachalam, MD, MSHP, was named to the Board of Directors of The Food Trust. 
• Babette Zemel, PhD, received the Penn Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Health System's Arthur K. Asbury Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award. Read the press release here. 
• Over 180 CHOP physicians made the Philadelphia Magazine's Top Doctor list, including seven Clinical Futures Core Faculty members: Sandra Amaral, MD, MHS, Richard Aplenc, MD, PhD, MSCE, Susan Coffin, MD, MPH, Jeffrey Gerber, MD, PhD, Robert Grundmeier, MD, and Gregory Tasian, MD, MSc, MSCE. Read more here. 
• More than 20 CHOP physicians made Main Line Today's Top Doctor list, including Clinical Futures Core Faculty Members Gregory Tasian, MD, MSc, MSCE, and Pamela Weiss, MD, MSCE. Read more here. 

Now that you know more about Clinical Futures, we hope you'll stay engaged with us. Follow us on the Research in Practice Blog and our LinkedIn and X/Twitter pages to hear the latest news and research from the Center. We look forward to what 2024 will bring as we continue to power progress in pediatric care.