Children’s National launches the first system-wide asthma social needs screening program, asking families directly about the support they need most.
Asthma is one of the most common chronic conditions in children. While medications and inhalers are essential, many families face challenges that make managing asthma even harder. Problems like housing instability, lack of transportation or difficulty paying for medications can all affect a child’s ability to stay healthy and avoid emergency visits.
A new study from Children’s National Hospital is transforming the way hospitals think about asthma care. Led by Rachel Margolis, PhD, LICSW, the project introduced the first health system-wide screening program focused specifically on the social needs of children with asthma. Unlike traditional social risk screenings that rely on general checklists, this new approach centers on what families say they need most.
The team created a “social needs checklist” to ask families directly what they need help with, rather than just identifying potential risks. This might sound like a small change, but it represents a major shift in how hospitals support families. By putting family voices at the center of care, the program empowers parents and caregivers to share their priorities and receive help that is most meaningful to them.
To test this new tool, the team expanded screening into three key areas at Children’s National: the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), the severe asthma clinic and the emergency department at United Medical Center. These are places where children with the most severe asthma symptoms often go for care. The study set out to understand how screening could work in each setting, whether families and staff would accept it and what kinds of social needs families would report.
The results were eye opening. Families across all settings were open to sharing their needs and felt comfortable discussing them with care teams. In the PICU, the program was especially successful because of strong support from leadership and dedicated staff who helped keep the screening process running smoothly. Perhaps most important, the study found that 42.3% of families requested help with at least one social need. This high level of need highlights just how many families are facing serious challenges with potential impacts on a child’s asthma and overall health.
Social factors play a powerful role in asthma management. Where a child lives, whether a family can afford medications and how easily they can get to follow-up appointments can all affect whether asthma stays under control or turns into an emergency. By focusing on what families identify as their top needs, hospitals can connect them to the right community resources, improve asthma outcomes and help keep children healthier at home.
Children’s National is leading the way with this asthma-specific, system-wide approach to social needs screening. This program sets a new standard by listening directly to families and acting on their priorities. The interdisciplinary Asthma Social Support and Intervention Screen Tool (ASSIST) workgroup that launched this study continues to meet regularly, working on ways to improve and expand the program even further. Their efforts include strengthening partnerships with community organizations and finding new ways to support families beyond the hospital walls.
Looking ahead, the team hopes this model will inspire other hospitals to adopt similar strategies for asthma and other chronic conditions. By putting families at the center and addressing social needs as part of medical care, hospitals can help more children breathe easier and live healthier, more stable lives.
Read the full study, “A Health System-Wide Approach to Addressing Unmet Social Needs Among Children With Asthma”, in the American Academy of Pediatrics publication, Hospital Pediatrics.
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Children’s National Hospital’s Family Lifestyle Program (FLiP) fights food insecurity by combining fresh produce deliveries, nutrition education, and medical support to help families build healthy habits.
Food insecurity is rising in Washington, D.C. and it’s hitting families with children the hardest. Not only is food insecurity a harmful chronic stressor, it is also a prevalent social driver that elevates the risk of numerous physical and mental health conditions. That’s why Children’s National Hospital created the Family Lifestyle Program (FLiP) – a multi-layered intervention, which offers Patient Navigation (FLiP-PN) and a Produce Prescription Intervention (FLiPRx). FLiP is a Food Is Medicine, clinical-community initiative that helps families get access to fresh food, build healthy habits and lower their risk of diet-related diseases like diabetes and obesity.
FLiP’s mission is simple: to become a hospital-wide resource for families struggling with food insecurity and diet-related chronic disease. By working collaboratively with clinicians, dietitians, social workers and medical students, FLiP provides both food and education, the building blocks of lifelong health.
Here’s how it currently works: during check-ups at Children’s National primary care clinics, families are screened for food insecurity. If a family says they’re having trouble affording or accessing healthy food, they are referred to a Patient Navigator, a trained medical student volunteer who helps connect them to resources, such as emergency food, federal and community nutrition programs and safety-net food resources, as well as enroll those interested in the FLiPRx program.
Working at the intersection of food insecurity and diet-related chronic disease risk, FLiPRx provides two key things: fresh produce and nutrition and culinary education. Over six months, families receive weekly produce deliveries to their homes – supplied by 4P Foods, a local food provider that sources fresh, high-quality, delicious food across Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia – and attend monthly virtual cooking and nutrition classes. The goal is not just to put more fruits and vegetables on the table, but to help families learn how to use them in a healthy, affordable way. In addition to providing nutritious food, the program also offers chronic disease monitoring and management by a clinician, ensuring that families receive comprehensive, whole-person care.
The expansion of this program would not be possible without the generous funding of The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation. Their recent investment supports the expansion of the program, which is ripe for growth, to help more families who receive care at various local primary care centers and across the broader Children’s National network, as well as to add meaningful enhancements to ensure the program’s ongoing success. “Programs like FLiP reflect the deep connection between health, community, and opportunity,” said Mieka Wick, CEO, at The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation. “We’re proud to support efforts that ensure every child, and their caregivers, have access to nutritious food and information that supports a healthier lifestyle for multiple generations.”
This model is already working. Families in the program say they eat more fruits and vegetables, feel better, and even see improvements in their children’s health. One mother of four said, “FLiPRx was an excellent experience that helped us navigate dinnertime. It helped us broaden our horizons in terms of our taste buds. Now we’re more willing to taste this and try that.”
Increased variety and quantity of fruits and vegetables
“Healthy food is foundational to child health,” said Qadira Ali, MD, MPH at Children’s National. “By combining fresh produce with culturally relevant education and medical care, FLiP helps us address chronic disease in a more holistic, family-centered way.”
Over the next three years, FLiP will expand beyond primary care into specialty clinics at Children’s National, enrolling hundreds more families, including Spanish-speaking ones. This ongoing momentum will bring FLiP one step closer to becoming the gold-standard institutional resource for addressing food insecurity and diet-related chronic disease among children and families served by Children’s National Hospital.
The long-term goal? To be a dynamic, evidence-based Food Is Medicine model for pediatric healthcare institutions nationwide. With the right support, FLiP can help show that food is not just medicine — it’s fundamental to growing the next generation of healthy children.
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Child Life Specialist Lanie Berk reads to Jack in the Children’s National Family Resource Center.
Imagine a kaleidoscope of play, education and creative therapies that engage patients and their families to promote healing and decrease pain, fear, trauma and grief. These programs, backed by science, create nurturing environments and experiences that reduce the need for pain medication, shorten hospital stays and improve health outcomes. They allow Children’s National Hospital to care for the whole child — body, mind and spirit.
“Our dedicated Child Life and Integrative Care Services team plays a critical role in supporting families through their medical journeys,” says Director BobbiJo Pansier, MPH, CCLS, CTRS. “Our programs offer opportunities for growth, expression and healing that complement traditional treatments. These interventions bring understanding, comfort and laughter and are life-changing.”
“I see the impact of this care every day,” says Pansier. “Not long ago, a patient who had spent her entire life at Children’s National graduated to another facility. She had never been in a vehicle or experienced the world outside our main campus. Multiple teams came together to ensure her transition would be free of trauma. Her medical care providers, along with a music therapist and Child Life specialists, assisted the transport team. Our team made introductions to staff at the new facility. The patient waved goodbye with a smile.”
Healing Jack’s heart and his family
Jack after his heart transplant surgery.
Nine-month-old Jack, awaiting a heart transplant, was in too much pain to sleep. His heart condition had caused serious, painful gastrointestinal problems. His mom, Rachel, had been up all night trying to soothe him.
Lanie Berk, MS, CCLS, a certified Child Life specialist, offered a familiar, friendly face. She held Jack close. She sang to him and read his favorite books.
“There are so many negative touch experiences in a hospital — needles, countless procedures and tubes hooked up to a child,” says Berk. “It’s so important to give positive stimuli in the form of touch that nurtures and heals.”
Jack fell asleep in Berk’s arms, giving Rachel a much-needed break. “It’s a privilege to be part of their story,” says Berk, who Rachel reports is pretty much her son’s favorite person in the hospital. “For a mom to trust me to hold her baby so she can leave for a little while is a huge honor.”
Spending nearly a year in the hospital
Jack was in heart failure when he arrived at Children’s National by emergency helicopter transport in February 2024. He was 4 months old. Our cardiologists diagnosed him with dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition that causes the heart’s chambers to thin, stretch and weaken. On Valentine’s Day, Jack’s family learned he would need a heart transplant to survive. “We were shocked and overwhelmed,” Rachel says. She and her husband Brandon began alternating care for their baby in the hospital and their 2-year-old son Nolan at home.
In April, surgeons installed a ventricular assist device to help Jack’s body pump blood while he waited for an organ donor. But there were complications. His stomach swelled, and he had two strokes. “We quickly learned that Children’s National is an exceptional place with exceptional people,” Rachel says. “There were moments when we fully wanted to panic. Instead, we learned to breathe deeply and trust the care and our team.”
That trust and human connection, along with clear, thorough communication, helped make the hard times easier, Rachel says. Throughout the family’s long stay in the hospital, they received healing support from members of our Child Life and Integrative Care Services team.
The team created a custom book for Nolan, to help explain his baby brother Jack’s condition.
Making the journey easier
The team created a custom book for Nolan, to help explain his baby brother Jack’s condition
Berk kept the mood light during Jack’s medical procedures — for instance, his first round of vaccines. That day, she played music, sang and danced to keep him smiling. Knowing that socializing could help Jack’s parents feel more comfortable and at home, Berk started a monthly dinner tradition in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (ICU) waiting room to help families connect.
She also helped Jack’s parents explain the situation to his brother, Nolan. She created books for Rachel and Brandon to read with him at home. The first one explained Jack’s illness and why he needed a new heart. The second prepared Nolan for a trip to the hospital after his brother’s transplant and included details about the devices supporting Jack and his scar. These books helped Nolan understand and feel a part of the journey.
Finding positive ways to pass the time
“This experience makes you feel isolated in so many ways,” Rachel says. The Panda Cares Center of Hope, our Family Resource Center, provided a place for her to relax and connect with parents facing similar challenges. “Reading was the perfect way to distract myself while Jack was sleeping or having a procedure.”
Rachel inspired Berk and Allie Slocum, our patient family library and resource center coordinator, to start a monthly caregiver reading group for Cardiac ICU families. “The group has three important functions,” Berk says. “It encourages parents to be involved with their child’s care, enables them to meet each other, and it helps families connect with their babies through reading, which is great for a baby’s development.”
Creating art
Jack’s parents enjoyed a parent support group with art therapist Katherine Pedrick. Brandon made paper cherry blossom branches, and Rachel made a vase. They painted comfort boxes filled with words of encouragement. Art therapy gave them an outlet within the hospital and helped them connect with other families in the Cardiac ICU. “It’s comforting to know you’re not alone and there are others who understand what you’re going through and will listen and offer guidance,” Brandon says.
Appreciating volunteers
Music therapy activities, such as playing with a quacking toy duck and a baby rattle, helped delight and stimulate Jack while he was in the hospital.
Children’s National volunteers read to baby Jack on a regular basis. “One particular volunteer came often and really connected with him,” Rachel says. “By the end of her visits, he would be asleep in her arms. The volunteer visits allowed me to take a walk or get something to eat. It meant a lot.” Other volunteers visited Jack to play with developmentally appropriate toys and games.
Engaging in special events and activities
Rachel enjoyed events at Seacrest Studios, especially in-person appearances by American singer-songwriters Andy Grammer and Phillip Phillips.
The Bunny Mellon Healing Garden served as an oasis Jack’s parents visited often, including with Jack, to breathe fresh air, read, walk and enjoy a change of scenery. “Sunlight can do wonders,” Brandon says. “On the night before Jack’s heart transplant, we sat outside enjoying a perfect summer night underneath a star-filled sky. It was calm and peaceful and just what we needed.”
Rachel says her son always had a great smile; but at the start of his hospitalization, it was subtle, and sometimes he could lift only one cheek. One week post-transplant, Jack’s smile was even. Now, his mom reports that he has a roaring belly laugh. This summer, he is working to sit up and enjoys stroller rides.
“Our team at the hospital taught me to be a little more spontaneous and celebrate the good moments,” Rachel says. “I’m more likely to go outside and play with the boys now, even if there are chores to do. I’m more about thriving in the moment. Children’s National gave Jack the ability to live a life. We’re here to enjoy every minute of it.”
https://innovationdistrict.childrensnational.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Jack-and-Berk-Feature.jpg300400Innovation Districthttps://innovationdistrict.childrensnational.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/InnovationDistrict_CN_WebHeader-1396px-1030x151.pngInnovation District2025-07-02 13:58:092025-07-02 14:03:55Caring for the whole child: Child Life and Integrative Care Services at Children’s National
Children’s National Hospital announced that it will be partnering with Epic, the nation’s leading electronic health record (EHR) provider, on a comprehensive transition to a new integrated health record system. The full implementation of Epic’s platform, planned to be completed in mid-2027, will better enable the delivery of patient-centered and coordinated care.
“Moving to Epic is an important step forward in Children’s National’s journey to becoming a truly integrated healthcare delivery system,” said Michelle Riley-Brown, MHA, FACHE, president and CEO of Children’s National. “It will enhance the tools available to patients and their families to access and monitor their care and improve how we share information across teams in order to deliver more connected, compassionate and convenient health services.”
Patient families will benefit from access to Epic’s MyChart app, a comprehensive patient portal and mobile app that has all a child’s health information in one place, even if care was received at multiple healthcare organizations. Through MyChart, families will be able to securely and seamlessly view medical records, manage appointments, review billing information, communicate with care teams and access telehealth services such as video visits and remote patient monitoring. Today, over 195 million people use MyChart, including families and caregivers for over 2 million patients aged 2 or under. Epic organizations securely exchange over 24 million patient records with other hospitals and health systems every day.
Epic’s robust system will also improve collaboration and continuity of care for providers throughout the Children’s National health system. The platform also includes advanced clinical decision support tools, helping clinicians make informed, timely decisions that enhance patient safety.
“After evaluating various options to modernize our care delivery systems, we are excited to embark on a comprehensive transformation journey with Epic,” stated Matt MacVey, MBA, MS, FACHE, executive vice president and chief digital and information officer at Children’s National. “The two-year effort aims to improve access to critical clinical information, automate routine workflows and create a seamless digital experience that empowers families throughout their care journey.”
https://innovationdistrict.childrensnational.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/epic_contract_Feature.jpg300400Innovation Districthttps://innovationdistrict.childrensnational.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/InnovationDistrict_CN_WebHeader-1396px-1030x151.pngInnovation District2025-06-24 11:42:082025-06-24 11:45:26Children’s National selects Epic as partner for electronic health record modernization
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In a new review article published in The CRISPR Journal, researchers from Children’s National Hospital discuss the progress of gene therapies for sickle cell disease – from preclinical studies to clinical trials and FDA approval – along with the many challenges of these treatments.
Over the past few years, the advances of gene therapy for sickle cell disease (SCD) offer a potential cure for a condition previously managed only through symptom relief and limited treatments. SCD is a hereditary blood disorder caused by a mutation in the beta globin gene leading to painful symptoms and complications.
In a new review article published in The CRISPR Journal, researchers from Children’s National Hospital discuss the progress of gene therapies for SCD – from preclinical studies to clinical trials and FDA approval – along with the many challenges of these treatments.
“We are hoping to bring attention to the past, present and future of this topic,” says Henna Butt, MD, pediatric hematology oncology fellow at Children’s National and one of the review authors. “It is exciting to see the technology move forward and see how far we have come in a disease where so little progress has been made historically.”
The hold up in the field
Gene therapy for SCD remains a time- and resource-intensive process, often taking several months from the initial patient consultation to treatment.
“Progress in SCD gene therapy has been slowed by high costs, limited accessibility and safety concerns, such as off-target effects,” says Dr. Butt. “Additionally, long-term efficacy data is still needed to confirm the durability of these treatments. Regulatory hurdles and ethical considerations also contribute to the delays.”
Moving the field forward
“By using cutting-edge techniques like CRISPR and base editing to directly correct the genetic mutation responsible for SCD, these therapies have the potential to offer long-term or even permanent relief,” says Dr. Butt. “Success in this area could revolutionize treatment options, improve patient outcomes and reduce the global burden of SCD — especially as therapies become more accessible and affordable.”
“Advancing gene therapy for sickle cell disease requires not just scientific innovation, but also the clinical expertise and systems to deliver it safely and effectively,” says David Jacobsohn, MD, SCM, MBAD, chief of Bone and Marrow Transplantation at Children’s National. “As access expands, we must ensure these therapies reach the patients who need them most.”
The patient benefit
Gene therapy offers a potential cure for SCD, reducing the need for ongoing treatments and significantly improving quality of life. It can lower the risk of complications and infections, and over time, reduce healthcare costs – especially for patients with limited access to traditional care. Raising awareness of current challenges can help drive advocacy for affordability and access.
Children’s National leads the way
Children’s National was the first hospital in the world to collect stem cells for the LYFGENIA™ treatment and one of the few pediatric hospitals in the country that offers both FDA-approved sickle cell disease gene therapies – CASGEVY™ (exagamglogene autotemcel) and LYFGENIA™ (lovotibeglogene autotemcel).
A new international study led by Children’s National Hospital and Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago introduces a validated tool to predict pneumonia severity in children, helping emergency clinicians make faster, evidence-based decisions about hospitalization and intensive care.
Pneumonia is one of the most common infections in children. In the U.S., it’s a leading reason why kids are admitted to the hospital. But for emergency doctors, it’s not always easy to know which cases are serious — and which children will get better at home.
Now, a new study led by doctors at Children’s National Hospital and Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago has created a tool to help. It’s based on research from over 2,200 children treated at emergency departments in 14 countries.
The tool is simple: it uses symptoms that doctors already look for — like how fast a child is breathing, whether they’re getting enough oxygen, and if they’re drinking fluids — to score how serious their pneumonia might be. The score helps doctors decide whether a child needs to stay in the hospital, go to intensive care or can safely recover at home.
What the study found
The research team looked at children ages 3 months to 13 years who came to emergency departments with community-acquired pneumonia — a kind of pneumonia picked up outside of a hospital. Most had mild cases. But about 1 in 20 developed severe symptoms, like needing breathing support or admission to intensive care.
The team found that certain symptoms (like fast breathing or heart rate, chest retractions (a sign of struggling to breathe), low oxygen levels, refusing to drink and already being on antibiotics before coming to the hospital) were linked to a higher risk of serious illness. On the other hand, children who had a runny nose or congestion were more likely to have mild illness.
Using this data, the team created a point-based score. For example, if a child had low oxygen levels, they’d get 3 to 6 points depending on how low it was. Chest retractions added 3 points. Having a runny nose subtracted a point. The higher the total score, the greater the risk of moderate or severe pneumonia.
How it helps
The model was tested and found to be highly accurate. It performed better than doctors’ judgment alone in earlier studies — especially in spotting the children most at risk. The scorecard gives emergency doctors a fast, evidence-based way to support the decisions they make under pressure.
“Emergency departments around the world see thousands of children with pneumonia every day, but until now, we haven’t had a reliable way to predict who’s truly at risk of getting sicker,” said co-PI and senior author Nathan Kuppermann, MD, MPH, executive vice president, chief academic officer and director of the Children’s National Research Institute. “This model gives clinicians a practical tool, rooted in data, to guide that decision and ultimately improve care and outcomes.”
What’s next
While the tool is ready to be used in hospitals now, the team plans to test it in more locations and study how it affects real-world decisions. They also hope to add biomarkers — lab tests that could improve the score’s accuracy even more.
For now, the study offers something simple and powerful: a better way to know when a child’s pneumonia might become serious — and when it won’t.
The study was published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health and is part of a larger effort by the Pediatric Emergency Research Network (PERN), which connects emergency departments in dozens of countries.
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Children’s National Hospital hosted its fifteenth annual Research, Education and Innovation Week from March 31–April 4, 2025, bringing together clinicians, scientists, educators and innovators from across the institution to celebrate discovery and collaboration. This year’s theme, “Empowering the Future in Pediatric Research and Innovation with Equity, Technology and a Global Reach,” served as a call to action for advancing science that improves child health both locally and around the world.
Each day of the week-long event featured thought-provoking lectures — now available to watch — dynamic panel discussions, interactive workshops and vibrant poster sessions, all highlighting the diverse and interdisciplinary work taking place across Children’s National.
Centering the patient and the planet
REI Week began on Monday with a powerful keynote lecture from Lynn R. Goldman, MD, MS, MPH, Michael and Lori Milken dean of the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University. In her talk, “Children: Uniquely vulnerable to climate-related threats,” Dr. Goldman underscored the urgent need to protect children from the environmental hazards of a changing climate and to integrate climate science into pediatric care and advocacy.
At mid-morning, Mary-Anne “Annie” Hartley, MD, PhD, MPH, director of the LiGHT Laboratory at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, introduced the “MOOVE” platform — Massive Open Online Validation and Evaluation of clinical LLMs. Her talk demonstrated how artificial intelligence, when rigorously validated, has the potential to transform clinical decision-making and global health equity.
Monday’s final keynote, “Zinc and childhood diarrhea,” was presented by Christopher Duggan, MD, MPH, director of the Division of Nutrition at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Duggan highlighted the global health impact of zinc supplementation in reducing childhood mortality — a reminder that simple, evidence-based interventions can save millions of lives.
In that first day, the first poster session of the week showcased projects in adolescent medicine, global health, infectious diseases, oncology and more. The session reflected the full breadth of research taking place across Children’s National.
Ambroise Wonkam, MD, PhD, professor of genetic medicine at Johns Hopkins University, then delivered Tuesday’s Global Health Keynote Lecture, “Harnessing our common African genomes to improve health and equity globally.” His work affirmed that inclusive genomics is key to building a healthier world.
Later, the Global Health Initiative event and GCAF Faculty Seminar encouraged attendees to pursue collaborative opportunities at home and abroad, reflecting the growing global footprint of Children’s National research programs.
Transforming education and care delivery
On Wednesday, Larrie Greenberg, MD, professor emeritus of pediatrics, kicked off the day with a Grand Rounds keynote on educational transformation: “Shouldn’t teachers be more collaborative with their learners?” He followed with a CAPE workshop exploring the effectiveness of case-based learning.
In the Jill Joseph Grand Rounds Lecture, Deena J. Chisolm, PhD, director of the Center for Child Health Equity at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, challenged attendees to move beyond dialogue into action in her talk, “Health equity: A scream to a whisper?,” reminding researchers and clinicians that advocacy and equity must be foundational to care.
The day continued with a poster session spotlighting medical education, neonatology, urology and neuroscience, among other fields.
Posters and pathways to progress
Throughout the week, poster sessions highlighted cutting-edge work across dozens of pediatric disciplines. These sessions gave attendees the opportunity to engage directly with investigators and reflect on the shared mission of discovery across multiple disciplines, including:
The REI Week 2025 Awards Ceremony celebrated outstanding contributions in research, mentorship, education and innovation. The winners in each category were:
POSTER SESSION AWARDS
Basic & Translational Research
Faculty: Benjamin Liu, PhD
“Genetic Conservation and Diversity of SARS-CoV-2 Envelope Gene Across Variants of Concern”
Faculty: Steve Hui, PhD
“Brain Metabolites in Neonates of Mothers with COVID-19 Infection During Pregnancy”
Faculty: Raj Shekhar, PhD
“StrepApp: Deep Learning-Based Identification of Group A Streptococcal (GAS) Pharyngitis”
Post docs/Fellows/Residents: Dae-young Kim, PhD
“mhGPT: A Lightweight Domain-Specific Language Model for Mental Health Analysis”
Post docs/Fellows/Residents: Leandros Boukas, MD, PhD
“De Novo Variant Identification From Duo Long-Read Sequencing: Improving Equitable Variant Interpretation for Diverse Family Structures”
Staff: Naseem Maghzian
“Adoptive T Lymphocyte Administration for Chronic Norovirus Treatment in Immunocompromised Hosts (ATLANTIC)”
Graduate Students: Abigail Haffey
“Synergistic Integration of TCR and CAR T Cell Platforms for Enhanced Adoptive Immunotherapy in Brain Tumors”
High School/Undergraduate Students: Medha Pappula
“An ADHD Diagnostic Interface Based on EEG Spectrograms and Deep Learning Techniques”
Clinical Research
Faculty: Folasade Ogunlesi, MD
“Poor Air Quality in Sub-Saharan Africa is Associated with Increase Health Care Utilization for Pain in Sickle Cell Disease Patients”
Faculty: Ayman Saleh, MD
“Growth Parameters and Treatment Approaches in Pediatric ADHD: Examining Differences Across Race”
Post docs/Fellows/Residents: Nicholas Dimenstein, MD, MPH
“Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Eligibility in the Pediatric Emergency Department”
Staff: Tayla Smith, MPH
“The Public Health Impact of State-Level Abortion and Firearm Laws on Health Outcomes”
Graduate Students: Natalie Ewing
“Patterns of Bacteriuria and Antimicrobial Resistance in Patients Presenting for Primary Cloacal Repair: Is Assisted Bladder Emptying Associated with Bacteriuria?”
Graduate Students: Manuela Iglesias, MS
“Exploring the Relationship Between Child Opportunity Index and Bayley-III Scores in Young Children”
High School/Undergraduate Students: Nicholas Lohman
“Preliminary Findings: The Efficacy, Feasibility and Acceptability of Group Videoconference Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Exposure and Response Prevention for Treating Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Among Children and Young People”
Community-Based Research
Faculty: Sharon Shih, PhD “Assessing Pediatric Behavioral Health Access in DC using Secret Shopper Methodology”
Post docs/Fellows/Residents: Georgios Sanidas, MD “Arrested Neuronal Maturation and Development in the Cerebellum of Preterm Infants”
Staff: Sanam Parwani
“Intersectionality of Gender and Sexuality Diversity in Autistic and Non-Autistic Individuals”
Graduate Student: Margaret Dearey “Assessing the Burden of Period Poverty for Youth and Adolescents in Washington, DC: A Pilot Study”
Quality and Performance Improvement
Faculty: Nichole L. McCollum, MD
“A Quality Improvement Study to Increase Nurse Initiated Care from Triage and Improve Timeliness to Care”
Post docs/Fellows/Residents: Hannah Rodriguez, MD
“Reducing Unnecessary Antibiotic Use in a Level IV NICU”
Staff: Amber K. Shojaie, OTD, OTR/L
“Implementing Dynamic Axilla Splints in a Large Burn Patient”
Meleah Boyle, PhD, MPH
“Understanding and Addressing Environmental Sustainability to Protect the Health of the Children’s National and Global Communities”
Eiman Abdulrahman, MD
“Research Capacity Building to Improve Pediatric Emergency and Critical Care in Ethiopia”
Pilot Awards
Alexander Andrews, MD
“EEG as a Diagnostic and Prognostic Marker in Severe Pediatric Malaria, Blantyre Malawi”
Daniel Donoho, MD & Timothy Singer, MD
“Feasibility Study of a Novel Artificial Intelligence-Based Educational Platform to Improve Neurosurgical Operative Skills in Tanzania”
Hasan Syed, MD
“Bridging the Gap an Educational Needs Assessment for Pediatric Neurosurgery Training in Pakistan”
Sofia Perazzo, MD & Lamia Soghier, MD, MEd, MBA
“QI Mentorship to Improve Pediatric Screening and Follow-up in Rural Argentina”
Benjamin Liu, PhD
“AI-Empowered Real-Time Sequencing Assay for Rapid Detection of Schistosomiasis in Senegal”
Rae Mittal, MD
“Assessment and Enhancement of Proficiency in Emergency Child Neurology Topics for Post-Graduate Emergency Medicine Trainees in India”
Innovation Day ignites bold thinking
Thursday, REI Week shifted to the Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus for Innovation Day, a celebration of how bold ideas and collaborative culture can accelerate progress in pediatric medicine.
REI Week 2025 reaffirmed the values that define Children’s National: a commitment to excellence, collaboration and equity in pediatric research and care. As discoveries continue to emerge from our hospital and our research campuses, the connections built and ideas sparked during this week will help shape the future of pediatric health — locally and globally.
By elevating voices from the bedside to the bench, with the support of the executive sponsors Nathan Kuppermann, MD, MBChB, Catherine Bollard, MBChB, MD, Kerstin Hildebrandt, MSHS, Linda Talley, MS, RN, NE-BC and David Wessel, MD, REI Week demonstrated that we must embrace the community in all aspects of our work. Because we know that there are answers we can only get from the patients that we serve—and we need to be their voice.
Research, Education & Innovation Week will be back next year on April 13-17, 2026.
Posters at the REI Week 2025 Monday, March 31 poster session.
Panelists discuss innovation during REI Week 2025.
Global Health Initiative community engagement event during REI Week 2025.
Chris Rees presents his REI Week 2025 lecture.
Nathan Kuppermann listens to a presenter during the REI Week 2025 Tuesday, April 1, poster session.
Michelle Riley-Brown, Nathan Kuppermann, Catherine Bollard and Naomi Luban on stage during the REI Week 2025 awards ceremony.
Brandy Salmon presents on innovation programs at Virginia Tech during the REI Week 2025 Innovation Day.
Catherine Bollard listens to a presenter during the REI Week 2025 Monday, March 21 poster session.
Ambroise Wonkman poses for a picture with Children’s National staff.
Tanzeem Choudhury presenting during REI Week 2025.
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A new study out of the Center for Prenatal, Neonatal & Maternal Health Research, directed by Catherine Limperopoulos, PhD, led by Yao Wu, PhD and Stephanie Merhar, MD, MS, out of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, sought answers to the question: “Do brain volumes differ in opioid-exposed vs. unexposed newborns?” In one of the largest studies of this kind, researchers found that prenatal exposure to opioids is associated with smaller brain volumes in newborns. These findings from the landmark Outcomes of Babies with Opioid Exposure (OBOE) study build on, reinforce smaller studies, and achieve a better understanding of the impacts of prenatal opioid exposure (POE).
Dive Deeper
The Advancing Clinical Trials in Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal (ACT-NOW)’s OBOE study is a multi-site observational study of newborns with prenatal opioid exposure and a control group of unexposed newborns from four different sites in the United States – Case Western Reserve University, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
In a study involving 173 newborns who were exposed to opioids during pregnancy and 96 newborns not exposed to opioids prenatally showed smaller brain sizes in several key areas. Specifically, these exposed babies had smaller total brain volumes, as shown through MRI, as well as reduced volumes in important parts of the brain, including the cortex (outer layer of the brain), deep gray matter (areas that control movement and emotions), white matter (which helps transmit signals in the brain), cerebellum (responsible for coordination and movement), brainstem (controls basic functions like breathing), and the amygdala (involved in emotions and memory).
Further details showed that newborns exposed to medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) during pregnancy with methadone, had smaller white matter volumes, while those exposed to MOUD with buprenorphine had smaller volumes specifically in the right amygdala. Additionally, newborns who were exposed to opioids plus additional substances such as THC and gabapentin had smaller volumes in even more brain areas compared to those who were only exposed to opioids.
What’s Next
The OBOE study sets the groundwork for further research into the long-term impact of opioid exposure during pregnancy. Additional work is necessary to expand on these findings and how they relate to functions in childhood – including exploring the way these reduced brain volumes may impact cognitive, behavioral, and motor impairments. The study raises important questions about how current guidelines for MOUD during pregnancy – specifically with methadone and buprenorphine – might evolve considering these findings. This study highlights the need for further research to assess the long-term effects of MOUD regimens on both maternal and infant outcomes.
This significant study underscores the importance of multi-disciplinary collaboration in opioid exposure research, effective regulation, and policy interventions – involving healthcare providers, researchers, policymakers, and affected families – to best mitigate the consequences and improve the health outcomes of children affected by prenatal opioid exposure.
Additional authors from Children’s National include Kushal Kapse, BS, MS, and Josepheen De Asis-Cruz, MD, PhD. Other authors include Carla M. Bann, PhD, Jamie E. Newman, PhD4, Nicole Mack, MS, Sara B. De Mauro, MD, MSCE, Namasivayam Ambalavanan, MD, Jonathan M. Davis, MD, Scott A. Lorch, MD, MSCE5, Deanne Wilson-Costello, MD, Brenda B. Poindexter, MD and Myriam Peralta-Carcelen, MD.
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Researchers at Children’s National Hospital synthesized associations between the Child Opportunity Index (COI), a composite index of children’s neighborhood opportunity, and pediatric health.
In a new systematic review and meta-analysis published in Pediatrics, researchers at Children’s National Hospital synthesized associations between the Child Opportunity Index (COI), a composite index of children’s neighborhood opportunity, and pediatric health. Most studies in the review found that lower COI (less neighborhood opportunity) was associated with adverse health outcomes among children. In the meta-analysis specifically, lower COI (or less neighborhood opportunity) was associated with higher odds of mortality, all cause emergency department (ED) visits and sub-groups of hospitalizations – for medical reasons, surgical/trauma diagnoses and >30-day re-hospitalizations.
The hold up in the field
Until now, the variety of metrics used to measure the impact of where a child lives (place) made it difficult to meta-analyze place-based research across studies and quantify associations. In recent years, the frequent use of the COI has given the authors the unique opportunity to synthesize across those associations quantitatively.
Moving the field forward
“Our meta-analysis provides quantifiable evidence that place is an undeniable risk factor for pediatric mortality and select types of ED and hospital utilization,” the authors wrote. “And in tandem, our broader review summarizes evidence across 85 studies, underscoring that place-based disparities are present across the entire continuum of children’s health.”
The researchers hope this work can serve as an inflection point in the transition from discovering place-based inequities in children’s health to developing and evaluating interventions that mitigate inequities.
The patient benefit
Over the past few years, there has been a focus on identifying place-based disparities using the COI.
“We hope our review is a catalyst in the shift towards the development of interventions, done in partnership with families and communities to gain a deeper understanding of how place impacts care,” says Jordan Tyris, MD, hospitalist at Children’s National Hospital and one of the authors of the study. “This partnership would facilitate the tailoring of interventions to ensure they are family-centered and effective, with the goal of mitigating place-based disparities.”
The bottom line
The authors found that disparities exist across the continuum of children’s health – from newborn outcomes to well child care access/attendance, to chronic disease morbidity and mortality. They discovered that many of the studies examined ‘later on outcomes’ like utilization and mortality. However, some studies in this review documented disparities starting early in childhood, and earlier in the spectrum of health (e.g., newborn health and well child outcomes). The researchers believe this points to earlier opportunities for place-based interventions that could have implications for more serious outcomes later.
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A recent report in the Journal of Health Advocacy highlights key barriers and offers strategies to help physicians engage in advocacy and health policy scholarship.
Advocacy and health policy are key areas of interest for many in the medical field, including trainees and physicians. However, physicians’ demanding roles often make conducting research in these areas challenging. A recent report in the Journal of Health Advocacy highlights key barriers and offers strategies to help physicians engage in advocacy and health policy scholarship.
Why it matters
Advocating for policies that improve patient outcomes is a vital responsibility for physicians. The report’s findings are based on experiences from the Academic Pediatric Association (APA) Health Policy Scholars Program.
“Building on our work in this field, we identify both barriers to scholarship and ways to overcome them,” says Laura Willing, MD, co-author and psychiatrist at Children’s National Hospital. “We also propose solutions and actionable steps to advance pediatric health policy scholarship and advocacy at the individual, institutional and national levels.”
Moving the field forward
The report outlines key barriers to physician advocacy, including a lack of mentorship, limited dedicated time and resources, and alignment with institutional priorities.
“By providing a framework for effective advocacy, we hope other pediatricians, physicians and healthcare providers can replicate our successes,” says Matthew Magyar, MD, co-author and hospitalist at Children’s National.
Children’s National Hospital leads the way
Through the Child Health Advocacy Institute (CHAI), Children’s National actively supports physician advocacy. Staff regularly provide legislative testimony, collaborate on key policies and engage in advocacy-focused research to enhance patient care. Faculty and trainees work together, supported by CHAI and its Affiliate Faculty.
“Medical education extends beyond teaching about diseases in the hospital,” says Dr. Magyar. “It also includes educating the public and policymakers on policies that support children’s health and well-being.”
Read the full report in the Journal of Health Advocacy.
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By prioritizing the lived experiences of young parents, researchers found that health care interventions can be more effective, impactful and tailored to the real needs of adolescent mothers.
Pregnancy during adolescence presents unique challenges that can lead to suboptimal health outcomes for both the mother and child. A new study from researchers at Children’s National Hospital highlights an innovative approach to supporting pregnant teens by utilizing human-centered design (HCD) to create a comprehensive doula support program. The study demonstrates how prioritizing the lived experiences of young parents can lead to more effective and impactful healthcare interventions.
How will this work benefit patients?
This problem-solving framework focuses on understanding the needs and experiences of the people most affected by an issue. By applying this method, researchers developed a tailored doula support program designed specifically for pregnant teens. The study followed the three fundamental phases of HCD: inspiration, ideation and implementation.
During the inspiration phase, researchers gathered insights from teen parents about their needs and preferences. The ideation phase involved brainstorming potential solutions based on these insights, leading to the creation of a pilot doula program called Beyond the Bump. The final implementation phase saw the program launched to provide real-world support for young mothers.
“Beyond the Bump offers personalized support to pregnant teens through dedicated doulas who provided guidance before, during and after childbirth,” says Yael Smiley, MD, pediatrician at Children’s National and lead author of the study. “By listening to the voices of pregnant teens and designing interventions based on their needs, healthcare professionals can create more effective and sustainable support systems.”
The program served 12 participants and yielded promising results, including low rates of cesarean sections and high rates of breastfeeding initiation — both indicators of positive birth outcomes. Notably, both program participants and doulas reported positive experiences with Beyond the Bump. The feedback suggests that having a dedicated support system tailored to the specific needs of young mothers can significantly improve their overall pregnancy and postpartum experience.
How does this work move the field forward?
The study’s findings suggest that similar human-centered design approaches could be applied to other healthcare initiatives aimed at vulnerable populations. Beyond the Bump may serve as a model for healthcare providers looking to enhance support for pregnant teens and improve maternal and child health outcomes.
“As healthcare continues to evolve, prioritizing patient-centered solutions will be crucial in creating meaningful and impactful interventions,” says Dr. Smiley. “This study demonstrates that when programs are built with the community in mind, the potential for positive change is significant.”
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The guidelines are the first globally acknowledged framework for developing and deploying health care AI applications and gauging whether the information they generate can be trusted or not.
More than 100 international experts in the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care published the first set of consensus guidelines that outline criteria for what it means for an AI tool to be considered trustworthy when implemented in health care settings.
The guidelines, published in the journal the BMJ, are the first globally acknowledged framework for developing and deploying health care AI applications and gauging whether the information they generate can be trusted or not.
What this means
Called the FUTURE-AI framework, the consensus guidelines are organized based on six guiding principles:
Fairness
Universality
Traceability
Usability
Robustness
Explainability
The cadre of experts reviewed and agreed upon a set of 30 best practices that fall within the six larger categories. These practices address technical, clinical, socio-ethical and legal aspects of trustworthy AI. The recommendations cover the entire lifecycle of health care AI: design, development and validation, regulation, deployment and monitoring.
The authors encourage researchers and developers to take these recommendations into account in the proof-of-concept phase for AI-driven applications to facilitate future translation to clinical practice.
Why it matters
“Patients, clinicians, health organizations and authorities need to know that information and analysis generated by AI can be trusted, or these tools will never make the leap from theoretical to real world application in a clinical setting,” says Marius George Linguraru, DPhil, MA, MSc, Connor Family Professor for Research and Innovation in the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Surgical Innovation at Children’s National Hospital and co-author of the guidelines. “Bringing so many international and multi-disciplinary perspectives together to outline the characteristics of a trustworthy medical AI application is part of what makes this work unique. It is my hope that finding such broad consensus will shed light on the greater good AI can bring to clinics and help us avoid problems before they ever impact patients.”
The FUTURE-AI consortium was founded by Karim Lekadir, PhD, ICREA Research Professor at the University of Barcelona in 2021 and now comprises 117 interdisciplinary experts from 50 countries representing all continents, including AI scientists, clinical researchers, biomedical ethicists and social scientists. Over a 2-year period, the consortium established these guiding principles and best practices for trustworthy and deployable AI through an iterative process comprising an in-depth literature review, a modified Delphi survey and online consensus meetings. Dr. Linguraru contributed with a unique perspective on AI for pediatric care and rare diseases.
What’s next
The authors note that, “progressive development and adoption of medical AI tools will lead to new requirements, challenges and opportunities. For some of the recommendations, no clear standard on how these should be addressed yet exists.”
To tackle this uncertainty, they propose FUTURE-AI as a dynamic, living framework. This includes a dedicated website to allow the global community to participate in the FUTURE-AI network. Visitors can provide feedback based on their own experiences and perspectives. The input gathered will allow the consortium to refine the FUTURE-AI guidelines and learn from other voices.
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A new case series published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine highlights the need for more studies of extended-release buprenorphine for treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) in adolescents under 18 years old.
A new case series published in the Journal of Addiction Medicine highlights the need for more studies of extended-release buprenorphine for treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) in adolescents under 18 years old.
Why it matters
In recent years there has been an increase in adolescent OUD and adolescent opioid overdose deaths. Extended-release buprenorphine has been shown to be a safe and effective medication in adults but not offered to adolescents due to lack of safety data. Larger studies are needed to establish the safety and efficacy of extended-release buprenorphine for treatment in this population.
The big picture
In this case series, the researchers discuss six cases of patients younger than 18 years old with severe OUD who receive(d) treatment of extended-release buprenorphine at the Children’s National Hospital Addictions Program and Howard University Hospital. All patients reported a history of smoking fentanyl as their primary method of use.
Initial treatment began with sublingual buprenorphine-naloxone but then transitioned to extended-release buprenorphine. The authors stated, “Transition to extended-release buprenorphine was most frequently done due to patient nonadherence with a daily sublingual buprenorphine medication regimen, ongoing fentanyl use and concerns surrounding the difficulty with administration of the sublingual buprenorphine.”
How does this work move the field forward?
Extended-release buprenorphine is not an FDA approved intervention due to lack of safety data in patients younger than 18. Overall, little clinical research is being done in adolescents with OUD.
“Given the current overdose crisis among adolescents caused by fentanyl and the rising number of kids with OUD, more intervention options are needed,” says Sivabalaji Kaliamurthy, MD, director of the Addictions Program at Children’s National and lead author of the study. “We are hoping that this work will decrease provider hesitance to offer this intervention and will also provide data to help with insurance coverage.”
Children’s National leads the way
Dr. Kaliamurthy says, “The uniqueness of this work comes from our ability as a hospital to provide appropriate care for children struggling with severe addiction, navigating and overcoming significant barriers along the way that other programs have struggled to address. We are offering a treatment that is effective and the kids in treatment are doing well.”
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Children who had heart surgery and come from less advantaged neighborhoods in the Washington, D.C., region are much more likely to die in the long term than those from neighborhoods with more wealth and opportunity.
Children who had heart surgery and come from less advantaged neighborhoods in the Washington, D.C., region are much more likely to die in the long term than those from neighborhoods with more wealth and opportunity. The finding was part of a presentation, Socioeconomic Disadvantage Is Associated with Higher Long-Term Mortality After Cardiac Surgery, presented by Jennifer Klein, MD, MPH, cardiologist at Children’s National Hospital, during the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Annual Meeting in Los Angeles.
What is it?
Clinical and demographic data were collected for 2,546 people who underwent corrective surgery for congenital heart disease over a 15-year period (2007-2022) in a single-center retrospective analysis. Using the Child Opportunity Index (COI), an index that uses environmental/health, educational, and socioeconomic domains to assess patients’ neighborhoods, the two lowest COI quintile neighborhoods were designated as “disadvantaged” while the two highest COI quintile neighborhoods were designated as “advantaged.” Multivariable mixed model analyses were conducted to understand the factors associated with overall mortality.
The research showed that patients from disadvantaged neighborhoods suffered in a great proportion both overall mortality [n=168 (13.6%) vs 66 (8.4%), p< 0.001] and major complications [n=168 (13.6%) vs 81 (10.3%), p< 0.001]. The positive association between neighborhood disadvantage and long-term mortality was maintained in stepwise logistic regression multivariable analysis after controlling for differences between surgical complexity and other clinical risk factors.
What it means
“Previous research has shown disparities like this,” says Dr. Klein. “What’s significant here is that the disparity for children from disadvantaged neighborhoods grows over time. That means corrective interventions won’t be implemented in the operating room or within the first 30 days after surgery. They need to happen in a cardiologist’s office, in the schools, and in the community long after a child goes home from the hospital.”
The findings from this particular study are also noteworthy as they are the first to include significantly greater numbers of patients who are more likely to experience this risk (48.5% of the study group). Previous research has sought to look at this research question but analysis may have been skewed by an over-representation of socioeconomically advantaged patients.
What’s next
Differences in mortality risk continue to grow greater as more time passes, the authors note, indicating that the disparity is not a product of surgical technique or disparities in care delivery at the time of surgery.
Instead, their outcomes are being influenced by factors outside the operating room. This opens a new avenue of research focused on identifying the “why.”
“What happens after they go home?” Klein asks. “Can they access medications? Do they come back for follow-up appointments? Can they afford food?”
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“MICCAI has been a professional home for me throughout my career and I am deeply honored to have a chance to give back to the organization,” said Dr. Linguraru.
We’re pleased to announce that Marius George Linguraru, DPhil, MA, MSc, Connor Family professor and endowed chair in Research and Innovation at Children’s National, has been elected as president of the Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI) Society board of directors. Dr. Linguraru has been involved in the society since he attended his first MICCAI conference in 2001. He was elected to the board of directors in 2021 and chairs the Career Development Working Group. Dr. Linguraru was instrumental in establishing the MICCAI Mentorship Program, the MICCAI Start-up Village and the AFRICAI Special Interest Group. He also served as the program chair of MICCAI 2024, which received and reviewed a record number of paper submissions. He will begin his three-year term as president on February 1, 2025. Watch Dr. Linguraru’s brief inaugural message to members here.
“MICCAI has been a professional home for me throughout my career and I am deeply honored to have a chance to give back to the organization,” said Dr. Linguraru. “I believe the society is poised not just to meet the challenges of the next few years, but to thrive as an essential leadership forum for the growth of medical image computing, computer assisted intervention and artificial intelligence in healthcare.”
Meanwhile, Caroline Essert, PhD, MSc, completes her term as president of the MICCAI Society on January 31, 2025.
“It has been an honor to contribute to the growth and vibrancy of this incredible community,” said Dr. Essert. “I extend my warmest welcome to Dr. Linguraru as the incoming president of the MICCAI Board. I am confident that under his leadership, the MICCAI Society will reach new heights and continue to serve as a beacon of excellence in our field.” Read her full farewell message here.
To learn more about the MICCAI Society, click here.
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In 2024, Children’s National Hospital continued to make remarkable strides across diverse areas of pediatric medicine, from groundbreaking technological innovations to critical health advocacy. The following compilation showcases ten significant stories that demonstrate the breadth and depth of the hospital’s impact, as featured in major national news outlets including NBC Nightly News, CNN, The Washington Post, The New York Times, NPR, The Today Show, Healio, and POLITICO. Delve into our 2024 news highlights for more.
Charles Berul, M.D., and a patient family talk about the pill-sized pacemaker that saved the life of Abby, an infant born with deadly heart defects. (NBC Nightly News)
Sivabalaji Kaliamurthy, M.D., addiction psychiatrist and director of the Addictions Program, spoke to CNN about the impact of drug addiction on teen health and the lack of resources available to treat opioid use disorder. (CNN)
Susma Vaidya, M.D., M.P.H., associate medical director of the IDEAL Clinic, shared her concerns about childhood obesity treatment recommendations issued today by a leading panel of independent U.S. health experts. (The Washington Post)
Shideh Majidi, M.D., M.S.C.S., and Emily Frymark, clinical dietitian, spoke about how the food pharmacy, created in partnership with the Capital Area Food Bank, benefits patients with diabetes and other chronic conditions. (The Washington Post)
Kendric Cromer, a 12-year-old boy being treated at Children’s National Hospital, became the first person in the world with sickle cell disease to begin a commercially approved gene therapy that may cure the condition. “This is a big effort,” says David Jacobsohn, M.D., ScM, M.B.A. (The New York Times)
Mikael Petrosyan, M.D., associate chief of General and Thoracic Surgery, discusses the stress medical staff face when treating young victims of gun violence. (NPR)
Landon, an 11-year-old patient, rang the bell at Children’s National Hospital with family, friends, doctors and nurses cheering after finishing his final round of chemotherapy. (The Today Show)
Monika Goyal, M.D., M.S.C.E., pediatric emergency medicine specialist and co-director of the Center for Translational Research, emphasized the need for awareness in addressing period poverty in teenagers and young adults. (Healio)
Kolaleh Eskandanian, Ph.D., M.B.A., P.M.P., vice president and chief innovation officer, participates in a panel discussion covering AI data collection, associated risks, reliance and other topics related to artificial intelligence. (POLITICO)
Children’s National patient Kendric Cromer, 12, became one of the first children ever to be treated with a newly approved gene therapy that will free him from the sickle cell disease that has stolen his childhood. (The New York Times)
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2024 marked another groundbreaking year for Children’s National Hospital, showcasing remarkable advances across the spectrum of pediatric medicine, research and healthcare innovation. From pioneering surgical procedures to breakthrough artificial intelligence applications, the institution continued to push the boundaries of what’s possible in children’s healthcare. Read on for our list of the most popular articles we published on Innovation District in 2024.
A study led by researchers at Children’s National Hospital showed that babies born during the COVID-19 pandemic have differences in the size of certain structures in the brain, compared to infants born before the pandemic. The findings suggest that exposure to the coronavirus and being pregnant during the pandemic could play a role in shaping infant brain development. (3 min. read)
Children’s National Hospital was ranked as a top hospital in the nation by the U.S. News & World Report 2024-25 Best Children’s Hospitals annual rankings. This marks the eighth straight year Children’s National has made the Honor Roll list. The Honor Roll is a distinction awarded to only 10 children’s hospitals nationwide. (2 min. read)
In January 2023, a team of multidisciplinary doctors performed the first case in the world of using bilateral high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) pallidotomy on Jesus, a 22-year-old patient with dyskinetic cerebral palsy. The procedure is part of a clinical trial led by Chima Oluigbo, M.D., pediatric neurosurgeon at Children’s National Hospital. (3 min. read)
A novel ultrasound device developed by Bloom Standard received the Food and Drug Administration’s valued breakthrough device designation with the help of Children’s National Hospital. The device that enables autonomous, hands-free ultrasound scans to be performed anywhere, by any user. (2 min. read)
Understanding the effects of Lyme disease on the developing fetal brain is essential to ensure timely prenatal and postnatal treatments to protect the fetus and newborn. In response to this need, Children’s National Hospital is leading a pilot study to establish the groundwork needed for a larger study to determine the effect of in utero exposure to Lyme disease on pregnancy and early childhood neurodevelopmental outcomes. (3 min. read)
Five years ago, Cayden was born 6 weeks early weighing less than four pounds and at risk of dying from her critical congenital heart disease. Today, she’s a happy five-year-old. Early diagnosis of her hypoplastic right ventricle, double inlet left ventricle and critical coarctation of the aorta allowed for the team at Children’s National Hospital to create a careful plan for safe delivery and to offer an innovative hybrid HLHS surgical approach at the hospital within 24 hours after she was born. (1 min. read)
Children’s National Hospital appointed Wayne J. Franklin, M.D., F.A.C.C., as the new senior vice president (SVP) of the Children’s National Heart Center. In this role, Dr. Franklin oversees the full spectrum of heart care services including cardiac imaging and diagnostics, interventional cardiology, electrophysiology, cardiac anesthesia, cardiac surgery and cardiac intensive care. (2 min. read)
By pioneering artificial intelligence (AI) innovation programs at Children’s National Hospital, Marius George Linguraru, D.Phil., M.A., M.Sc., and the AI experts he leads are ensuring patients and families benefit from a coming wave of technological advances. The team is teaching AI to interpret complex data that could otherwise overwhelm clinicians. (4 min. read)
Painting a sobering picture, a research team led by Children’s National Hospital culled years of data demonstrating that maternal mental illness is an under-recognized contributor to the death of new mothers. They called for urgent action to address this public health crisis. (3 min. read)
Children’s National Hospital appointed Nathan Kuppermann, M.D., M.P.H., as its new executive vice president, chief academic officer and chair of Pediatrics. In this role, Dr. Kuppermann oversees research, education and innovation for the Children’s National Research Institute as well as academic and administrative leadership in the Department of Pediatrics at George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Services. (2 min. read)
Researchers from Children’s National Hospital presented findings from the first clinical trial of the medication vosoritide for children with hypochondroplasia – a rare genetic growth disorder. During the phase 2 trial, researchers found vosoritide increased the growth rate in children with hypochondroplasia, allowing them to grow on average an extra 1.8 cm per year. (2 min. read)
Since its establishment in July 2023, the Center for Prenatal, Neonatal & Maternal Health Research at Children’s National Hospital has gained recognition through high-impact scientific publications, featuring noteworthy studies exploring the early phases of human development. (3 min. read)
https://innovationdistrict.childrensnational.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2024-with-lightbulb-CNRI.jpg385685Innovation Districthttps://innovationdistrict.childrensnational.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/InnovationDistrict_CN_WebHeader-1396px-1030x151.pngInnovation District2024-12-19 13:29:592024-12-19 13:33:52The best of 2024 from Innovation District
In June, Alda Mizaku, M.S., became the hospital’s first chief data and AI officer.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing healthcare and will shape the future of pediatrics. It can drive efficiency, supercharge research and improve patient outcomes. Harnessing AI safely and ethically takes thoughtful leadership. In June, Alda Mizaku, M.S., became the hospital’s first chief data and AI officer. Previously, she led data engineering and analytics at Mercy Health in St. Louis for 11 years. We asked Mizaku about her work and vision for Children’s National.
Q: What excites you about your new role?
A: I am passionate about the opportunity to leverage technology to create better experiences for children and families. Embracing innovation can help us create more health equity for our community. This is an exciting time in healthcare. I’m committed to leading the way with compassionate and cutting-edge solutions. This includes realizing the full potential of medical data from electronic healthcare records and other sources. AI can help us develop treatment plans tailored specifically for each child. It also can make proactive recommendations to coordinate patient care.
Q: What have you seen AI accomplish in medicine and how do you envision its growth and impact in pediatrics?
A: AI yields helpful insights to understand each patient’s individual needs. It takes complex medical data and makes it more useful. It can help us diagnose disease and improve care coordination for each patient family. AI fits very well into pediatrics because children’s hospitals put a lot of effort into research and development. For example, in rare disease, there’s an emphasis on building models to understand a condition’s genetic composition. AI gives us the opportunity to find solutions and intervene more quickly to change lives. This is the future of pediatric medicine.
Q: How will children’s national use AI to improve patient care?
A: We have been busy creating an enterprise cloud data platform. It will allow us to bring all of the hospital’s data into one place and create one true source of information.
This one-stop shop will make it much easier for our researchers and care providers to access the information they need to make a difference for patients. AI will help with operational efficiencies. It will give us a clearer picture of which units across the institution are busy or have extra capacity. It can recommend ways to eliminate bottlenecks. This reduces wait times and allows us to help more patients.
Q: How can AI help our faculty?
A: The beauty of AI is that it can help faculty focus more on patient care and less on their administrative tasks. Jessica Herstek, M.D., our chief medical informatics officer, is leading our pilot of an AI-based ambient listening technology that creates notes during patient encounters. The clinician focuses on their patient. Later, they can refine and approve the notes.
Accountability remains important. Just because we’re leveraging technology, it doesn’t remove accountability for staff.
AI assists providers and reinforces their role in care. Medical innovations that leverage AI also can increase their efficiency.
For example, liquid biopsy technologies use AI to study blood samples and detect cancer. This helps patients avoid time-consuming scans and painful traditional biopsies. We can detect disease or its recurrence much earlier in a less invasive way. This enhances care.
Q: What are some challenges we face on the road to implementing AI?
A: Embracing AI systems may involve giving up some comfort in the way that we’ve always done things. It opens up possibilities, but it requires some change. Our challenge is to make sure we have three things in place to create scalable, sustainable solutions. The first is having high-quality, integrated data. The second is collaboration. The third is change management.
We will take an inclusive approach to implementing changes, working side by side with clinical and operational leaders. When we present solutions, it will be collaborative. Comprehensive training also plays a key role. We must address misconceptions about AI’s capabilities and foster a common understanding of its most effective uses.
Our recipe for success will be openness to contributing to better outcomes for our patients.
We need to collect high-quality data consistently across different units. Variations don’t translate well to scalable solutions crucial to generative AI. When we look at the big picture, it’s clear we can come together to provide the best care.
Q: Why is this work important to you?
A: Technology and its capacity to transform lives has always captivated me. Growing up in Albania, my dad led the pharmacy at the local hospital.
Sometimes I would ride in the ambulance when he needed to go to the hospital urgently. I was around 7 years old at the time, and it left a deep impression.
I recognized that each member of the team played a significant role in caring for the patient. This experience inspires my work to this day.
https://innovationdistrict.childrensnational.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Alda-Mizaku-feature.jpg300400Innovation Districthttps://innovationdistrict.childrensnational.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/InnovationDistrict_CN_WebHeader-1396px-1030x151.pngInnovation District2024-12-18 16:19:282024-12-27 14:13:05Meet Children’s National’s new Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Officer
Children’s National Hospital announced that it will be partnering with Epic, the nation’s leading electronic health record (EHR) provider, on a comprehensive transition to a new integrated health record system. The full implementation of Epic’s platform, planned to be completed in mid-2027, will better enable the delivery of patient-centered and coordinated care.
In 2024, Children’s National Hospital continued to make remarkable strides across diverse areas of pediatric medicine, from groundbreaking technological innovations to critical health advocacy. The following compilation showcases ten significant stories that demonstrate the breadth and depth of the hospital’s impact, as featured in major national news outlets including NBC Nightly News, CNN, The Washington Post, The New York Times, NPR, The Today Show, Healio, and POLITICO. Delve into our 2024 news highlights for more.
2024 marked another groundbreaking year for Children’s National Hospital, showcasing remarkable advances across the spectrum of pediatric medicine, research and healthcare innovation. From pioneering surgical procedures to breakthrough artificial intelligence applications, the institution continued to push the boundaries of what’s possible in children’s healthcare. Read on for our list of the most popular articles we published on Innovation District in 2024.
