We're all about children!
 February 2005
This edition:
Letter from the Chair
We are grateful for the fantastic effort that has brought the Charles P. Darby Children's Research Institute into being. Special thanks goes out to the work of the University and its officials, the Darby Family, the more than 2000 contributors to the building, and the many members of the University family who have helped in planning, creating, and implementing the programs which will provide such wonderful opportunities to further the health of children. We have honored Dr. Charles Darby in several issues of our newsletter for the major role that he and his family have played as the creators and founders of the program. We must remember, however, the great contribution of the University, spearheaded by Dr. Ray Greenberg, Dr. John Raymond, and Dr. Jerry Reves. With a strong base and the ability to create new and exciting centers of excellence within the CRI, we will succeed in bettering the lives of children and adults. This week marks the beginning of the Institute's life. We, as pediatricians, know the importance of a good start and a nurturing beginning. Last week we heard Dr. David Nathan proclaim that the beginning of any new program starts with the basics. This includes basic understandings of cellular and physiological processes. He also told us that basic discovery means little if we are unable to translate these discoveries into clinical advances. This bed-to-bench-to-bed-model is what we are striving to achieve. On February 17, we will be providing a symposium that will feature the scientists working in the CRI. Researchers within the Institute will learn what their fellow investigators are studying in their labs and will walk away with their heads swimming with new ideas to apply to their own research. Clinicians will hear about basic physiology and will be inspired to think how novel concepts can be applied to the care of their patients. Administrators will be exposed to the workings of the Institute and will learn first hand what areas of strength can help to drive the University's research portfolio to new heights. I would like to thank Drs. Bernie Maria and Inderjit Singh for their work in creating this symposium. This is indeed a moment of pride, and a time to thank the many contributors to the creation of the Institute. I would like to thank those who were helped to understand the importance of this project by our Children's Hospital Fund led by Barbara Rivers and her fabulous staff, supported and directed by superb boards (chaired during the campaign by Linda Woodside, John Thompson, and Tom McNally). We thank the University administration and development for their role in supporting this project. I must thank Leslie Kendall for her role in overseeing the construction, completion and operation of the building. I wish to thank Sabra Slaughter and Jim Fisher and the CRI Grand Opening Committee for their help in planning for the opening and working with us on the development of our funding base. Finally, I would like to thank my wife Janice and Mrs. Joyce Darby for their many hours of work and their sleepless nights worrying about important details that I would have forgotten Last but not least, I would like to thank the faculty for their tremendous response to my plea to help us with getting the building named after Charlie. We raised more than $250,000 before the campaign was completed. Thank you for your generosity. Now, I want to exhort each of you to be present for as many of the seminars as possible. The success of the programs will depend on how well they are integrated into the fabric of the Children's Hospital culture. Sincerely,  L. Lyndon Key, MD Chair, Department of Pediatrics Update from the Administrator
The MUSC Children's Hospital is set to open the Medically Fragile Children's Program during the spring. This service will replicate a very successful program located in Columbia. Working with Health and Human Services and the Department of Social Services, a model of care has been created to provide coordinated and complete care for medically fragile children. By providing a location where these medically complex children can go for total care has created outstanding results in the Palmetto program. Children receive the care when they need it and they are able to reach their potentials quicker, utilize emergency rooms and inpatient stays less and for foster children, the rate of adoption has increased dramatically. We plan to open our MFCP at the old Baker/Roper Hospital located at the junction of Cosgrove and I-26. Over the next few weeks the space will be renovated and staff will be hired as we look forward to an opening by May. The children that will initially be accepted into the program will be in foster care. Over time we will move to open the program to other medically fragile children. This is an exciting program that we are anxious to open to better care for this very important population. Children's Research Institute News Brief
One week following the dedication and opening of the Institute, we will convene for a mini-symposium on February 17 to hear from each of our research programs. The forum promises to be an outstanding opportunity for pediatric faculty and other physicians to hear about current research and potential benchtop to bedside collaborations. While there has been a good deal of discussion over the years on what to expect from the Institute and its programs, it is a wonderful feeling to now move to a phase where returns on the investment are realized for children. Please join us for an intellectual tour of the Institute! Agenda and Format CRI Investigators Forum Mini-Symposium BSB 502 February 17, 2005 8 - 1 p.m. CRI Investigators Forum and Data Blitz 8 a.m. - 8:05 a.m. Introduction and Statement of Goals 2nd Floor Activities 8:05 a.m. - 8:20 a.m. Pediatric Obesity, Insulin Resistance, and Diabetes Program Director: Richard Furlanetto, MD, PhD 8:20 a.m. - 8:35 a.m. Childhood Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases Program Directors: Richard Silver, MD, Stephen Tomlinson, PhD, and Gary Gilkeson, MD 8:35 a.m. - 8:50 a.m. Osteoclast Biology and Bone Disease Program Director: Sakamuri Reddy, PhD 3rd Floor Activities 8:50 a.m. - 9:10 a.m. Antenatal and Early Childhood Nutrition Program Directors: Bruce W. Hollis, Ph.D and Carol Wagner, MD 9:10 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. Pediatric Pulmonary Biology Program Director: John E. Baatz, PhD 9:30 a.m. - 9:50 a.m. Proteomics Center and Bioengineering Program Director: Daniel Knaap, PhD 9:50 a.m. - 10:10 a.m. BREAK 4th Floor Activities 10:10 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Pediatric Neuropsychiatry Program Director: Peter Kalivas, PhD 10:30 a.m. - 10:50 a.m. Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders Program Director: Julio Barredo, MD 10:50 a.m. - 11:10 a.m. Drug Disposition and Pharmacogenetics Program Director: C. Lindsay DeVane, PharmD 5th Floor Activities 11:10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Developmental Neurological Disorders & Lipidomics Program Director: Inderjit Singh, PhD 6th Floor Activities 11:30 a.m. - 11:50 a.m. Pediatric Cardiogenomic Biology & Cardiovascular Developmental Biology Program Directors: Roger Markwald, PhD and J. Philip Saul 11:50 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Closing Comments 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. LUNCH Mental Health Resource News Brief Improving Self-Esteem in Children Self-esteem is instrumental in helping children avoid behaviors that risk health and safety and primary care health providers can help parents teach their children that failure and mistakes are an inevitable, but ultimately useful, part of life. For more tips please see Bright Futures in Practice: Mental Health Practice Guide and Tool Kit. Please join our breakfast study group on the third Tuesday of each month in room 377 Rutledge Tower at 8 a.m. for review of strategies for addressing mental health issues in medical settings. Contact spratte@musc.edu for additional information. A special thanks to the following individuals for their efforts in putting together Kids Connection each month. Managing Editor: Bernard L. Maria, MD, MBA Assistant Editor: Mary Jacobs Publisher: Jessica Munday (Trio Solutions Inc.) Web design: Jennifer Cherock (Trio Solutions Inc.) and Brian Dadin (MUSC IT Lab) Contributing Writers: Lyndon Key, MD; Bernard Maria, MD; and John Sanders |
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