We're all about children!
 February 2007
This edition:
Letter From Our Chair
Dr. Paul Darden will be heading our effort to obtain a Child Health Research Career Development Award (K12) grant. This is an educational grant that will provide training for basic science-oriented clinicians. It will function similarly to the program developed in the Academic Generalist Program through our clinical masters that helps to develop clinical trialists. In recent years, we have put together a team of scientists in the Darby Children's Research Institute (DCRI) who do basic science research and train our fellows and junior faculty how to develop funded programs. Our success has been greatly enhanced by the recruitment and expansion of several programs. We have a number of superb mentors who have helped us to develop the research careers of our faculty. The two premier groups who have provided help in mentoring junior faculty over the years have been Dr. Inderjit Singh and Dr. Bruce Hollis. [read more] Feature Story Pediatric Cardiology: Research efforts going strong The pediatric cardiology department is pushing forward in the field, and that means strengthening and expanding its research efforts. The program combines all aspects of taking care of and treating patients with congenital heart disease, says Dr. Philip Saul, director of the Division of Pediatric Cardiology. "We do all patient care, and part of that is our clinical research program," says Dr. Saul. "We have a dedicated faculty who all spend at least some of their time doing research." The clinical faculty in the division is unique. "They're all relatively young, and all have the same belief that in order to push forward in the field, more of what we do needs to be driven by evidence-based research," says Dr. Saul. [read more] New recruit strengthens research efforts The unique chance to work in a pediatric cardiology department but also with a group of skilled and collaborative basic investigators focused on disease-related, developmental cardiovascular biology is what lured Dr. Kyu-Ho Lee to the Darby Children's Research Institute. "This was a rare opportunity for me, because I'm clinically trained but also have a strong basic science training and interest," says the young recruit, who first worked with Dr. Saul at Boston Children's Hospital. He holds a joint appointment in Pediatric Cardiology and Cell Biology and Anatomy. [read more] Message From Our Medical Director
Update From Our Administrator
The Ronald McDonald House (RMH) has become a second home for many of the families we serve at the Children's Hospital. A substantial amount of effort has been put into the expansion of the facilities of the RMH. Prior to the renovations, most of the families were those who had children in our ICUs - these were the more critical cases. In fact, more than 900 families were regrettably denied the opportunity to stay at the RMH in 2006 due to the lack of room availability. Today, the RMH is able to accept twice the number of families with children in all of our service areas. We realize that nobody wants to have their children in the hospital but for those who do have a child with a serious illness, the RMH provides a warm and safe environment that while staying close to their loved ones. It allows families to find comfort in normal routines such as cooking dinner, doing laundry or just hanging out together like they would at home. We are so grateful to have a strong relationship with the Ronald McDonald House and their amazing team members. The RMH faculty understands the high level of stress the families are dealing with and they do their best to be as supportive and considerate as possible. The staff and the child-friendly facility create a unique home-away-from-home environment and we appreciate all they do. RMH is an integral part of children's care in the Charleston area and we look forward to continuing our work together to better serve our patients and families. Darby Children's Research Institute News
2nd Anniversary for DCRI We will soon celebrate the 2nd Anniversary for the Charles P. Darby Children's Research Institute (DCRI). The DCRI and its dedicated investigators have proven to be incredibly productive over the last two years, and we are very proud of the work being done. Each day, there are new developments taking place and successful collaborations being established. The DCRI continues to attract new scientists including Dr. Bell in Renal Biology, Dr. Lee in Cardiobiology, and Dr. Swaja in Bioengineering, among others in 2006-2007. On March 1, 2007, the DCRI invites you to learn about new discoveries in basic biology and in translational and clinical sciences that impact our children's health. [read more] Evidence-Based Tip
Usually, when we use the word "diagnosis," we are referring to the process of making a diagnosis or performing a differential diagnosis. In Evidence-Based Medicine, however, when we pose a diagnosis question, we want to know how well a particular test does in telling us if our patient does or does not have a certain condition. Diagnostic studies give us information that tells us how well the test does, compared to "the truth," as represented by the "gold standard." Bandolier's EBM Glossary defines gold standard as "A method, procedure or measurement that is widely accepted as being the best available." For example, a recent study at Vanderbilt University Medical Center compared the rapid flu test (influenza rapid antigen detection) to culture and reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. Two important percentages result from this comparison: sensitivity and specificity. [read more] A special thanks to the following individuals for their efforts in putting together Kids Connection each month. Editor: Bernard L. Maria, MD, MBA Publisher: Jennifer Cherock (Trio Solutions Inc.) Feature Writer: Mary Sue Lawrence, Trio Solutions Inc Contributing Writers: Lyndon Key, Bernard Maria, John Sanders, Inderjit Singh, Laura Cousineau |
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