MEMPHIS, Tenn. — When Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital opened in 1952, polio was its most pressing health issue. Sixty years later, researchers and physicians continue to find innovative ways to treat pediatric diseases.
Le Bonheur has completed renovations that more than double its space for research and teaching on campus. This move helps it continue its commitment to prevent, treat and eliminate pediatric disease.
In the new research space, investigators study conditions like asthma, respiratory syncytial virus and autism. Studies are conducted in the Children’s Foundation Research Institute, where renovations are complete.
The Institute includes basic laboratory space and the Pediatric Clinical Research Unit for clinical and translational research studies. In translational research, investigators take findings from the lab to the patient’s bedside.
“Cutting-edge pediatric research requires state-of-the-art research facilities and technology, as well as bright and innovative researchers,” said Dr. Dennis Black, medical director of the Children’s Foundation Research Institute.
Le Bonheur is among one third of the nation’s children’s hospitals that have free-standing research center on their campus. This investment provides the support and infrastructure to facilitate clinical and translational research.
Studies are funded by the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and various foundations and drug companies. Our researchers collaborate with their peers at The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the University of Memphis.
In addition to research, the new space is also used to train pediatricians and pediatric specialists, in conjunction with The University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), Le Bonheur and UTHSC trains more pediatricians than any other hospital in the state. Last year, 350 physicians trained in specialties ranging from allergy to neurosurgery and cardiology to orthopaedics.
