Department rankings are published annually by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and are based on overall research funding. Research grant funding for the UA Department of Pediatrics increased from just under $4 million in 1999 to more than $8 million in 2003, the most recent year studied.
"The increase in research grants speaks to the dedication of our researchers who are committed to discovering new treatments and cures for the diseases that affect our children," said Pediatric Department Head Fayez Ghishan, MD, director of the Steele Memorial Children's Research Center.
The department now ranks higher than the University of Washington School of Medicine, the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and Cornell University Medical College. Overall, the department has risen above 44 other programs from its ranking of 65 six years ago.
Dr. Ghishan's ultimate goal for the department is to be ranked among the top 10 pediatric departments within the next five to seven years, he said.
Grants awarded to the pediatric pulmonary section have significantly contributed to the department's rise in national stature. For example, an NIH-sponsored grant led by UA pediatric pulmonologist Fernando Martinez, MD of the Arizona Respiratory Center is currently exploring the potential role of inhaled corticosteroids in modifying the natural history of early onset asthma. "This study will tell us whether or not we can prevent the development of asthma in young children who wheeze in the first years of life," said Wayne Morgan, MD, an investigator on the study.
More than 100 research projects are currently being conducted by Department of Pediatrics physician-scientists through the Steele Memorial Children's Research Center. For example:
Diabetes researchers are working on new technologies to create a viable and persistent beta-cell implant device to reverse type I diabetes.
