January 11, 2023

IN THIS NEWSLETTER

Updates from Research Administration

  • Statistics and Catalyst Services for Manne Research Institute
  • Upcoming Grant Award Financial Status Resources and Support for Principal Investigators and Grant Managers
  • New Online Hub Features Northwestern Medicine Podcasts, Including NUCATS' Science in Translation

Research Institute Staff Additions and Career News

  • Justin Ryder, PhD, Vice Chair of Research, Department of Surgery 
  • Eric Goodwin, Communications Specialist, Office of Research Development

Science Showcase

  • Introducing the FY2023 Fellow Research Scholar Awardees 
  • Injury Free Coalition for Kids Recognizes Karen Sheehan as 2022 Principal Investigator of the Year 
  • Family and Child Health Innovations Program Awarded the Kent County Fatherhood Survey Steelcase Foundation Grant
  • Leena B. Mithal Named Co-Director of MSCI Program 

News from the Manne Research Pillars

  • Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Swimming Skills Found Across Generations
  • Problems with Alcohol Increase After Weight-Loss Surgery in Adolescence

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UPDATES FROM RESEARCH ADMINISTRATION

Research Business Operations

Statistics and Catalyst Services for Manne Research Institute

Beginning January 2023, Resource Pools in the areas of Statistics and Catalyst services at Manne Research Institute will be available. These pools have been developed to meet the high need and limited capacity of our research resources within Manne Research Institute. The overall goal is to provide more efficient and cost-effective services to our researchers.    

 

Things to know:  

  • Rates have been developed and are now posted on each team’s page on the Manne Research Institute website. Intake form information for these service requests can also be found on these pages. 
  • When requests for one of these services is made, researchers will be provided a scope of work and budget amount to include as “Other Direct Costs” in their grant/proposal budget.
  • Services will be billed no more frequently than monthly based on hours worked and will be charged to General Expense—Internal Research Services.

 

For information on services and rates for Smith Child Health Catalyst: Smith Child Health Catalyst | Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute | Lurie Children's Hospital

 

For information on services and rates for Statistics: Research Statistical Support Services | Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute | Lurie Children's Hospital

 

Any questions should be directed to the individual resource pool teams.  

Sponsored Research Finance Office

Upcoming Grant Award Financial Status Resources and Support for Principal Investigators and Grant Managers

The Sponsored Research Finance Office (SRFO) team has recently rebuilt and focused on sponsored requirement deliverables and compliance. The team is pleased to share the Grant Award Financial Monitoring support and resources utilizing emailed Workday report links, access to real-time financial information, scheduled check-ins, and hosted SRFO portfolio manager weekly office hours.


  • Beginning later in January, two Portfolio Summary Reports—Active Grant Awards and Clinical Trial (PPR) Studies—will be distributed through email with a Workday link. These reports will provide an overall financial status of each award in Workday.  
  • Starting in February, portfolio managers will begin regularly scheduled check-ins with each Principal Investigator to discuss and review overall financial status of their award portfolio. Check-in frequency ("How often will I meet with my portfolio manager?") is based on the number and composition of your awards. 
  • Between scheduled check-ins, portfolio managers will host weekly office hours to answer your financial email inquiries or to reach out with questions.
  • At any time, real-time financial status and details are available in Workday.

 

Portfolio Managers will be reaching out mid-January with additional details, resources, and your specific check-in schedule.


  • Christianne Montgomery, Research Financial Portfolio Manager
  • Marla Byrd, Research Financial Portfolio Manager
  • Rashad White, Research Financial Portfolio Manager
  • Benetta Thomas, Financial Specialist
  • Ruben Galvez, Financial Specialist

Updates From Research Partners

New Online Hub Features Northwestern Medicine Podcasts, Including NUCATS' Science in Translation

A new webpage allows visitors to listen to shows from the Northwestern Medicine podcast network, where they can hear about the latest developments in medical research, healthcare, and medical education. Leaders from across specialties speak to topics ranging from basic science to translational science to public health. Science in Translation, produced by the NUCATS Institute, is among the featured podcasts. 

Visit the Page

Research Institute Staff Additions and Career News

Justin Ryder, PhD

Vice Chair of Research, Department of Surgery 


Please join Dr. Thomas Inge, MD, PhD, Surgeon-in-Chief and Chair of the Department of Surgery at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, in welcoming Justin Ryder, PhD, to the role of Vice Chair of Research, Department of Surgery. Dr. Ryder is a scientist with a background in exercise physiology and expertise in pediatric obesity and surgical research. He has a strong track record of extramural funding, and he will continue his own National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases-funded research focused on pediatric obesity treatment and understanding mechanisms of response. He will also work more broadly to help advance the research missions of other researchers and elevate the academic profile of the department and Lurie Children’s as Vice Chair of Research. Dr. Ryder completed his postdoctoral training at the University of Minnesota and was hired in 2016 for his first faculty position there as Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics. This month, he begins his faculty position as Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery and Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. 

Eric Goodwin

Communications Specialist, Office of Research Development



After supporting the Office of Research Development in a split role beginning in 2021, Eric Goodwin joins Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute in a full-time capacity this month. He will continue to manage research institute newsletters and communications channels, while working to elevate the stature and visibility of research progress through emerging platforms. Goodwin has been a Lurie Children's team member since 2015, leading communications efforts for the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children within the Smith Child Health Outreach, Research, and Evaluation Center and the Patrick M. Magoon Institute for Healthy Communities. He has also guided communications activities for broad range of research programs, public health campaigns, and special projects within Lurie Children's. A native of Maine and a journalism graduate of the University of Connecticut, Goodwin has previously worked for the Alzheimer's Association national office, the American Diabetes Association, and the Big Ten Conference.

SCIENCE SHOWCASE

Introducing the FY2023 Fellow Research Scholar Awardees 

Congratulations to the following recipients of the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute FY2023 Fellow Research Scholar Awards. Principal Investigators will receive a $5,000 award to support their research projects, which cover a range of pediatric health topics. Read more here.


  • Deirde Bartlett, MD, Pediatric Nephrology Fellow (2021–2024)
  • Carlos Becerril-Romero, MD, Pediatric Nephrology Fellow (2021–2024)
  • Christine Nguyen Clarke, DO, MA, Pediatric Hematology Oncology Fellow (2021–2024)
  • Abigayil Dieguez, MD, Pediatric Endocrinology Fellow (2021–2024)
  • Jordan Nicole Drawbridge, MD, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellow (2021–2024)
  • Nabgha Farhat, MD, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellow (2021–2024)
  • Jillian Gorski, MD, Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellow (2021–2024) 
  • Alazar Haregu, MD, Pediatric Cardiology Fellow (2021–2024)
Full Award Details

Injury Free Coalition for Kids Recognizes Karen Sheehan as 2022 Principal Investigator of the Year 

Injury Free Coalition for Kids recently honored Karen Sheehan, MD, MPH, Attending Physician, Emergency Medicine at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, with the 2022 Principal Investigator of the Year Award. 


Dr. Sheehan has dedicated her career as a physician-scientist to investigating the prevention of unintentional injury and violent injury in children and adolescents. In particular, topics of her research have included gun violence and firearm fatalities, playground safety, youth suicide, and injuries related to falls. Additionally, Dr. Sheehan is a founding volunteer of the Chicago Youth Programs, a community-based organization that works to improve the health and life opportunities of at-risk youth. 


Injury Free Coalition for Kids is a national injury prevention program developed with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and comprises hospital-based, community-oriented programs whose efforts are anchored in research, education, and advocacy. 

Family and Child Health Innovations Program (FCHIP) Awarded the Kent County Fatherhood Survey (KCFS) Steelcase Foundation Grant

The Family and Child Health Innovations Program (FCHIP) at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago will work with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to develop and field the Kent County Fatherhood Survey (KCFS) during a three-year grant period (October 17, 2022–October 17, 2025). To support FHCIP and MDHHS, Steelcase Foundation has awarded $620,203 to Lurie Children’s.


“Fathers are often missing in the maternal-child health paradigm. In establishing the Kent County Fatherhood Survey (KCFS), we will create, implement, and analyze a public health surveillance survey of fathers and families in Kent County, Michigan, that is representative of its population, with particular focus on fathers of children who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) or Hispanic,” said Craig Garfield, MD, MAPP (pictured), founder and director of the FCHIP. “Once established, data from KCFS will inform multi-generational support, advocacy, and engagement for families across Kent County and the nation.”


Building on the success of the maternal Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), PRAMS for Dads was first implemented in 2018–2019 in collaboration with the Georgia Department of Public Health and the CDC. The overarching purpose of PRAMS for Dads was to collect comprehensive information about men’s health and experiences during the transition to fatherhood, including links between paternal factors and pregnancy, maternal, and infant outcomes.


Question domains included relationship status, paternal work leave, residency with baby and mother, health insurance, health care access and utilization, pregnancy intention, paternal involvement, and safe sleep practices. 


Responses from this groundbreaking survey revealed key actionable health data. For example, about 70 percent of fathers reported being overweight/obesity, 10 percent had depressive symptoms, with a panoply of poor health behaviors, including 19 percent current smokers, 13 percent binge drinking, and 5 percent marijuana users. Further, data could be linked to maternal PRAMS, allowing dyadic analysis between mothers and fathers within the same family.  


Three peer-reviewed articles about the PRAMS for Dads pilot study in Georgia have already been published in the American Journal of Public Health, PLOS One, and Archives of Women’s Mental Health:


Leena B. Mithal Named Co-Director of MSCI Program 

Leena B. Mithal, MD, MSCI, Attending Physician, Infectious Diseases at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, is the newly appointed Co-Director of the Master of Science in Clinical Investigation (MSCI) program at the Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute.  


In this role, Dr. Mithal will help scientists develop clinical research skills, become more competitive in seeking funding for their research, and learn to navigate the complexities of conducting sound clinical research. 


Dr. Mithal, who is also an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, currently conducts clinical-translational research on perinatal microbial exposures, host response, and health outcomes. Her research focuses on development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic tools for neonatal sepsis, SARS-CoV-2 in pregnancy, and early life microbiome. 

NEWS FROM THE RESEARCH PILLARS

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Swimming Skills Found Across Generations

Culturally tailored intergenerational swimming programs could help eliminate racial disparities in drowning

A parent survey from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago published in the journal Pediatrics found intergenerational trends in swimming skills, with stark racial and ethnic differences.


Comfort with their own swimming skills was reported by fewer parents who identified as Latine (less than 25 percent) and Black (28 percent), compared to White parents (56 percent). Similarly, their children’s swimming competence was affirmed by less than 33 percent of Black parents and less than 40 percent of Latine parents, compared to nearly 60 percent of White parents.


The survey also revealed that over 26 percent of Black parents and over 32 percent of Latine parents reported that they never learned to swim, compared to less than 4 percent of White parents. Likewise, fewer Black and Latine children had swimming lessons, compared to White children (46 percent, 47 percent and 72 percent, respectively).


“Our results underscore that racial and ethnic gaps in swimming competence run in families, and that children are less likely to swim when their parents can’t swim,” said senior author Michelle Macy, MD, MS, Emergency Medicine physician at Lurie Children’s and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “To improve swimming abilities in Black and Latine communities, we need to address swim comfort and skills for both parents and their children. Expanding access to pools and affordable, culturally tailored water safety programs are critically important strategies to help eliminate racial disparities in child drownings.” Read more...

Problems with Alcohol Increase After Weight-Loss Surgery in Adolescence

Youth who underwent metabolic and bariatric surgery as teenagers are at heightened risk for alcohol use, according to the first study to document long-term alcohol use and associated issues in this population. Researchers found that after eight years, nearly half of study participants had alcohol use disorders, symptoms of alcohol-related harm, or alcohol-related problems. Results were published in the journal Annals of Surgery.


“The increased alcohol use we found in this study surpasses that expected from others in this age group in the general population,” said study author and principal investigator Thomas Inge, MD, PhD, Surgeon-in-Chief and Director of Adolescent Bariatric Surgery Program at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, as well as Professor of Surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “We also know the anatomic changes after surgery result in increased sensitivity to alcohol, so that ounce for ounce, greater effects and consequences of alcohol intake are seen after these operations.” Read more...

MANNE RESEARCH INSTITUTE IN THE MEDIA

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