A Message from the Board

Pictured in photo, from left: Nancy Krieger Eddy, PhD, Research Chair; Thomas Cody, Chairman, Board of Trustees; Michael Fisher, President and CEO of Cincinnati Children’s

Too often in the world of medical research a scientist can labor for months, even years, without encountering the children living with the diseases they are working to cure. Too often families never see the immense effort happening beyond the hospital room to help change the outcome for their kids.

At Cincinnati Children’s we believe in creating closer connections between the laboratory and the bedside. We constantly encourage collaboration between investigators, clinicians and families as we strive to create a brighter future for children here and around the world.

This year’s Research Foundation Annual Report highlights the many strides we have taken to fill in more of the blank spaces in our understanding of childhood disease and development. Indeed, the summaries contained in this report present an impressive picture of progress.

Thanks to research advances by our faculty, doctors can rapidly analyze a child’s entire genetic blueprint to find the perfect balance of cancer chemotherapies, or provide the precise amount of anti-rejection medication after an organ transplant, or pinpoint the exact moment in embryonic development that can lead to a serious birth defect. We are using stem cells derived from adult skin and blood cells to grow organoids of intestine and stomach tissue that will transform our research. We are developing gene therapies to combat sickle cell disease and other inherited conditions.

And yet, despite these and other awe-inspiring advances, we are reminded every day of the gaps that still exist, of the cures that remain undiscovered, of the children who face uncertain futures. The emerging universe of genomic research may offer enormous potential to improve the lives of our children, but with the high hopes of a brighter tomorrow comes the immediate need for resources to support the effort.

Cincinnati Children’s demonstrates its commitment to biomedical research every day. Our new Clinical Sciences Building — set to open in June 2015 — will make us the largest pediatric research center in the U.S. We continue to hire more of the world’s top experts in their fields. And we are fueling their quests for cures with more than $200 million in external research funding received in the past year.

Yes, we’ve had a very good year. But now we are taking our efforts to accelerate innovation to a new level as we launch a $250 million fundraising campaign, the largest in the history of Cincinnati Children’s. This ambitious campaign comes with ambitious goals. The money raised will be invested in supporting research with global impact and in community partnerships that will help the children of Cincinnati become the healthiest in the nation. We believe the high-impact research happening at Cincinnati Children’s is providing the outlines of a brighter future for the children and families we serve.

Thank you for your continued support of research, discovery and innovation at Cincinnati Children’s.