On June 11, the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) brought together researchers from six leading children’s hospitals across the United States to feature groundbreaking basic and clinical pediatric research at a science fair in Washington, D.C. Representing Monroe Carell at the event was Fred Lamb, MD, PhD, director of the Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine and Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Pediatrics.

Held as part of CHA’s Family Advocacy Day, the goal of the fair was to showcase to policymakers the critical role National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding plays in advancing the health of the nation, including for children. The annual advocacy day gives pediatric patients and their families a powerful platform to share their journeys directly with federal lawmakers.
Monroe Carell is a member of CHA, an organization that represents more than 220 children’s hospitals nationwide and that serves as a voice for its members and champions of children’s health. CHA’s mission is to advance child health through innovation in the quality, cost and delivery of care in children’s hospitals and health systems nationwide.
The science fair exhibited research projects, including Lamb’s, that are funded by the NIH, with topics ranging from inflammation to congenital heart conditions, cancer clinical trials and personalized medicine.
Patients admitted to Monroe Carell’s pediatric intensive care unit experience life-threatening conditions like sepsis, traumatic injuries, autoimmune disorders and cancer. Treatment of these serious conditions has come a long way in recent years, but these acute inflammatory conditions can lead to chronic unresolved vascular inflammation that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease in adulthood.

Lamb told science fair attendees, which included pediatric patient advocates and their families, that inflammation can be thought of as the body’s fire alarm. Using a toy fire truck as a prop, Lamb explained that when there’s a fire, like an injury or infection, inflammation is an important part of the healing process. Chronic inflammation is like pulling the fire alarm when there’s no fire. This can slowly damage healthy tissue and increase the risk of heart disease.
“If we can better understand the processes that underpin chronic inflammation, we could better identify patients who are at risk of this inflammatory reprogramming and develop effective lifestyle or pharmacologic interventions that could prevent it,” said Lamb. “We are excited about the potential of some medications that are already FDA-approved that could be repurposed to interrupt chronic inflammation. The NIH is the largest source of funding in the world for drug repurposing trials, which is why it’s so important for Congress to keep up momentum on these investments.”
There are more than 70,000 cases of pediatric sepsis and approximately 15,000 new childhood cancer diagnoses every year in the United States. Additionally, childhood obesity, nicotine use, and anxiety and depression are other common causes of chronic inflammation.
“Inflammation is about our bodies slowly rusting away,” Lamb said. “If we can figure out how to flip the switch on inflammation, not only will we help these kids reduce their risk of heart disease in adulthood, we may be able to delay multiple life-threatening aspects of aging. We could vastly extend how long people are living with good health.”