Developmental Biology
Bohnsack Laboratory
The Bohnsack Laboratory focuses on cranial neural crest biology in the context of the development of the anterior segment of the eye. We are specifically interested in the genetics and molecular pathways that underlie congenital eye disease pathogenesis. We utilize both in vivo (zebrafish) and in vitro (human embryonic stem cells) systems to model various eye diseases. We take advantage of the accessibility of zebrafish embryos to study in real-time the molecular regulation of the ocular neural crest, a transient population of stem cells that gives rise to portions of the cornea, iris, and aqueous humor drainage system in the anterior segment of the eye. In addition, we use human embryonic stem cells, which harbor known congenital eye disease-causing mutations, as a model that mirrors the human condition, yet is genetically accessible. These programs are improving our understanding of the genetic regulation of eye development and the pathophysiology of these blinding diseases which is importantly laying the groundwork for molecularly targeted treatments that aim to prevent blindness and restore vision in affected children.
Finer Laboratory
Our interests lie in understanding mechanisms in kidney development, what leads to congenital anomalies of the kidney, and how chronic kidney disease develop in infants and children. We focus on the molecular signaling in kidney development to understand how disrupted processes lead to abnormal tissue development and renal anomalies. Current research projects study kidney progenitor cell populations and their differentiation to distinct renal cells that comprise the normal kidney. We strive to understand regulation of renal stem cells with the goal to contribute applied knowledge to the global effort of devising regenerative alternatives to kidney transplantation and dialysis.
Engineered Solutions for Health
Goldstein (Seth) Laboratory
The Goldstein Lab is dedicated to the development and testing of new engineering technologies that will benefit children. Our expertise includes wearable devices, ultrasound, and visible to near-infrared fluorescence spectroscopy for noninvasive tissue diagnostics.
Sharma (Arun) Laboratory
The Sharma Laboratory explores aspects of tissue engineering technology related to the regeneration of functional bladder tissue. Clinically, the gold standard for repair of a diseased or injured bladder is enterocystoplasty – i.e., augmentation with a piece of bowel. While this can restore partial urinary function and prevent more serious disease, patients may have metabolic imbalances and may be required to self-catheterize for the rest of their lives.
The goal of this research is to develop a tissue-engineered replacement for bladder tissue that restores regular urinary function while avoiding the issues associated with bowel augmentation.
Fertility and Hormone Preservation and Restoration
Laronda Laboratory
The Laronda laboratory addresses fundamental regenerative medicine questions through the lens of reproductive biology. The main objective of our lab is to develop a patient-specific ovarian follicle niche that will support systemic endocrine function and fertility in women and girls who were sterilized by cancer treatments, have disorders of sex development or were exposed to other factors that could result in premature ovarian failure or sex hormone insufficiency. This research bridges foundational science, translational research and clinical practice.
Host-Microbial Interactions, Inflammation, and Immunity
Akhtar Laboratory
Research in the Akhtar Laboratory is focused on understanding how viruses infect and cause pathogenesis in the pediatric brain. The approach that the researchers take is to identify clinical viral isolates associated with pediatric infection and poor neurologic outcomes, and bring these isolates back to the lab to assess the mechanism by which this occurs. They use viral whole genome sequencing, human and murine neuronal in vitro models, and murine in vivo models, as well as reverse genetics to understand clinical viral virulence factors. The current focus of the lab is to determine virulence factors contributing to neonatal herpes simplex virus encephalitis.
Coates Laboratory
The Coates Laboratory explores differences in the inflammatory response to viral respiratory infections in children and adults. Although young children and elderly adults bear a disproportionate burden of morbidity and mortality associated with viral respiratory infections, little is known about the mechanisms placing these populations at increased risk. The Coates Laboratory is currently investigating the role of innate immune responses in severity of illness in influenza and respiratory syncytial virus infections. Elucidation of the mechanisms underlying age-related susceptibility and resistance to disease may contribute to the broader understanding of innate immunity and its role in critical illness.
De Plaen Laboratory
The De Plaen Laboratory investigates the pathogenesis of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a devastating disease of the intestine affecting premature infants, leading to chronic problems and sometimes death. Infants with NEC require much longer hospitalization and have a higher rate of neurodevelopmental delay, significantly impacting their quality of life. Even today, the causes of NEC are not well-understood and specific treatments are lacking. Animal models offer a unique avenue for deciphering disease pathogenesis. In our lab, we model NEC in neonatal mice and study the molecular mechanisms which lead to this disease in the neonatal intestine.
Kociolek Laboratory
The Kociolek laboratory houses a translational research program focused on various aspects of pediatric healthcare epidemiology and infection prevention and control, particularly Clostridium difficile colonization and infection in children. This research program is integrated with the Host-Microbial Interactions, Inflammation, and Immunity (HMI3) Program at Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute, housed within Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Our laboratory is primarily focused on various aspects of C. difficile colonization and infection, including clinical and molecular epidemiology, genomics, clinical microbiology and diagnosis, antibiotic resistance, and host immune response. Our overarching goal is to rigorously investigate this important pathogen in children to improve our ability to diagnose, prevent, and treat this infection.
Rowley Laboratory
A major pediatric research priority and the long-term goal of our laboratory is the identification of the etiology and pathogenesis of Kawasaki Disease (KD), the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children in developed nations. KD can result in coronary artery aneurysm (CAA) formation with resultant myocardial infarction and/or sudden death. Clinical and epidemiologic data are consistent with an infectious cause of KD, but the etiologic agent has proven difficult to identify. Our data support the likelihood that a "new" virus that enters through the respiratory tract and infects bronchial epithelium, traveling in macrophages to targeted tissues including coronary arteries, is the cause.
Seed Laboratory
The Seed Research Group broadly studies the interactions of mammals and microbes to understand how microbial communities alter health and disease and how pathogenic microbes emerge from those communities to cause specific infections of the respiratory tract, urinary tract, blood, and central nervous system. The Seed Research Group combines human clinical studies, conventional and germ-free animal models, molecular genetics, immunology, biochemistry, structural biology, high-dimensional data computational analysis, and complementary 'omics technologies including genomics, metagenomics, transcriptomics, metatranscriptomics, and metabolomics to understand complex systems. We use the lessons learned from these molecular studies to design new diagnostics and therapeutics.
Human Molecular Genetics and Physiology
ACT-GeM Laboratory
ACT-GeM: Advancing children's health, one genome at a time.
The Advanced Center for Translational and Genetic Medicine (ACT-GeM) was founded in 2019 to tackle research questions at the intersection of genetics, genomics, cell biology and clinical investigation. This Center offers a unique, project-based atmosphere that is highly collaborative in a shared-resource setting.
Immune Deviation and Disease
Wechsler Laboratory
The Wechsler Laboratory has several translational research projects focused on characterizing the pathogenesis of EoE and identifying novel predictors of treatment response, particularly diet elimination. Notably, the immune response in EoE involves an interaction between T-lymphocytes, mast cells, eosinophils, and epithelial cells. The lab utilizes a large clinical database, biorepository of tissue and blood on which they perform single cell and bulk transcriptome analysis, blood/plasma-based assays, immunohistochemistry/immunofluorescence with semi-automated image capture/analysis. In addition, they use human primary cells and murine cells to perform ex vivo/in vitro immune cell culture and 3-D modeling of esophageal epithelium to identify mucosal factors critical to the pathogenesis of EoE-associated inflammation with regards to the interaction of these cell types, and the antigen-specific nature of the disease.
Injury, Repair, and Regeneration
Gosain Laboratory
The Gosain Plastic Surgery and Craniofacial Biology Laboratory is using a porcine model to study how tissue deformation impacts cell responsiveness and adaptation to stress, how these microscopic events relate to growth at the tissue level, and to predict this adaptation through computational modeling. This study will allow us to expand our understanding of tissue expansion, a common technique for breast reconstruction in post-mastectomy breast cancer patients. Additionally, the lab is using a zebrafish model and primary cell culture to study the mechanisms behind craniosynostosis, a condition in which the bones of the cranial vault fuse prematurely. The goal of this study is to increase our understanding of the genetic determinants of craniosynostosis.
Schumacker Laboratory
We study the roles that mitochondria play in development, health, and disease. In addition to their established role in bioenergetics, mitochondria regulate many cell processes by contributing to the biosynthesis of nucleic acids, lipids, and proteins. They also control cell responses to stress by signaling via the release of reactive oxygen molecules to the cytosol. Mitochondria also participate in signaling through their uptake or release of ionized calcium. Mitochondria are involved in multiple functions related to signaling through their generation of metabolic substrates involved in protein (including histone) methylation and demethylation, as well as protein acetylation and deacetylation. We study these functions with particular interest in perinatal disorders associated with prematurity, as well as in cardiopulmonary diseases. Finally, we investigate how mitochondrial functions affect tumorigenesis and tumor phenotypes in cancer.
Zhao Laboratory
The Zhao Laboratory studies the molecular mechanisms of endothelial injury and regeneration, resolution of inflammation, and obliterative vascular remodeling in the pathogeneses of sepsis, acute lung injury (ALI)/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
Recovery of endothelial barrier integrity after vascular injury is vital for endothelial homeostasis and resolution of inflammation. Endothelial dysfunction plays a critical role in the initiation and progression of vascular diseases such as ALI/ARDS and atherosclerosis. A part of the research in the lab, employing genetically modified mouse models of human diseases, endothelial progenitor cells/stem cells, and translational research approach as well as nanotechnology, is to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of endothelial regeneration and resolution of inflammatory injury and determine how aging and epigenetics regulate these processes (J. Clin. Invest. 2006, 116: 2333; J. Exp. Med. 2010, 207:1675; Circulation 2016, 133: 2447). We are also studying the role of endothelial cells in regulating macrophage functional polarization and resolving inflammatory lung injury. These studies will identify druggable targets leading to novel therapeutic strategies to activate the intrinsic endothelial regeneration program to restore endothelial barrier integrity and reverse edema formation for the prevention and treatment of ARDS in patients.
Molecular and Translational Cancer Biology
Li (Loretta) Laboratory
Loretta Li, MD, is a pediatric oncologist with clinical expertise in blood cancers, including leukemia and lymphoma. She has a particular interest in caring for patients with high-risk leukemia, including those with relapsed or refractory disease. Dr. Li leads a translational leukemia research laboratory focused on identifying new therapeutic targets, developing preclinical models of disease, and validating the preclinical efficacy of novel targeted therapeutics in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Her lab also studies how leukemia cells become resistant to targeted therapies. This work will provide insight as to which patients would most likely benefit from a targeted agent, facilitate the development of combination strategies to prevent or overcome resistance, and guide the rational design of next-generation small molecule inhibitors.
Li (Xiao-Nan) Laboratory
Our laboratory focuses on molecular neuro-oncology and translational experimental therapeutics with a goal of developing more effective and less toxic therapies for children with malignant brain tumors. Our ultimate goal is to improve the clinical outcomes of pediatric malignant brain tumors.
MacQuarrie Laboratory
Kyle MacQuarrie, MD, PhD, is a pediatric oncologist who specializes clinically in the care of children with solid tumors, and has a particular interest in pediatric sarcomas. Dr. MacQuarrie’s research interests include understanding the relationship between normal developmental biology and pediatric cancer, focusing on the pediatric tumor of skeletal muscle, rhabdomyosarcoma. Dr. MacQuarrie hopes to leverage these types of studies to advance our understanding and treatment of pediatric cancers generally. He also has an interest in scientific and medical diversity, equity, inclusion, and mentoring.
Walz Laboratory
The Walz Laboratory conducts research on the treatment of pediatric patients with solid tumors, including renal tumors, liver tumors, germ cell tumors, sarcomas, and rare tumors. The laboratory also develops new therapeutic clinical trials for renal tumor patients.
Neurobiology
Ma Laboratory
The Ma Laboratory is interested in studying the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms regulating neural development and neurodegeneration, in particular mechanisms related to RNA methylation and mitochondrial function. The team uses a combination of biochemical, cell biological, genetic, and sequencing approaches, and uses mice, neural stem cells, and zebrafish as model systems. Findings in the Ma Laboratory are translated into new therapies for neurodevelopmental and degenerative disorders.
Mithal (Divakar) Laboratory
Our lab focuses on questions at the intersection of neuroscience and mitochondrial metabolism. The primary focus is on mechanisms linking mitochondrial metabolism and changes to specific neuronal subpopulations. We examine these questions through the lens of mitochondrial diseases, but also with an eye to the broader implications of mitochondria metabolism.
Current projects in the lab are in collaboration with Dr. Navdeep Chandel at Northwestern University, a world expert on mitochondrial metabolism. We are studying the effects of manipulating complex I in the electron transport chain specifically in GABAergic interneurons. We are able to target key metabolic pathways using advanced genetic techniques to evaluate the role of mitochondria in interneurons. In a current project we are targeting the conversion of NADH to NAD+. Techniques include immunohistochemistry, metabolomics, and behavioral analysis. We use a combination of In vitro human-derived stem cell techniques and in vivo mouse modeling. We are also interested in using different gene delivery techniques to alter neurometabolism in highly targeted ways, with a long term goal of delivering treatments for mitochondrial diseases.
Perinatal Origins of Disease
Perez Laboratory
The Perez Laboratory focuses on hyperoxic lung injury, neonatal lung and pulmonary vascular development, and the effects of exogenous glucocorticoids on the developing lung. We utilize a neonatal mouse model of hyperoxic lung injury that mimics the lung disease of infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a chronic lung disease of formerly premature infants. Our work focuses on the impact of glucocorticoids, medications commonly used in neonatal intensive care unit, on pulmonary development, including effects of steroids on pulmonary vascular signaling.
A
ACT-GeM Laboratory
ACT-GeM: Advancing children's health, one genome at a time.
The Advanced Center for Translational and Genetic Medicine (ACT-GeM) was founded in 2019 to tackle research questions at the intersection of genetics, genomics, cell biology and clinical investigation. This Center offers a unique, project-based atmosphere that is highly collaborative in a shared-resource setting.
Akhtar Laboratory
Research in the Akhtar Laboratory is focused on understanding how viruses infect and cause pathogenesis in the pediatric brain. The approach that the researchers take is to identify clinical viral isolates associated with pediatric infection and poor neurologic outcomes, and bring these isolates back to the lab to assess the mechanism by which this occurs. They use viral whole genome sequencing, human and murine neuronal in vitro models, and murine in vivo models, as well as reverse genetics to understand clinical viral virulence factors. The current focus of the lab is to determine virulence factors contributing to neonatal herpes simplex virus encephalitis.
B
Bohnsack Laboratory
The Bohnsack Laboratory focuses on cranial neural crest biology in the context of the development of the anterior segment of the eye. We are specifically interested in the genetics and molecular pathways that underlie congenital eye disease pathogenesis. We utilize both in vivo (zebrafish) and in vitro (human embryonic stem cells) systems to model various eye diseases. We take advantage of the accessibility of zebrafish embryos to study in real-time the molecular regulation of the ocular neural crest, a transient population of stem cells that gives rise to portions of the cornea, iris, and aqueous humor drainage system in the anterior segment of the eye. In addition, we use human embryonic stem cells, which harbor known congenital eye disease-causing mutations, as a model that mirrors the human condition, yet is genetically accessible. These programs are improving our understanding of the genetic regulation of eye development and the pathophysiology of these blinding diseases which is importantly laying the groundwork for molecularly targeted treatments that aim to prevent blindness and restore vision in affected children.
Brain Tumor Research Program
Investigators in the Brain Tumor Center perform research to improve care of children with brain and spinal cord tumors, develop new treatments, and broaden the knowledge about the biology of brain and spinal cord tumors. Some of the clinical trials focus on patients with brain and spinal cord tumors, at diagnosis and at the time of recurrence. Others ranging from Phase I to Phase III trials investigate treatments of all pediatric central nervous system diagnoses. Partnerships with other organizations also offer opportunities for patients to participate in clinical trials. Basic and translational research continues to expand the understanding of the biology of brain and spinal cord tumors, advance the field of neuro-oncology, and build the foundation for treatment-related advancements in the future. Learn more about the Brain Tumor Research Program.
C
Coates Laboratory
The Coates Laboratory explores differences in the inflammatory response to viral respiratory infections in children and adults. Although young children and elderly adults bear a disproportionate burden of morbidity and mortality associated with viral respiratory infections, little is known about the mechanisms placing these populations at increased risk. The Coates Laboratory is currently investigating the role of innate immune responses in severity of illness in influenza and respiratory syncytial virus infections. Elucidation of the mechanisms underlying age-related susceptibility and resistance to disease may contribute to the broader understanding of innate immunity and its role in critical illness.
D
De Plaen Laboratory
The De Plaen Laboratory investigates the pathogenesis of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a devastating disease of the intestine affecting premature infants, leading to chronic problems and sometimes death. Infants with NEC require much longer hospitalization and have a higher rate of neurodevelopmental delay, significantly impacting their quality of life. Even today, the causes of NEC are not well-understood and specific treatments are lacking. Animal models offer a unique avenue for deciphering disease pathogenesis. In our lab, we model NEC in neonatal mice and study the molecular mechanisms which lead to this disease in the neonatal intestine.
E
Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Diseases Research Program
The Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Diseases Program advances the knowledge of eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases, including eosinophilic esophagitis, eosinophilic gastritis, eosinophilic duodenitis/enteritis, and eosinophilic colitis through basic and clinical research. The program currently conducts research through an Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disorders Registry coordinated by the Wechsler Laboratory, participation in the CEGIR consortium, and clinical trials. The Wechsler Laboratory explores the diseases at a cellular level utilizing with the goal of improving diagnostics and treatments for eosinophilic esophagitis and eosinophilic gastritis. The Wechsler Laboratory utilizes animal models of eosinophilic esophagitis/gastritis, in vitro cellular models, and genetic/molecular assays involving esophageal biopsies and blood samples paired with validated clinician/patient-reported outcome measures that assess endoscopic and histologic severity, symptoms, quality of life, and co-morbidities. Learn more about the Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Diseases Research Program.
F
Finer Laboratory
Our interests lie in understanding mechanisms in kidney development, what leads to congenital anomalies of the kidney, and how chronic kidney disease develop in infants and children. We focus on the molecular signaling in kidney development to understand how disrupted processes lead to abnormal tissue development and renal anomalies. Current research projects study kidney progenitor cell populations and their differentiation to distinct renal cells that comprise the normal kidney. We strive to understand regulation of renal stem cells with the goal to contribute applied knowledge to the global effort of devising regenerative alternatives to kidney transplantation and dialysis.
G
Goldstein (Seth) Laboratory
The Goldstein Lab is dedicated to the development and testing of new engineering technologies that will benefit children. Our expertise includes wearable devices, ultrasound, and visible to near-infrared fluorescence spectroscopy for noninvasive tissue diagnostics.
Gosain Laboratory
The Gosain Plastic Surgery and Craniofacial Biology Laboratory is using a porcine model to study how tissue deformation impacts cell responsiveness and adaptation to stress, how these microscopic events relate to growth at the tissue level, and to predict this adaptation through computational modeling. This study will allow us to expand our understanding of tissue expansion, a common technique for breast reconstruction in post-mastectomy breast cancer patients. Additionally, the lab is using a zebrafish model and primary cell culture to study the mechanisms behind craniosynostosis, a condition in which the bones of the cranial vault fuse prematurely. The goal of this study is to increase our understanding of the genetic determinants of craniosynostosis.
H
K
Kociolek Laboratory
The Kociolek laboratory houses a translational research program focused on various aspects of pediatric healthcare epidemiology and infection prevention and control, particularly Clostridium difficile colonization and infection in children. This research program is integrated with the Host-Microbial Interactions, Inflammation, and Immunity (HMI3) Program at Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute, housed within Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Our laboratory is primarily focused on various aspects of C. difficile colonization and infection, including clinical and molecular epidemiology, genomics, clinical microbiology and diagnosis, antibiotic resistance, and host immune response. Our overarching goal is to rigorously investigate this important pathogen in children to improve our ability to diagnose, prevent, and treat this infection.
L
Laronda Laboratory
The Laronda laboratory addresses fundamental regenerative medicine questions through the lens of reproductive biology. The main objective of our lab is to develop a patient-specific ovarian follicle niche that will support systemic endocrine function and fertility in women and girls who were sterilized by cancer treatments, have disorders of sex development or were exposed to other factors that could result in premature ovarian failure or sex hormone insufficiency. This research bridges foundational science, translational research and clinical practice.
Li (Loretta) Laboratory
Loretta Li, MD, is a pediatric oncologist with clinical expertise in blood cancers, including leukemia and lymphoma. She has a particular interest in caring for patients with high-risk leukemia, including those with relapsed or refractory disease. Dr. Li leads a translational leukemia research laboratory focused on identifying new therapeutic targets, developing preclinical models of disease, and validating the preclinical efficacy of novel targeted therapeutics in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Her lab also studies how leukemia cells become resistant to targeted therapies. This work will provide insight as to which patients would most likely benefit from a targeted agent, facilitate the development of combination strategies to prevent or overcome resistance, and guide the rational design of next-generation small molecule inhibitors.
Li (Xiao-Nan) Laboratory
Our laboratory focuses on molecular neuro-oncology and translational experimental therapeutics with a goal of developing more effective and less toxic therapies for children with malignant brain tumors. Our ultimate goal is to improve the clinical outcomes of pediatric malignant brain tumors.
M
Ma Laboratory
The Ma Laboratory is interested in studying the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms regulating neural development and neurodegeneration, in particular mechanisms related to RNA methylation and mitochondrial function. The team uses a combination of biochemical, cell biological, genetic, and sequencing approaches, and uses mice, neural stem cells, and zebrafish as model systems. Findings in the Ma Laboratory are translated into new therapies for neurodevelopmental and degenerative disorders.
MacQuarrie Laboratory
Kyle MacQuarrie, MD, PhD, is a pediatric oncologist who specializes clinically in the care of children with solid tumors, and has a particular interest in pediatric sarcomas. Dr. MacQuarrie’s research interests include understanding the relationship between normal developmental biology and pediatric cancer, focusing on the pediatric tumor of skeletal muscle, rhabdomyosarcoma. Dr. MacQuarrie hopes to leverage these types of studies to advance our understanding and treatment of pediatric cancers generally. He also has an interest in scientific and medical diversity, equity, inclusion, and mentoring.
Mithal (Divakar) Laboratory
Our lab focuses on questions at the intersection of neuroscience and mitochondrial metabolism. The primary focus is on mechanisms linking mitochondrial metabolism and changes to specific neuronal subpopulations. We examine these questions through the lens of mitochondrial diseases, but also with an eye to the broader implications of mitochondria metabolism.
Current projects in the lab are in collaboration with Dr. Navdeep Chandel at Northwestern University, a world expert on mitochondrial metabolism. We are studying the effects of manipulating complex I in the electron transport chain specifically in GABAergic interneurons. We are able to target key metabolic pathways using advanced genetic techniques to evaluate the role of mitochondria in interneurons. In a current project we are targeting the conversion of NADH to NAD+. Techniques include immunohistochemistry, metabolomics, and behavioral analysis. We use a combination of In vitro human-derived stem cell techniques and in vivo mouse modeling. We are also interested in using different gene delivery techniques to alter neurometabolism in highly targeted ways, with a long term goal of delivering treatments for mitochondrial diseases.
Mithal (Leena) Laboratory
Leena B. Mithal, MD, is a clinical-translational investigator and pediatric diseases specialist at Lurie Children’s. The Mithal Lab research team focuses on projects examining perinatal and early life microbial exposures, the immune system, and health outcomes.
Dr. Mithal is devoted to the examination of prenatal and early life influences that affect an infant’s health trajectory. The group’s focus on neonatal sepsis has resulted in several studies on novel diagnostic approaches for neonatal sepsis that includes vital signs analysis, cord blood markers, the placenta, and molecular pathogen detection. Dr. Mithal is PI on a currently funded NIAID K23 to study the developmental umbilical cord blood proteome and molecular signatures predictive of early-onset sepsis in preterm infants, with the goal of improved antibiotic treatment decision-making. She co-leads the Studying Novel Infectious Pathogens in Pregnancy (SNIPP) research group at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, which examines the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnant women and infants. Other important areas of research for the team include: the link between infant nasal microbiome and both asthma and neurobehavioral development, perinatal transmission of multi-drug resistant bacteria, congenital cytomegalovirus infection, and rapid placental diagnostics.
Dr. Mithal is Co-PI of the new Chicago Perinatal Origins of Disease Cohort and the Founding 400 campaign, which aims to collect a comprehensive, longitudinal dataset of social, environmental, and medical variables with paired environmental and biological samples from early pregnancy through two years of life. This project is currently in the developmental phase, with plans to begin enrolling a cohort of mother-fetus/infant pairs and follow through the first two years of life. Further, this initiative is dedicated to enrolling a sample of mother-infant dyads that are representative of the Chicagoland area, and will aim to recruit populations that are typically underrepresented in medical research.
N
Neurosurgery Research Program
Research conducted by the Division of Neurosurgery team is dedicated to improving the care for children with neurological conditions. The team elevates pediatric care through public health and policy initiatives and focuses on quality improvement and outcomes research. Basic and translational research and clinical trials center on building the scientific knowledge base and developing treatments. Many clinical trials involve collaborations between the neurosurgery team and the neuro-oncology, epilepsy, genetics, and surgery teams as well as with multicenter initiatives. Learn more about the Neurosurgery Research Program.
P
Perez Laboratory
The Perez Laboratory focuses on hyperoxic lung injury, neonatal lung and pulmonary vascular development, and the effects of exogenous glucocorticoids on the developing lung. We utilize a neonatal mouse model of hyperoxic lung injury that mimics the lung disease of infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a chronic lung disease of formerly premature infants. Our work focuses on the impact of glucocorticoids, medications commonly used in neonatal intensive care unit, on pulmonary development, including effects of steroids on pulmonary vascular signaling.
R
Rowley Laboratory
A major pediatric research priority and the long-term goal of our laboratory is the identification of the etiology and pathogenesis of Kawasaki Disease (KD), the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children in developed nations. KD can result in coronary artery aneurysm (CAA) formation with resultant myocardial infarction and/or sudden death. Clinical and epidemiologic data are consistent with an infectious cause of KD, but the etiologic agent has proven difficult to identify. Our data support the likelihood that a "new" virus that enters through the respiratory tract and infects bronchial epithelium, traveling in macrophages to targeted tissues including coronary arteries, is the cause.
S
Schumacker Laboratory
We study the roles that mitochondria play in development, health, and disease. In addition to their established role in bioenergetics, mitochondria regulate many cell processes by contributing to the biosynthesis of nucleic acids, lipids, and proteins. They also control cell responses to stress by signaling via the release of reactive oxygen molecules to the cytosol. Mitochondria also participate in signaling through their uptake or release of ionized calcium. Mitochondria are involved in multiple functions related to signaling through their generation of metabolic substrates involved in protein (including histone) methylation and demethylation, as well as protein acetylation and deacetylation. We study these functions with particular interest in perinatal disorders associated with prematurity, as well as in cardiopulmonary diseases. Finally, we investigate how mitochondrial functions affect tumorigenesis and tumor phenotypes in cancer.
Seed Laboratory
The Seed Research Group broadly studies the interactions of mammals and microbes to understand how microbial communities alter health and disease and how pathogenic microbes emerge from those communities to cause specific infections of the respiratory tract, urinary tract, blood, and central nervous system. The Seed Research Group combines human clinical studies, conventional and germ-free animal models, molecular genetics, immunology, biochemistry, structural biology, high-dimensional data computational analysis, and complementary 'omics technologies including genomics, metagenomics, transcriptomics, metatranscriptomics, and metabolomics to understand complex systems. We use the lessons learned from these molecular studies to design new diagnostics and therapeutics.
Sharma (Arun) Laboratory
The Sharma Laboratory explores aspects of tissue engineering technology related to the regeneration of functional bladder tissue. Clinically, the gold standard for repair of a diseased or injured bladder is enterocystoplasty – i.e., augmentation with a piece of bowel. While this can restore partial urinary function and prevent more serious disease, patients may have metabolic imbalances and may be required to self-catheterize for the rest of their lives.
The goal of this research is to develop a tissue-engineered replacement for bladder tissue that restores regular urinary function while avoiding the issues associated with bowel augmentation.
U
Urology Research Program
The Division of Urology performs basic science and clinical research in area such as robotic urological surgery, prenatal hydronephrosis, vesicoureteral reflux, urinary tract infections, neurogenic bladder in spina bifida, bladder tissue engineering, outcomes of hypospadias repair, and pathologic bladder degeneration. Specific research on the outcomes of hypospadias repair involves a multi-institutional randomized trial (PROPHY Study) to investigate if preventive antibiotics reduce infection and other problems after hypospadias repair. Other research is focused on gaining insights into the healthcare needs of adolescents and young adults with a difference in sex development. Learn more about the Urology Research Program.
W
Walz Laboratory
The Walz Laboratory conducts research on the treatment of pediatric patients with solid tumors, including renal tumors, liver tumors, germ cell tumors, sarcomas, and rare tumors. The laboratory also develops new therapeutic clinical trials for renal tumor patients.
Wechsler Laboratory
The Wechsler Laboratory has several translational research projects focused on characterizing the pathogenesis of EoE and identifying novel predictors of treatment response, particularly diet elimination. Notably, the immune response in EoE involves an interaction between T-lymphocytes, mast cells, eosinophils, and epithelial cells. The lab utilizes a large clinical database, biorepository of tissue and blood on which they perform single cell and bulk transcriptome analysis, blood/plasma-based assays, immunohistochemistry/immunofluorescence with semi-automated image capture/analysis. In addition, they use human primary cells and murine cells to perform ex vivo/in vitro immune cell culture and 3-D modeling of esophageal epithelium to identify mucosal factors critical to the pathogenesis of EoE-associated inflammation with regards to the interaction of these cell types, and the antigen-specific nature of the disease.
Z
Zhao Laboratory
The Zhao Laboratory studies the molecular mechanisms of endothelial injury and regeneration, resolution of inflammation, and obliterative vascular remodeling in the pathogeneses of sepsis, acute lung injury (ALI)/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
Recovery of endothelial barrier integrity after vascular injury is vital for endothelial homeostasis and resolution of inflammation. Endothelial dysfunction plays a critical role in the initiation and progression of vascular diseases such as ALI/ARDS and atherosclerosis. A part of the research in the lab, employing genetically modified mouse models of human diseases, endothelial progenitor cells/stem cells, and translational research approach as well as nanotechnology, is to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of endothelial regeneration and resolution of inflammatory injury and determine how aging and epigenetics regulate these processes (J. Clin. Invest. 2006, 116: 2333; J. Exp. Med. 2010, 207:1675; Circulation 2016, 133: 2447). We are also studying the role of endothelial cells in regulating macrophage functional polarization and resolving inflammatory lung injury. These studies will identify druggable targets leading to novel therapeutic strategies to activate the intrinsic endothelial regeneration program to restore endothelial barrier integrity and reverse edema formation for the prevention and treatment of ARDS in patients.
