Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute announces the recipients of the fall 2024 internal funding opportunities. Manne Research Institute provides internal grant and award opportunities to a faculty member or other person who has principal investigator-eligible status to develop projects that will lead to a highly competitive extramural application for sustained research support within 18 months of receiving the award. Funding opportunities vary depending on the year and cycle. Pediatric research at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is conducted through Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute.

Isabelle De Plaen, MD
Attending Physician, Neonatology, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Professor of Pediatrics (Neonatology), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Award type: Proposal Revision Award
Amount funded: $100,000
Title: Downregulation of VEGFR2 Signaling by Inflammatory Macrophages and NEC
Project summary: Dr. De Plaen investigates the mechanisms that lead to necrotizing enterocolitis. The Proposal Revision Award will support the revision of her R01 grant proposal, Downregulation of VEGFR2 Signaling by Inflammatory Macrophages and NEC, to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. As part of her revised proposal submission, Dr. De Plaen will conduct additional experiments to address reviewers’ comments. 

Gal Finer, MD, PhD
Attending Physician, Nephrology (Kidney Diseases), Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Nephrology), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Award type: Kenneth C. Griffin Research Catalyst Award
Amount funded: $100,000
Title: Enhancing Kidney Organoid Technology with TCF21 Integration for Improved ADPKD Modeling and Therapeutic Discovery
Project summary: Existing treatments for kidney diseases have low success due to limitations in current preclinical models, resulting in delays in drug development and poor treatment outcomes. Dr. Finer’s project addresses the need for improved models to study genetic kidney disorders, particularly autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disorder, a condition that can lead to chronic kidney disease and kidney failure. The Kenneth C. Griffin Research Catalyst Award will support Dr. Finer’s work at enhancing kidney organoids—miniature models derived from human stem cells that allow researchers to study mechanisms of disease—with TCF21, a transcription factor for stromal cell development, to better mimic the kidney’s structural complexity. The aim is to use the enhanced organoids to identify therapeutic targets and interventions that may help delay or prevent chronic kidney disease in children.

Jeanne Frisby-Zedan, MD
Attending Physician, Nephrology (Kidney Diseases), Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Nephrology), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Award type: Catalyst’s Spark Award 
Amount funded: $100,000
Title: Optimization of Pediatric Hospital-Acquired Acute Kidney Injury Follow-up Utilizing a Risk Prediction Model for Development of Chronic Kidney Disease and a Community-Engaged Approach
Project summary: The goal of Dr. Frisby-Zedan’s study is to improve the health of pediatric survivors of acute kidney injury—the sudden loss of kidney function—by creating and validating a risk prediction tool. The tool will identify patients who are at highest risk for development of two long-term sequelae associated with the sudden loss of kidney function: chronic kidney disease and hypertension. It will also identify patients who may most benefit from targeted follow-up care with pediatric nephrologists versus follow-up care with their primary care physician. Additionally, to address low follow-up care rates, the study aims to identify the provider- and patient-perceived drivers of and barriers to acute kidney injury follow-up care.

Seth Goldstein, MD, MPhil
Attending Physician, Pediatric Surgery, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Director, Surgical Simulation Program, Lurie Children’s; Associate Professor of Surgery, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Award type: Accelerator Award: Innovate2Impact Commercialization Fund
Amount funded: $64,744
Title: Device to Reduce Intra-Cavitary Abscess Rates in Minimally Invasive Surgeries

 

Susan Horner, PhD, APRN-CNS
Founder’s Board Nurse Scientist and Developmental Specialist, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Award type: Schreiber GROW to 5: Thrive Award
Amount funded: $50,000
Title: Impact of H-HOPE Intervention on Infants with Congenital Defects and Their Parents
Project summary: Hospital to Home: Optimizing Preterm Infant Environment (H-HOPE) is a multisensory behavioral intervention that supports optimal infant development through parental engagement and parent-infant interactions with hospitalized infants. It has been studied in healthy and at-risk term and preterm infants but not in infants with congenital defects that require surgery in the neonatal period. Dr. Horner will explore neurodevelopmental outcomes for infants born with a congenital defect requiring neonatal surgery and their parents following receipt of the H-HOPE intervention. The data she obtains from this study will support her application for an R01 grant to the National Institutes of Health.

Monica Laronda, PhD
Director of Basic and Translational Research, Fertility and Hormone Preservation and Restoration Program, Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute; Gesualdo Family Research Scholar, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Award type: Proposal Revision Award
Amount funded: $85,000
Title: The Role of Neovascularization on Ovarian Transplant Longevity
Project summary: The Proposal Revision Award will support Dr. Laronda’s revision of her National Institutes of Health R01 grant proposal, The Role of Neovascularization on Ovarian Transplant Longevity. The funds will allow her to adjust aims and generate more preliminary data to strengthen the resubmission of the grant proposal to the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development.

 

Joanna K. Ledwon, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, Surgery (Pediatric General Surgery), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Award type: Accelerator Award: Innovate2Impact Commercialization Fund 
Amount funded: $40,000
Title: Validation of a Novel Sensor to Monitor Skin Growth

 

 

Elizabeth Managlia, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Award type: Visionary Award
Amount funded: $75,000
Title: Necrotizing Enterocolitis-Induced Junctional Adhesion Molecule-Like Protein (JamL) Impairs Postnatal Intestinal Lymphatic Development
Project summary: The Visionary Award will support Dr. Managlia’s investigation into the interactions between the junctional adhesion molecule-like protein gene and its main receptor, coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor and their roles in the development of necrotizing enterocolitis. The condition is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among premature infants. Those who survive are at an increased risk of neurodevelopmental delay and short gut syndrome. The causes of necrotizing enterocolitis are unclear, and no specific therapy exists. Insights from Dr. Managlia’s research on the JamL-Cxadr interaction in the neonatal intestine have the potential to lead to discoveries about new targets for intervention in the treatment and prevention of necrotizing enterocolitis. 

Andrea C. Pardo, MD, FAAP, FCNS
Attending Physician, Neurology, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Medical Director, Ruth D. & Ken M. Davee Pediatric Neurocritical Care Program, Lurie Children’s; Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Neurology and Epilepsy), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Award type: Interdisciplinary Colloquia Award
Amount funded: $5,000
Title: Pediatric Neurocritical Care Symposium
Project summary: The Interdisciplinary Colloquia Symposium will support Dr. Pardo’s work organizing a one-day symposium where experts will share cutting-edge research, clinical practices, and innovative approaches in managing critically ill children with neurological conditions. By uniting experts from diverse fields, the symposium will foster the cross-pollination of ideas that can lead to breakthroughs in both clinical practice and research with an emphasis on global health. The goal is to strengthen collaboration between pediatric neurocritical care specialists from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute, Northwestern University, and other institutions in the Chicago area, establishing a foundation for future research partnerships and grant opportunities. 

Audrey Raut, MD
Attending Physician, Child Abuse Pediatrics, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Child Abuse), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Award type: Schreiber Family Center GROW to 5 Nourish Award 
Amount funded: $50,000
Title: Impact of the Early Exposome on Relational Health Outcomes and Risk of Child Maltreatment: Planning Grant Proposal for a Biobehavioral Study of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)
Project summary: Parent child interaction therapy is an evidence-based, family-oriented treatment for young children with disruptive behaviors or prior exposure to trauma. Prior studies have shown that the treatment reduces the risk of maltreatment by developing safe, stable, and nurturing relationships during early childhood. The Schreiber Family Center GROW to 5 Nourish Award will support Dr. Raut’s planning grant proposal effort, which includes expanding her collaborative research team and partnerships with parent child interaction therapy providers in the Chicago area and demonstrating feasibility of data and epigenetic sample collection. The successful completion of these efforts will generate preliminary data to support a future grant proposal and provide the foundation to understanding the biological responses to adverse and nurturing experiences in children.

Arun Sharma, PhD
Director, Pediatric Urological Medicine and Surgical Research, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute
Award type: Accelerator Award: Innovate2Impact Commercialization Fund
Amount funded: $50,000
Title: Autologous Stem Cell Therapy for Urinary Bladder Tissue Regeneration

 

 

Milagros Suarez, PhD
Post Doctoral Associate, Xiao-Nan Li Laboratory, Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Award type: Accelerator Award: Innovate2Impact Commercialization Fund 
Amount funded: $76,850
Title: Growth Media Formulations for Pediatric Brain Tumor Organoids

 

 

Xiaocai Yan, PhD
Research Assistant Professor, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Award type: Kenneth C. Griffin Research Catalyst Award
Amount funded: $100,000
Title: Role of IL17 in Bridging Adaptive and Innate Immunity in NEC
Project summary: Previous research suggests that both the innate and adaptive immune systems play roles in the development of necrotizing enterocolitis and that the expression of intestinal interleukin-17 cytokine and interleukin-17 receptor A are elevated in patients with necrotizing enterocolitis. The Kenneth C. Griffin Research Catalyst Award will support investigations by Dr. Yan into the interleukin-17-producing T cell immune response and if and how interleukin-17 bridges T cell and innate immune responses in the neonatal gut during the development of necrotizing enterocolitis. Insights into the mechanisms of how interleukin-17 contributes to the development of this disease may inform future preventative and therapeutic interventions.

Courtney Zulauf-McCurdy, PhD
Clinical Community Psychologist, The Pritzker Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Award type: Schreiber Family Center GROW to 5 Thrive Award
Amount funded: $50,000
Title: Developing a Core Menu of Strategies to Improve the Implementation of Behavioral Interventions for ADHD in Preschools
Project summary: Behavioral interventions are recommended as an initial treatment for preschoolers who display elevated symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and research has shown that the early treatment can result in clinically significant improvements in symptoms when implemented across home and preschool. Although the development of school-based interventions for preschoolers has increased, there is still a gap in the understanding of how to support the implementation of these interventions across home and school. Dr. Zulauf-McCurdy will partner with families, educators, and preschool leadership to identify strategies to improve the implementation of behavioral interventions for ADHD in preschool settings. When she concludes this project, Dr. Zulauf-McCurdy will apply for additional funding to pilot the implementation strategies across several preschools.

For the fall 2024 cycle, candidates were allowed to submit proposals for the following award categories.

  • Accelerator Award: Innovate2Impact Commercialization Fund aims to bridge the gap between innovation ideas and successful commercialization by supporting the development of medical device, therapeutic/diagnostic, or digital health technologies at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago with awards ranging from $20,000 to $100,000.

  • Catalyst’s Spark Award is a one-year award for up to $100,000 to support novel population health, implementation science, or community-engaged research.

  • Health@Home Healthcare Innovation Grant Awards are part of the Health@Home strategic research initiative at Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute. The goal of Health@Home is to catalyze science that equitably transforms how digital healthcare is developed and delivered outside of hospital and clinic walls.
    • Health@Home Activation Grant is a grant for up to $5,000 designed to activate new research data collection protocols and/or healthcare techniques in the home and community.
    • Health@Home Today Grant is a grant for up to $10,000 designed to assess how existing digital health interventions are impacting a healthcare process or health outcome.
    • Health@Home for Tomorrow Grant is a grant for up to $30,000 designed for a project aimed at developing a new digital healthcare intervention not yet in clinical practice or furthering an existing program that is hypothesized to improve a specific healthcare process or outcome.
  • Interdisciplinary Colloquia Award is a one-year award for up to $5,000 to bring together multi-disciplinary investigators from Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, and Northwestern University to share scientific knowledge and envision future research related to children’s health research.

  • Kenneth C. Griffin Research Catalyst Award is a one-year award for up to $100,000 to support novel preclinical and translational research conducted by early-career researchers.

  • Program Accelerator Award is a one-year award for up to $75,000 to support planning and development of program project-related applications expected to lead to a submission within 18-24 months of the start of funding.

  • Proposal Revision Award is a one-year award for up to $100,000 to support the preparation of a revision and resubmission of an application for federal research support.

  • Schreiber Family Center GROW to 5 Grants are supported by the Schreiber Family Center for Early Childhood Health and Wellness and allow for the collection of pilot data that will increase the competitiveness of extramural proposals for career development (K), R, P, and U-series awards.
    • Cultivate Award is for up to $25,000 for a one-year project period to engage family or community members to establish or enhance research partnerships.
    • Flourish Award is for up to $75,000 for a one-year project period to develop a multi-project research program or cooperative agreement proposal.
    • Nourish Award is for up to $50,000 for a one-year project to support the advancement of junior faculty pursuing mentored career development awards (K or equivalent).
    • Thrive Award is for up to $50,000 for a one-year project period to collect pilot data for an R-series proposal.

  • Scientific Advocacy Award is one-year award for up to $1,000 per year to advocate for children’s health research at the regional and national level and raise the stature of Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago investigators in scientific advocacy.

  • Visionary Award is a one-year award for up to $75,000 to support potentially paradigm shifting research.