Kentucky Children’s Hospital Pediatric Research

Research is a critical part of improving medical care for our patients. While you might think that research means experimenting in a lab — and it often does — medical research can take many forms. At Kentucky Children’s Hospital, our research means that we collect and examine information about each patient we care for through review of data, surveys, interviews, observational studies, clinical trials and more. Our physicians use this information to provide real-world solutions to problems that affect kids in Kentucky and around the world.

Each year at Kentucky Children’s Hospital, there are 7,370 inpatient admissions and more than 172,500 outpatient visits, and physicians and midwives at UK HealthCare deliver babies from throughout Kentucky, including all of eastern Kentucky. As a result, our providers have access to a diverse, underserved patient population with a wide array of health issues — all of whom deserve the best medical care possible. These patients depend on the physicians at Kentucky Children’s Hospital, the leading medical institution for children in Kentucky, to improve or resolve those issues, and that’s not possible without research.

With everything we do, our [insert number] researchers keep one goal in mind: to apply what we learn to help the children of Kentucky. That’s where you come in.

Because of our robust research environment and growing research presence, Kentucky Children’s Hospital offers many opportunities for you and your child to participate in ongoing research studies. If you’re asked to participate, a member of the research team will explain all the details about the study, so you’ll know exactly what to expect every step of the way.

Your participation is not required, and you and your child will receive the same high-quality medical care whether or not you choose to participate.

The research programs at Kentucky Children’s Hospital are supported by the newly formed KCH Office of Pediatric Research, which provides project support and oversight for ongoing research projects. Our dedicated team of experienced research nurses, clinical coordinators and researchers works closely with physicians in multiple specialties to develop and support research that can connect to the needs of our patients.

The Office of Pediatric Research team has experience in nearly every aspect of study design and execution, from drug trials and clinical studies to basic bench research. Our full-time statistician allows us to assist with study design and perform the complicated analysis necessary to measure results.

Research at Kentucky Children’s Hospital is funded by more than 60 active grants and contracts, and several signature research programs are under development.

Projects within Kentucky Children’s Hospital are often multidisciplinary, which means that researchers and physicians from several fields work together to examine problems from multiple angles. Our research teams currently have more than 100 different research studies underway, including the following areas of study:

• Environmental pediatrics
• Pediatric cancer
• Pediatric cardiovascular, nephrology and pulmonary medicine
• Pediatric diabetes and obesity
• Pediatric healthcare quality and outreach
• Pediatric mental health and wellness
• Pediatric neurology
• Perinatal and neonatal medicine/preterm birth outcomes
• Substance abuse and addiction/neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS)

Our researchers regularly present their findings at conferences all over the world, and much of their research is published in peer-reviewed journals.