Areas of Emphasis
Fostering progressive research with a purpose
Children’s Mercy Research Institute (CMRI) takes a unique approach to improving the health and wellbeing of children through our world-class, collaborative translational research. CMRI focuses on the specific needs of its greatest resource – the children and families who are the centerpiece of Children’s Mercy – rather than taking a broad approach to discovery.
Supporting research that translates scientific discoveries into medical advances requires a structure that combines the invaluable expertise of CMRI faculty and staff with dedicated resources and state-of-the-art technologies.
As CMRI rapidly emerges as a world leader in pediatric translational research, it has established several Areas of Emphasis that provide expertise and resources to transdisciplinary, collaborative research teams. Clinical and research structures dovetail and cross traditional department and divisional boundaries to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery, translation, and dissemination.
Areas of Emphasis at the Children's Mercy Research Institute
Enhancing the ability to handle current and emerging infectious diseases to protect children and public health.
Genomic Medicine supports clinical whole-genome sequencing integrated with data from the epigenome, single-cell omics, liquid biopsies, and genome editing to advance full human genome analysis.
Health Care Innovation identifies, articulates, and advances products and processes that optimize the medical, surgical, and therapeutic management of children.
Population Health uses transdisciplinary research to generate new knowledge on the personal, social, economic, and environmental factors that influence the distribution of health outcomes and the evaluation of interventions and policies to improve those outcomes.
Precision Therapeutics uses patient-specific information to optimize treatment for individual patients through a transdisciplinary research approach.
The support and resources provided by CMRI’s Areas of Emphasis are driven by the value of bringing science to the bedside to meet the specific needs of the children and families – it is research with a purpose.
Accelerating research through Areas of Emphasis
Researchers at CMRI tap into AOE support in a variety of ways, advancing their lines of scientific inquiry and accelerating their discoveries. As an example, Jennifer L. Goldman, MD, MS, and Jenna Miller, MD, FAAP, together are investigating why a commonly used antibiotic, Bactrim, causes life-threatening reactions in a small percentage of patients who receive this drug that is safe for most people.
Drs. Goldman and Miller are engaging multiple disciplines to define a previously unrecognized severe reaction and identify the potential genetic factors that place certain patients at high risk.
For this research project, the investigators leverage the support of AOE expertise within Precision Therapeutics, Genomic Medicine and Health Care Innovation. Also critical to the success of the study are specialists within Infectious Diseases, proteomics and drug metabolism experts in Clinical Pharmacology, experts in the Genome Center, and CMRI’s biorepository and skilled resource coordinators.
