Child Health Collaborative Grants have been awarded annually over the past decade as part of a broader effort to support child health research partnerships among community and University of Minnesota researchers. The Child Health Collaborative was created in 2014 by the U of M Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), Children’s Minnesota, and the U of M Department of Pediatrics.
The Request for Applications (RFA) for this grant funding cycle was informed by discussion among attendees at the December 2023 “Research in Child Health Dinner Forum.” That discussion focused attention on several timely and important topics in Minnesota communities:
- children’s mental health issues;
- health disparities;
- prevention of gun violence;
- substance abuse disorder;
- sexuality and gender identity.
Applications that addressed these topics were encouraged, including areas for research that demonstrated some degree of overlap among the topics. Other proposals that focused on child and adolescent health outside of these five topics were also encouraged.
“I am so proud of the awarded applicants for their forward-looking projects,” said Dr. Stuart Winter, Chief Research Officer, Children’s Minnesota. “From studies ranging from the clinical application of proton physics to surgical outcomes, to infants with in utero drug exposure, and to autism spectrum disorders in special populations, our scope of science ranges from cells to societies. My congratulations to the awardees and my strong encouragement that those not funded will return for consideration next year.”
Dr. Mark Schleiss, Child Health Champion at CTSI, noted, “We had a highly engaged audience at our Research in Child Health Dinner in December, 2023. The top five areas for future collaborative research really stood out in the list of projects proposed by the audience, and this became the cornerstone of the RFA for 2024.”
The three research teams and projects that received awards this year include:
Project Title: Precision Functional and Structural Mapping using DTI and rs-fMRI in Hydrocephalus Patients Undergoing Endoscopic Third Ventriculostomy.
PIs: Amy Linabery, PhD, MS, Children’s Minnesota, and Carolina Sandoval Garcia, MD, University of Minnesota.
Description: Pediatric hydrocephalus impacts brain development starting at an early stage, with a high prevalence of developmental disabilities in affected patients. Hydrocephalus often necessitates surgical intervention, such as endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV); however, its impact on brain connectivity is understudied. To address this gap, the investigators designed a longitudinal study. The public health importance of addressing pediatric hydrocephalus, particularly in Minnesota, cannot be overstated. Hydrocephalus is a complex neurological condition characterized by abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid within the brain, affecting approximately one in every 500 live births. Even with advancements in treatment options and diagnostic imaging, almost half of patients with hydrocephalus have a learning disability and one-third have a severe disability. This impact in child development necessitates improvements in timely and guided interventions to mitigate long-term disability.
By focusing on precision functional and structural mapping using advanced imaging techniques, this study aims to develop tools that will one day inform clinical decision-making, optimize treatment strategies, and ultimately improve the quality of life for affected children and their families. Sharing study findings with community stakeholders is integral to maximizing the impact of this research. To this end, the research team is committed to engaging with healthcare providers, patient advocacy groups, and community organizations to disseminate study findings in an accessible and meaningful manner.
Project Title: Maternal Substance Use Disorder: Establishing Serum-Based Brain Biomarkers for Neuroinflammation and Modeling Neurobehavioral Outcomes in the Offspring.
PIs: Andrea Lampland, MD, Children’s Minnesota, and Phu Tran, PhD, University of Minnesota.
Description: Serum-based brain biomarkers will be investigated to assess neuroinflammation in newborns with prenatal substance exposure (PSE) and evaluate a preclinical model for long-term (i.e., through adulthood) neurobehavioral consequences of PSE. We bring together complementary expertise from UMN, Children's Minnesota, and HHRI, ranging from (epi)genetic mechanisms underlying the consequences of prenatal insults to animal behavioral models to the care of women with substance abuse during pregnancy and their newborns. Successful completion will have a major impact in the field as it will advance the use of contents from serum brain-derived exosomes as surrogates for brain (dys)functions in childhood. Results of the preclinical study will also inform selection of outcome measures at different developmental stages (e.g., during adolescence) in human longitudinal studies. Collectively, these foundational findings will allow us to compete for NIH grants to pursue this research program.
Successful completion will have a major impact in the field as it will advance the use of contents from serum brain-derived exosomes as surrogates for brain (dys)functions in childhood. Results of the preclinical study will also inform selection of outcome measures at different developmental stages (e.g., during adolescence) in human longitudinal studies. The preclinical model will also allow us to evaluate causal mechanisms that cannot be studied in humans.
Project Title: Mitigating Health Disparities for Autism Identification in Somali Families in Minnesota.
PIs: Rebecca Vaurio, PhD, LP, Children’s Minnesota, and Catherine Burrows, PhD, University of Minnesota.
Description: Health disparities persist in the timely identification, evaluation, and intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for Somali families in Minnesota. To address knowledge gaps regarding factors that facilitate successful autism evaluation processes and barriers families commonly face, the investigators propose a qualitative research study. For Aim 1, we will cultivate relationships with the Somali community via established community research and parent organizations and work together to develop culturally sensitive research methods/questions. For Aim 2, we will conduct semi-structured focus groups with Somali parents to examine their perspectives of the autism diagnostic process and identify factors that relate to high versus low satisfaction. For Aim 3, we will engage key stakeholders to develop best practice guidelines based on findings from Aim 2 and clinical experience to aid autism identification, evaluation, and intervention pipelines for Somali families. We will employ various strategies to disseminate findings to both the Somali and broader medical communities.
The impact of our project will be evaluated in the near term based on the degree to which we meet our specific aims. The ultimate, long-term impact of this work may not be recognized until the guidelines have been in clinical use for a period of time, when prevalence estimates for ASD, particularly milder ASD, may increase and the average age at ASD diagnosis may decrease in the Somali community.