Growth of Joint Research Programs Facilitates Academic Exchange

12/06/22

Dear Colleagues,

We are fortunate to be located in the rich community of West Philadelphia, part of the thriving city of Philadelphia, as close neighbors representing two of the leading research institutions in the country: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia [CHOP] and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Over the past several years, our partnership in research has continued to strengthen, and we wanted to take this opportunity to share some of the more recent programs that bridge our communities and harness the collective talents and expertise of CHOP and Penn.  Among these collaborations are five joint Centers, Institutes, and Programs:

  • Penn-CHOP Kidney Innovation Center, a first-of-its-kind center to advance research to transform patient care for those of all ages, focusing on the early detection, prevention, and treatment of kidney disease and its complications.
  • CHOP Cardiovascular Institute, bridging to existing programs in the Penn CVI under united leadership, driving scientific discovery and medical breakthroughs that will improve pediatric and adult cardiovascular care.
  • Penn-CHOP Lung Biology Institute, which unites the resources, expertise and innovation of scientists and physicians at Penn and CHOP to unravel the underlying mechanisms of respiratory disease and to utilize such findings to improve clinical medicine.
  • Lifespan Brain Institute, which bridges the gap between pediatric and adult research in brain and behavior change, making it possible for researchers to begin studying participants at a young age and to continue to follow them into adulthood.
  • PennCHOP Microbiome Program, which provides a shared community and services for researchers engaged in discovery about the human microbiome, including gut, airway, and skin.

Many other impactful areas of collaboration exist across our two campuses involving educational programs and nearly every department, center, and institute. CHOP and Penn are uniquely positioned to lead the nation in lifespan-related research. Through the creation of research tools and infrastructure that lead to better understanding of how diseases progress into adulthood, we can optimize interventions and treatments to improve lives across the fetal-adult continuum.

We look forward to highlighting more of these efforts and opportunities with you in the future, and we welcome your feedback as we continue to look for ways to foster collaboration and partnerships.

 

Be well,

Jon and Susan

 

Jon Epstein, Executive Vice Dean | Chief Scientific Officer, Perelman School of Medicine

Susan Furth, Executive Vice President | Chief Scientific Officer, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia