Tuesday, May 14, 2024
5/14/2024
The Heart Center (HC) at Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH) has been an enthusiastic and productive Core Clinical Research Center in the Pediatric Heart Network (PHN) since its inception in 2001. Our volume is large and, in calendar year 2022, included 840 open-heart operations, 1470 catheterizations, 29,045 outpatient visits, 29,135 echocardiograms, 1,366 cardiac MRIs, and 646 cardiac CT scans. Over 3 years (2020-2022), HC faculty have participated in 54 prospective multicenter research studies, directed 18 imaging core labs, and been PIs of data coordinating centers for 14 multicenter studies. The HC employs 6 data managers, 36 research assistants and coordinators, and 9 statisticians (4 PhD, 5 MS). Within the PHN, BCH cardiologists have been PI/MPI of 10 trials and cohort studies and directed 10 imaging core labs. BCH recruitment has been in the top quartile of participating centers for 9 of 14 PHN studies that actively enrolled participants in the current grant period, and in the top half for 13 of 14 studies. We have successfully recruited subjects on nights and weekends via a call schedule, and, with a large, world-class adult congenital program, can recruit and retain participants across the lifespan. BCH has state-of-the-art administrative and scientific capabilities that can expand the scientific productivity of the PHN. These include a model research pharmacy, rich experience in FDA-regulated studies, and world-class data science and data integration across multiple registries and databases that include study outcomes and covariates. Our renowned biomedical informatics program encompasses medical decision making, diagnosis, therapeutic selection, care redesign, clinical trials design, cardiovascular machine learning, and artificial intelligence. BCH remains committed to recruiting patients of diverse gender, race, and ethnicity from our large population with congenital heart disease (CHD), of whom 31% with reported race and ethnicity identify as minority. The proposed research protocol concept, a stepped- wedge randomized trial of developmental care that leverages our strength in cardiac neurodevelopment, has the potential to improve outcomes and advance equity, with likely greatest benefit in marginalized populations. BCH is further committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) through 1) academic scholarship in equitable healthcare delivery, access, and outcomes; 2) leadership development for early-to-mid-career faculty in minority groups; and 3) an EDI research review committee, created in collaboration with the BCH IRB, to ensure that research is conducted using current rigorous health equity research methodologies. In summary, BCH has exemplary credentials to be a PHN Clinical Research Center and has unwavering dedication to the success of the PHN’s ongoing and future studies. In the next PHN cycle, BCH will contribute to innovative research through the scientific expertise of its investigators, success in multi-disciplinary collaboration, commitment to eliminating child health disparities in CHD, extensive administrative resources, and personnel and processes with a proven track record for data integration across multiple registries and databases.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
