Collaboration that Changes Lives
Founded in 2006 alongside the Children’s Discovery Institute (CDI), the Child Health Discovery Fund is a joint venture between St. Louis Children’s Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM). Born from a shared goal to find innovative, more precise therapies for patients who were previously considered untreatable, donor gifts enable some of the nation’s top clinical investigators to speed the path from laboratory research to life-changing medicine.
Current State
One of only a few centers in the U.S. dedicated to pediatric research, the CDI model is unique in its cross-disciplinary approach to rigorous science intertwined with world-class patient care. As of today, research award commitments made to Washington University investigators by the CDI have generated over 1,400 scientific papers and more than $550 million in highly competitive external grant funding – including that from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
While the NIH allocates only a small portion of its annual budget to pediatric research, donor funding gives our clinical investigators the freedom to pursue emerging concepts that keep St. Louis Children’s on the cutting edge. Over the last 15 years, the St. Louis Children’s Hospital Foundation has allocated more than $80 million to advance unrestricted research in four specific pediatric disease areas: congenital heart disease, cancer, lung and respiratory disorders and musculoskeletal diseases.
The team has made extraordinary progress, finding new answers for children living with pediatric illnesses. Now, it is time to propel St. Louis Children’s and WUSM forward into a new era of research and discovery.
The Path Forward
Together, we will expand the scope of unrestricted research supported by the CDI to encompass more areas of child health, spurring faster scientific advancement and greater collaboration across disciplines. Your commitment to funding groundbreaking discoveries will fuel the hope that earlier, more accurate diagnoses will lead to improved outcomes for more kids – now and in the future.