Children’s Trust, a group of rising philanthropists, hosts the Grantmakers meeting every spring. The meeting brings together a group of hand-selected researchers whose work aims at improving pediatric health. The researchers pitch their pioneering projects to members of the Trust for a chance to win seed funding that will kick start their research.
This year, members of the Trust awarded $150,000 to three promising UPMC Children’s researchers.
Investigating Respiratory Viral Infection
Taking home first prize, and $70,000, was Taylor Eddens, MD, PhD. The Eddens lab studies the acute and long-standing pathology following early life respiratory viral infection. Viral pathogens are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in young children. Early life viral infection is also associated with an increased risk of developing asthma. The Eddens lab studies how these early infections shape the developing immune system, especially in the lungs. Their research shows that when infection happens in infancy, it can create long-lasting changes that make the lungs more prone to asthma-like inflammation later on. By understanding how these early immune responses work, the team hopes to identify new ways to prevent or reduce asthma in children.
Understanding Esophageal Atresia
Carolina Pinzon-Guzman, MD, PhD, investigates improving healing in babies born with esophageal atresia.
Dr. Pinzon-Guzman’s clinical interests include fetal therapy and diagnosis as well as congenital anomalies of the gastrointestinal and respiratory tract such as esophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia and congenital lung lesions. She has published multiple peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and has presented her academic work at in many local, national, and international conferences. She took home second prize and a grant of $50,000.
Finding Better Treatments for Pediatric Brain Tumors
Winning third place, and $30,000, was Antony MichaelRaj, PhD, whose research is producing results that are reshaping how scientists understand diseases like ependymoma and medulloblastoma. His team recently revealed how medulloblastoma rewires the cell’s energy metabolism to survive and grow — a discovery published in Cancer Cell. In a separate study in Nature, his group explained why posterior fossa ependymoma occurs in boys far more often than girls, tracing the disparity to androgen signaling and opening the door to anti-androgen treatments already used in other cancers
Join the Children’s Trust
Members of the Trust stay informed with the winners’ research as they receive quarterly updates that allow them to see their philanthropic contributions in action. Interested in putting philanthropy in motion? Join the Children’s Trust.