Pediatric Disease Models and Mechanisms
Purpose
To discover the underlying causes of pediatric disease to drive development of innovative interventions and cures.
Why are pediatric disease models and mechanisms important?
Since children are growing and developing, disease progression and the factors that influence treatment outcomes are different than in adults. Creating appropriate models to understand the mechanisms of disease development and progression in children provides the framework to design new therapies. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is committed to being at the forefront of mechanism-based discoveries of pediatric disease, and to treating children through advances in knowledge and innovation.
How are we using disease models and mechanisms to advance care?
The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is committed to mechanistic research so that:
- Clinical problems can be modeled and studied in the laboratory before they are introduced to patients.
- A team-science approach—drawing on the expertise of different investigators—can speed the translation of basic research discoveries into clinical solutions.
- Clinical data from our diverse patient population paired with expertise in mechanistic research provides our investigators with unique opportunities to accelerate discoveries that benefit children regardless of race, gender, ethnicity or socioeconomic differences.
- Our innovative research models are developed specifically for pediatric research.
Our timeline
Over time, our investigators will advance pediatric medicine and create healthier futures for children.
5 to 10 years:
- Developing precision treatments to target the exact mechanisms of disease
- Creating treatments that target the root causes of disease, not just the symptoms
- Harnessing innovative technology to accelerate discoveries that benefit children
10 years and beyond:
- Creating a pediatric atlas that plots the mechanisms of disease across developmental stages
- Optimizing targeted therapies so that treatment is given to a patient when it can be most effective
