Seattle Children's Research Institute

SEATTLE, Oct. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Seattle Children's has been named by U.S. News & World Report to its 2024-2025 Best Children's Hospitals Honor Roll, a distinction awarded to only 10 children's hospitals nationwide. The U.S. News & World Report has been ranking hospitals since 1990, and Seattle Children's is honored to be ranked among the best children's hospitals in the nation for more than 30 years. The rankings help parents and caregivers, along with their physicians, in navigating the challenges of choosing the best possible care for children with serious illnesses or complex medical needs. Continue Reading U.S. News & World Report 2024-2025 Honor Roll Seattle Children's has been named by U.S. News as the No. 1 pediatric hospital in the Pacific region and has ranked in the top 10 nationally in pediatric specialties including Cancer, Diabetes and Endocrine Disorders, Gastroenterology and GI Surgery, Nephrology, Neurology and Neurosurgery and Pulmonology. "As the largest, independent nonprofit children's hospital in our region, we are committed to providing the highest-quality outcomes for the children and families we serve, and it's rewarding to see this acknowledged at a national level," said Seattle Children's CEO, Dr. Jeff Sperring. "Being recognized as one of the top 10 children's hospitals in the nation is a testament to the outstanding care our teams provide and our dedication to our mission of providing hope, care, and cures." U.S. News, together with RTI International, collected and analyzed data from 108 children's hospitals and surveyed thousands of pediatric specialists. Children's hospitals awarded a "Best" designation excelled at factors such as clinical outcomes, level and quality of hospital resources directly related to patient care and expert opinion among pediatric specialists. "For nearly two decades, U.S. News has published Best Children's Hospitals to empower the parents and caregivers of children with complex medical needs," said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News. "Children's hospitals appearing on the U.S. News Honor Roll have a track record of delivering unparalleled specialized care." The full rankings for the 2024-2025 Best Children's Hospitals Honor Roll, regional and specialty rankings can be found at USNews.com. MEDIA CONTACT Sabrina Register, Manager, Public Relations [email protected] About Seattle Children's Seattle Children's mission is to provide hope, care and cures to help every child live the healthiest and most fulfilling life possible. Together, Seattle Children's Hospital, Research Institute and Foundation deliver superior patient care, identify new discoveries and treatments through pediatric research, and raise funds to create better futures for patients. Ranked as one of the top children's hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report, Seattle Children's serves as the pediatric and adolescent academic medical center for Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho – the largest region of any children's hospital in the country. As one of the nation's top five pediatric research centers, Seattle Children's Research Institute is internationally recognized for its work in neurosciences, immunology, cancer, infectious disease, injury prevention and much more. Seattle Children's Foundation, along with Seattle Children's Guild Association – the largest all volunteer fundraising network for any hospital in the country – works with our generous community to raise funds for lifesaving care and research. For more information, visit seattlechildrens.org or follow us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. About U.S. News & World Report U.S. News & World Report is the global leader in quality rankings that empower consumers, business leaders and policy officials to make better, more informed decisions about important issues affecting their lives and communities. A multifaceted digital media company with Education, Health, Money, Travel, Cars, News, Real Estate, Careers and 360 Reviews platforms, U.S. News provides rankings, independent reporting, data journalism, consumer advice and U.S. News Live events. More than 40 million people visit USNews.com each month for research and guidance. Founded in 1933, U.S. News is headquartered in Washington, D.C SOURCE Seattle Children’s WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED

New clinical trial provides hope for children with Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) SEATTLE, May 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- With pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) diagnoses on the rise globally, a clinical trial in Seattle aims to transform treatment approaches through deep molecular profiling. Recruitment has begun for the Seattle STRIDE study, a joint effort by Seattle Children's Research Institute and the Allen Institute for Immunology. The trial aims to enroll 200 volunteers and follow them over three years. It will employ a range of genomic tools to analyze intact tissue samples from routine tests. These single-cell analysis methods will provide a detailed look at how the immune system behaves in patients with IBD and how it responds over time to specific drug treatments. Deep immune profiling could offer an unprecedented view of the disease, paving the way for new and improved treatments, said Betty Zheng, MD, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Seattle Children's and the study's principal investigator. "IBD is a very complex disease, and we only have a rough understanding of what is happening at a molecular level," she said. "By partnering with the Allen Institute, we want to get a detailed view of the disease's molecular mechanisms to find better ways of treating the patients we see in the clinic." Unraveling molecular mysteries The exact causes and progression of IBD, a chronic inflammatory condition affecting the digestive tract, have remained elusive, Zheng said. It likely involves some combination of genes, immune dysregulation, and environmental and dietary factors. In children, IBD is both more aggressive and harder to treat. Around 30% of pediatric IBD patients do not respond to initial treatments. Furthermore, nearly half of the remaining patients will find their treatments becoming ineffective over time. These children face risks like impaired growth, mental health issues, and missed educational and social activities. A deeper molecular understanding of the disease could enable personalized treatment strategies, moving away from less effective one-size-fits-all approaches, Zheng said. "Some children find relief with first-line therapies, others require a combination of treatments, and some don't respond to anything and languish in the hospital for months," Zheng said. "This is a big question mark in the clinic." A deep dive into the molecular workings of the disease could also uncover unknown pathways of inflammation. These pathways could potentially serve as targets for the development of new drugs. "There is a universe of information that is not being seen," said Adam Savage, Ph.D., an Assistant Investigator at the Allen Institute for Immunology. To explore that universe, Savage and other scientists will deploy a suite of advanced technologies refined at the Allen Institute for Immunology that can identify and pinpoint immune cells and molecules inside tissues collected during routine hospital visits. By analyzing patient samples over time, these tools can offer a window into how the disease progresses and how patients respond to treatment. Behind the data and the advanced technologies, the ultimate goal remains clear: improving the lives of patients. "We look at data on computers, or head into the labs, and we can get a little detached," Savage said. "But when we visit and see the patients we're trying to help, it's a powerful reminder of why we come to work—to have a real impact on patients' lives." Families interested in joining the Seattle STRIDE study can learn more here. About the Allen Institute The Allen Institute is an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit research organization founded by philanthropist and visionary, the late Paul G. Allen. The Allen Institute is dedicated to answering some of the biggest questions in bioscience and accelerating research worldwide. The Institute is a recognized leader in large-scale research with a commitment to an open science model. Its research institutes and programs include the Allen Institute for Brain Science, launched in 2003; the Allen Institute for Cell Science, launched in 2014; the Allen Institute for Immunology, launched in 2018; and the Allen Institute for Neural Dynamics, launched in 2021. In 2016, the Allen Institute expanded its reach with the launch of The Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group, which identifies pioneers with new ideas to expand the boundaries of knowledge and make the world better. For more information, visit alleninstitute.org Media Contact Peter Kim, Sr. Manager, Media Relations 206-605-9884 | [email protected] SOURCE Allen Institute

Seattle Children's Research Institute and tech giant Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab partnered on research examining the cause of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and determined that genetic testing at birth may help to determine a child's risk of SIDS. The two organizations discussed the research during an event in Washington, which brought together more than 155 researchers and scientists to share new insights into potential causes of SIDS, which is the leading cause of death for infants one year and younger in the U.S and other developed countries. A major point of discussion at the event included whole-genome sequencing of 145 infants who succumbed to SIDS. The Aaron Matthew SIDS Research Foundation, which is based at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, funded the genome database. The American Journal of Medical Genetics will soon publish the study, in which researchers identified novel genes associated with SIDS. Some of these genes are crucial for detecting and responding to low oxygen levels in body tissues. Children with these genes could be at increased risk of death from sleeping face down. Researchers noted there is a long-standing belief in the medical community that a correlation exists between SIDS and infant sleeping positions. "Thanks to this collaboration between world-class researchers and data scientists armed with cutting-edge AI, we can now use genetic data to predict children at high risk of SIDS, which claims approximately 3,200 children a year. We are getting far closer to enabling medical professionals to bring preventative treatments to children who exhibit these risks, and potentially to far more people – those susceptible to Sudden Cardiac Death later in life," John Kahan, former vice president and chief data analytics officer at Microsoft and cofounder of the Aaron Matthew SIDS Research Foundation, said in a statement. THE LARGER TREND In 2022, Seattle Children’s Research Institute received a $29 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration to increase future pandemic readiness. The hospital said the money is being used to address health disparities uncovered during the COVID-19 pandemic. In October, the hospital system was gifted $4 million to promote equity in nursing. The gift was intended to grow opportunities for underrepresented individuals interested in pursuing nursing careers and addressing historical barriers in pediatric nursing education. A month later, Microsoft's AI for Good Lab released Orca 2, a small language model that imitates step-by-step reasoning. The open-source tech looks to give enterprises with limited resources options to address use cases without increasing computing power. AI for Good Lab announced in December a small language model called Phi-2, which is a small genAI model that looks to achieve the same performance as large language models on a reduced scale. The model is currently intended for research purposes, though Microsoft said it hopes the development can lead to deployment in businesses in competition with large language models. In March, Seattle Children’s received a $50 million gift to support leukemia research from the William Lawrence and Blanche Hughes Foundation, aimed at advancing pediatric immunotherapy cancer research and fund clinical trials.