Established in April 2018, MI4 aims to foster interdisciplinary research to discover, develop and implement innovative solutions for infectious and immune threats to human health. The MI4 Pediatric Seed Fund Grant program, made possible through equal contributions from the CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation and the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation, is designed to establish new, inter-institutional translational research teams linking world-class pediatric investigators at the two institutions to support preliminary innovative new ideas, and proof-of-concept studies with the potential to improve child health. Two projects will each receive $150,000 over two years to carry out their work.
The awarded projects are as follows:
| Project Title and summary | Lead researchers |
|---|---|
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Improving the appropriateness of antibiotic use to treat pneumonia Antibiotic overuse is an important cause of bacterial antibiotic resistance. Most pediatric pneumonias are caused by viruses, for which antibiotics are not necessary. However, children sick enough to be hospitalized for such lung infections typically receive antibiotics because there are currently no adequate tests to exclude the possibility of bacterial pneumonia, which requires prompt antibiotic treatment. This project, led by Dr. Jesse Papenburg at the Children’s and Dr. Jocelyn Gravel at CHU Sainte-Justine, will evaluate the feasibility of collecting high quality samples and performing advanced laboratory and statistical analyses to test new ways to distinguish between viral and bacterial pneumonia in children. If successful, this approach will improve the diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia, allowing doctors to safely use fewer antibiotics, the key to fighting antibiotic resistance. |
Jesse Papenburg (MCH) Jocelyn Gravel (CHU Sainte-Justine) |
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Developing innovative modeling of primary immunodeficiencies Rare chronic immune disorders, known as primary immunodeficiencies (PID), represent a large, heterogeneous group of diseases responsible for a wide range of illnesses including susceptibility to infection, autoimmunity, allergies and cancer. Advances in DNA sequencing have led to the identification of many genetic changes that are linked to PID. However confirming which genes are responsible for PID in a given patient can be challenging. This may lead to over- or under-diagnosis of PID, with impacts on patient care. Led by Dr. Fabien Touzot at CHU Sainte-Justine and Dr. Constantin Polychronakos at the Children’s, this project aims to establish an innovative research platform that will identify which genetic changes underlie the development of PID, combining the strengths and resolution of cutting-edge technologies including stem cells, genome engineering, and pre-clinical models. This innovative platform will direct patient diagnosis and care and permit testing of therapies in participating patients. |
Constantin Polychronakos (MCH) Fabien Touzot (CHU Sainte-Justine) |
Read more about the Pediatric Seed Fund Grant program and the two aforementioned projects.
