Research Collaborations
Collaboration is at the heart of our work. It allows us to create connections with the children and families we serve, with communities we are in, with our academic, industry and medical partners, and with our advocates and supporters. The most imaginative, productive research often results from sparks ignited when gifted researchers specialists join forces and come together as a team. The Rebecca D. Considine Research Institute maintains ongoing collaborations with several national, regional and academic partners that share our research interests.
National Multicenter Pediatric Research Initiatives
Akron Children's is a study site for many national and global research initiatives. Our investigators actively participate in research studies sponsored by leading national pediatric foundations and organizations focused on advancing the treatment and quality of life for children afflicted by these conditions:
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation sponsors several clinical trials of therapies that treat the underlying cause of the condition. Akron Children's is one of 82 clinical research centers known as Cystic Fibrosis Therapeutics Development Centers. Akron Children's Lewis H. Walker, MD Cystic Fibrosis Center oversees this collaboration supported by the Rebecca D. Considine Research Institute clinical management services.
Pediatric Trials Network
This national initiative provides the infrastructure to study the formulation, dosing, efficacy and safety of prescription medicines used in pediatric patients, as well as the development of medical devices. It's composed of an alliance of clinical research sites and sponsored by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Children's Oncology Group
Akron Children's division of pediatric hematology-oncology research participates in Children's Oncology Group, the world's largest childhood cancer research organization. Data from collaborative pediatric cancer studies show children and teens with cancer have better survival rates when treated at a pediatric oncology center rather than ones that primarily treat adults.
Hattie Larlham
Hattie Larlham is a non-profit organization that provides services to more than 1,500 children and adults with developmental disabilities.
In 2010, the Hattie Larlham Research Institute and Rebecca D. Considine Research Institute established a formal research affiliation to support joint medical research in this population. Through our collaboration, we’re seeking answers to questions that will enhance the lives of people coping with serious impairments and activity limitation.
Academic Partners
Building academic partnerships is imperative to our success as a research organization. We are working with these regional academic partners to generate new and exciting opportunities that promote growth of research programs at Akron Children’s. The research institute also works with students in university and college programs to meet research curriculum requirements and gain pediatric research experience, and provides opportunities for volunteers to assist with research activities.
Northeast Ohio Medical University
When the state of Ohio chartered this "community-based" medical school in 1973, Akron Children’s became a major pediatric teaching institution. Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) focuses on training next-generation healthcare professionals in the full complement of interdisciplinary medical practices. Several Akron Children’s physicians, medical professionals and researchers hold NEOMED faculty appointments.
Kent State University, Cleveland State University and The University of Akron
The Research Institute also collaborates with colleagues at major northeast Ohio academic institutions such as Kent State University, Cleveland State University and The University of Akron.
