Here, groundbreaking research is at the core of our mission
For many children with debilitating diseases, research breakthroughs may be their families’ single greatest hope. Children’s Hospital Colorado is at the forefront of pioneering new treatments and cures with the goal of eradicating childhood disease and transforming pediatric medicine — giving all kids a chance at a healthier future.
Through research, we’ve already made impressive progress in improving child health outcomes and survival rates, but many conditions are still not cured and many medical mysteries remain unsolved. Together, we are committed to advancing medical research that minimizes side effects and cures disease.
With your support, we can continue to make discoveries that advance pediatric medicine and improve quality of life for the kids in our care and those around the world.
“Scientific discovery typically happens in small increments, but sometimes you have to make those big leaps forward. That’s what philanthropy enables us to do — pursue big, bold, game-changing ideas. Not all of those ideas are going to be home runs, but if you don’t at least try, then you’ll never see radical change.”
DR. CHRISTOPHER NG
Pediatric Hematologist and Physician-Scientist at Children’s Hospital Colorado
Transforming pediatric health care through research
Discovery is at the heart of everything Children’s Hospital Colorado does. But translating an idea in the lab into a tangible treatment, therapy or cure that benefits real-life patients takes significant time, capital, resources and expertise. When you invest in research at Children’s Colorado, you help to advance groundbreaking discoveries that save lives.
Children’s Colorado is one of the nation’s most distinguished pediatric health care systems, and our commitment to research and innovation plays a major role in that recognition. By leveraging the resources and partnerships on the renowned Anschutz Medical Campus, our team works tirelessly to find more effective, less invasive ways to treat pediatric illness and disease. We rank in the Top 3 nationally for prestigious National Institutes of Health funding, and we have more than 500 principal investigators conducting child health research, backed by $156.8 million in research grants.
While grants are essential, the truth is that we couldn’t conduct our critical, lifesaving research without the financial support of generous donors. As federal research funding continues to decline, philanthropic partners have stepped in to help. Your support makes a transformative difference for patients at Children’s Colorado and worldwide.
Fueled by giving
1,020+
active clinical studies currently underway
521
principal investigators conducting child health research
$156.8M
in annual research funding
3 ways donors make a difference
Nationwide, research funding is scarcer than ever — especially within the field of pediatrics. Between budget cuts and inflation, the National Institutes of Health, the federal government’s primary source of research grants, has far less spending power than it did 20 years ago. Child health research grants are even more competitive and harder to secure. Scientific progress shouldn’t slow or stop due to lack of financial support. Thanks to donors, we’re able to fill the funding gap and continually identify promising new therapies. Without philanthropy, many of our research programs wouldn’t exist — nor would the new treatments, cures and innovations our team has already discovered.
Our physician-scientists continually have new ideas for improving child health. But researchers need data and resources to test new hypotheses so they can translate these ideas to the bedside where they will impact actual patients. Without sufficient early funding, it’s almost impossible to secure bigger grants for research studies that make a transformative impact on children’s health. That’s where donors come in. Philanthropy enables early-career researchers to pursue cutting-edge ideas and out-of-the-box thinking, which can result in pioneering treatments and cures. In recent years, several of our physician-scientists leveraged seed funding gifts from private donors to secure multi-million dollar government grants that led to new pediatric medical breakthroughs. Funding the best and the brightest at the outset of their careers has proven to pay dividends for decades to come.
If a physician-scientist has a bold idea that can dramatically change the course of a child’s illness or vastly improve health outcomes, Children’s Colorado will do everything possible to turn that concept into a reality as soon as possible. From pediatrics to geriatrics, the collaboration between health care institutions across the Anschutz Medical Campus is unparalleled. This partnership fosters collaboration among Children’s Colorado and the CU School of Medicine, ensuring that our researchers can bridge knowledge, amplify discoveries and support scientific breakthroughs across the spectrum of care. These research collaborations not only help the babies and kids of today, but also the adults they will become tomorrow, with treatments and cures that impact the entire human lifespan.