Kentucky ECHO Pediatric IDeA States Research Center (KE-PIRC)

Kentucky ECHO Pediatric IDeA States Research (KE-PIRC) Center 

Improving healthcare outcomes and wellness in children is contingent on expanding high quality clinical research to include more diverse populations. Pediatricians at the University of Louisville (UofL) with our Healthcare Partners serve a highly diverse patient population that includes the rural and urban poor, a unique Appalachian community, and numerous ethnic minorities. In order to better serve this population, we propose to build upon our current programs, collaborate with other institutions on pediatric clinical trials through the IDeA Pediatric Trials Network, and collaborate with ECHO and CHEAR sites to advance healthcare for children. 

Our goal is to expand clinical trial research infrastructure, provide opportunities for rural and urban underserved populations to participate in research that impacts their health outcomes, and establish a formal and interactive professional junior faculty development program in pediatric clinical trials that contributes to a sustainable workforce locally and nationally. 


ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON CHILD HEALTH OUTCOMES(ECHO) PROGRAM 

 Understanding the effects of environmental exposures on child health and development is a priority for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). To advance knowledge in this area, NIH has launched a new seven-year initiative called the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program. ECHO is designed to capitalize on existing participant populations, and support approaches that can evolve with the science and take advantage of the growing number of clinical research networks and technological advances. 

ECHO will support multiple, synergistic, longitudinal studies using existing study populations, called cohorts, to investigate environmental exposures — including physical, chemical, biological, social, behavioral, natural and built environments — on child health and development. The studies will focus on five key pediatric outcomes that have a high public health impact: 

  • Upper and lower airway 
  • Obesity 
  • Pre-, peri-, and postnatal outcomes 
  • Neurodevelopment 
  • Positive Health 

  To learn more about the ECHO program, please visit the ECHO Children web page. 


ECHO IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network (ISPCTN)  

The IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network (ISPCTN) consists of 17 sites in 17 states ideally situated to improve access for medically underserved rural and urban children to participate in state-of-the-art clinical trials. The network will work with the ECHO cohorts to apply findings in clinical trials to allow a pipeline for new findings to quickly reach the children who will benefit.  

We have reapplied for the next funding cycle of the grant and are currently awaiting notification of acceptance (expected summer 2020). 

To read more about this program, please visit:  IDeA States page |  Clinical Sites for IDeA 

Meet Our Team

The KE-PIRC team is comprised of members of the Pediatric Clinical Research Team and Investigators from the University of Louisville and Norton Children’s.

Site PI’s

Sara Watson, MD

Research Interests:
Childhood Obesity
Type 2 Diabetes
Research in children located in rural and underserved areas


Lori Devlin-Phinney, DO, MHA, MS

Research Interests:
Neonatology with focus on Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal
Research in children located in rural and underserved areas
Medical Education Research

 

Senior Faculty Development Leader

 

Jan Sullivan,  MD

Research Interests:
Pediatric Clinical Pharmacology
Research in children located in rural and underserved areas
Mentorship and Faculty Development in Clinical Research
Research Networking

Junior Investigator

Scott Bickel, MD, MS

Research Interests:
Environmental Influences on asthma control
Cystic Fibrosis
Pulmonary Function Testing
Fellow, Resident, and Student Medical Education

 

Project Manager

Jackie Boyd

 

Study Coordinators

  • Katie Harris
  • Beth Campbell

Upcoming K-PIRC Events!

Check back for future events.

 


Contact Us

Jackie Boyd, RN, BSN, CHPE
Telephone:  502-588-0774
Email