Top left to right: Drs. Bill Britt, Randy Cron, Pallavi Iyer, Viral Jain, Claudette Poole, Brandon Rocque, Emily Smitherman and Kent WillisChildren’s of Alabama and the Kaul Pediatric Research Institute (KPRI) are pleased to announce the 2021 awards. The major goal of the KPRI grant program is to allow investigators to obtain data that will advantage applications for additional extramural funding. This will bring new knowledge to the care of children, leverage the investment of the KPRI, and allow projects to be competitive for the very best science on the national stage. A second, but important, goal is to ensure that a dedicated funding source is available to unique segments of the pediatric research, education, and quality improvement enterprise.

This year, two categories of grants were funded: New Investigator Awards, and Established Investigator Awards. All funded applications are directed toward the improvement of child health care. Thank you to all who submitted applications! Congratulations to the following awardees.

New Investigators

Pallavi Iyer, M.D.

Associate Professor
Division of Pediatric Endocrinology & Diabetes

Project title: "Integrative Genomic Characterization of Pediatric Differentiated Thyroid Cancer"

Viral Jain, M.D.

Assistant Professor
Division of Neonatology

Project title: "Chorioamnionitis Leads to Altered Neonatal Immune System Development"

Claudette Poole, M.D.

Assistant Professor
Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases

Project title: "The Association of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Diabetes Mellitus in Children"

Brandon Rocque, M.D.

Associate Professor
Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery

Project title: "Traumatic Stress and Shunt Failure: A Link between Psychology and Inflammation"

Emily Smitherman, M.D.

Assistant Professor
Division of Pediatric Rheumatology

Project title: "Evaluating Access to Care in Childhood-onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Nephritis"

Kent Willis, M.D.

Assistant Professor
Division of Neonatology

Project title: "The Mycobiome Shapes Oxygen Exposure Lung Injury in Newborns via the Chitin­ Binding Receptor FIBCDl"

Established Investigators

William Britt, M.D.

Professor
Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases

Project title: "Seasonal Coronavirus Infections and Antibody Responses to SARS-CoV-2"

Randy Cron, M.D.

Professor
Division of Pediatric Rheumatology

Project title: "Functional Genomics of Novel Cytokine Storm Syndrome Genes Linked with SARS-CoV- 2"