The University of Kansas Medical Center has secured a landmark $31 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to coordinate clinical trials for infants and children in rural and underserved communities across the United States. The five-year award represents the largest grant in KU Medical Center's history and one of the most substantial awards ever received by the University of Kansas.
Expanding Access Through Strategic Partnership
In collaboration with the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), KU Medical Center will operate as the Data Coordinating and Operations Center (DCOC) for the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Institutional Development Award (IDeA) States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network. This partnership leverages two decades of infrastructure development at KU Medical Center.
"KU Medical Center has been building the biostatistics and informatics infrastructure necessary for the DCOC for 20 years," said Matthew Mayo, Ph.D., founding chair of the Department of Biostatistics and Data Science at KU Medical Center and the lead investigator on the grant. "The ultimate goal is to support high-quality, multi-center trials that generate valuable knowledge and lead to improved health outcomes for a wider range of children across the country."
Addressing Healthcare Disparities in Pediatric Research
The NIH established the IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network in 2016 specifically to address healthcare disparities affecting children in rural and underserved areas. The IDeA program targets states with historically low levels of research funding and limited access to vital clinical trials, working to broaden the geographic distribution of NIH funding for biomedical and behavioral research.
The network encompasses 18 clinical research sites across IDeA states, with the DCOC serving as the centralized coordination hub. The center will provide comprehensive data coordination and biostatistics support, facilitate multi-site study design and results dissemination, coordinate with local health systems, and train researchers and clinicians to enhance their capacity for conducting pediatric research.
Complementary Institutional Strengths
The partnership between KU Medical Center and UNMC combines distinct institutional advantages to maximize research impact. Russell McCulloh, M.D., associate vice chancellor for clinical research at UNMC and a principal investigator, highlighted the collaborative foundation: "We have maintained a close working relationship through the first two cycles (of the ECHO program). The big strength that Nebraska provides is the experience of our Clinical Research Center and our experienced pediatric clinical trialists who have longstanding engagement in the network."
McCulloh emphasized how the institutions' capabilities complement each other: "These strengths are an excellent complement to KU's outstanding expertise in biostatistics and informatics, and both sides have strong track records in conducting multi-site clinical trials."
Focus on Environmental Health Factors
The ECHO program clinical trials investigate environmental influences that may significantly impact child health outcomes. Research areas include air pollution exposure, family support systems, stress factors, sleep habits, and dietary patterns. Recent published findings from the network have revealed important connections between environmental factors and pediatric health outcomes.
Notable research results include evidence that adverse birth outcomes may be associated with arsenic contamination in public drinking water. Additionally, studies have demonstrated that maternal obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure before and after pregnancy correlate with elevated blood pressure in children.
Expanding Healthcare Access
Beyond research coordination, the clinical trials network provides crucial healthcare access to children who would otherwise lack such opportunities. The initiative addresses fundamental healthcare equity issues by ensuring that pediatric populations in underserved areas can participate in cutting-edge clinical research that may directly benefit their health outcomes.
Both KU Medical Center and UNMC have participated in the IDeA States Pediatric Clinical Trials Network since its establishment, providing continuity and institutional knowledge that strengthens the network's research capabilities and operational effectiveness.
