Research

Digital devices like the iPad have only been around for about 10 years, but in that short amount of time, they have become ingrained into everyday life and research examining their impact on young children is limited.

Tune into 60 Minutes this Sunday, Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. ET/PT as Dr. Dimitri Christakis, director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, discusses with Anderson Cooper the evolving digital age children are growing up in today and how his research hopes to uncover the impact this new era has on a child’s developing mind.

It may seem as though digital devices and touch screens like the iPad have been around for decades, but the reality is that these devices have only been around for about 10 years. In that short amount of time, they have become ingrained into everyday life, but research on their impact is limited. What concerns researchers like Dr. Dimitri Christakis is that we don’t yet understand the effects these devices may have on young children, and so that’s why they’ve taken center stage in many of his research studies.

Christakis isn’t advocating for taking screens away from children. He simply hopes he can help parents and caregivers better understand and navigate how devices like the iPad can fit into their lives in a healthy way.

“The point isn’t that we should take away all digital devices, but rather that we should come at it from a different perspective,” said Christakis. “We should ask, ‘How can we help children live healthy lives in a digital world that they’re immersed in from birth?” Read full post »

Harper Beare was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia when she was just 10 months old. After she wasn’t able to achieve remission through conventional treatment, she traveled to Seattle Children’s to participate in the PLAT-05 T-cell immunotherapy trial. Soon after, Harper was in remission.

Seattle Children’s doctors and researchers continue to believe chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy has the power to revolutionize pediatric cancer care. Over the past year, they have made tremendous progress with the promising therapy, which has given patients like Harper Beare, Erin Cross and Milton Wright a second chance at life.

Seattle Children’s recently enrolled its 200th immunotherapy patient, and now has nine T-cell therapy trials targeting childhood cancers from leukemia to solid tumors, which is one of the most robust pipelines in the country.

Seattle Children’s researchers are continuously discovering new best practices based on their experience in the trials, and as a result, will share six abstracts this weekend at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in San Diego.

“It’s amazing to be at a place in our research where we’re learning from our existing trials, and immediately incorporating that vital intel into our new trials,” said Dr. Rebecca Gardner, oncologist at Seattle Children’s and principal investigator for the PLAT-02 and PLAT-05 CAR T-cell immunotherapy trials. “We are also pleased to now offer several new trials to patients who would otherwise be out of treatment options. Our goal is to offer the best therapy possible, and to never let any patient reach the end of the line.”

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Dr. Shuyi Ma, an infectious disease researcher at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, as an undergraduate student at the California Institute of Technology.

As a female scientist studying tuberculosis (TB) in the Center for Global Infectious Disease Research at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Dr. Shuyi Ma was ecstatic to learn that her undergraduate mentor became the fifth woman in history to receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. She shares her reaction to the news and how her mentor helped shaped her career with On the Pulse.   

When I first heard the news that Dr. Frances Arnold had won the 2018 Nobel Prize, I cried aloud in delight as I jumped up and down in my kitchen. Frances was my academic and research advisor when I was an undergraduate student at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), so waking up to the news of this global recognition was one of the most exhilarating mornings I’ve ever had.

I started working with Frances as a sophomore. It was amazing to me that her lab was able to apply engineering to biology, so I had asked her if I could learn how she did this. Although I had never worked in an experimental lab before, Frances took a chance on me, giving me the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with her craft, and it in turn crafted me into the scientist I am today.  I still hold close the many lessons she imparted on me, using them to guide my scientific career. Read full post »

At Seattle Children’s Research Institute, scientists are genetically-engineering zebrafish to harbor human DNA mutations known to contribute congenital conditions in children.

More than five years ago, when Dr. Lisa Maves, a scientist at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, first started using CRISPR to make genetic alterations in zebrafish, she saw the potential for the minnow-sized fish to help doctors understand how genetic mutations contribute to a child’s condition.

“Essentially, we set out to make a patient’s fish,” Maves said. “The zebrafish has a genome that is remarkably similar to humans. As new gene editing technology was just becoming available, I wondered whether we could use this technology to create a fish that mimicked the complex genetic conditions we see in children.”

Maves hypothesized that genetically engineering the fish in this manner would help uncover how different genes affect development and cause disease. Read full post »

At age 2, Erin Cross was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. She achieved remission through her initial cancer treatments, but relapsed in 2016. Out of treatment options, her family found hope in Seattle Children’s PLAT-02 T-cell immunotherapy clinical trial. Erin, now 8, just celebrated her two-year anniversary of being cancer-free. Photo by Jane Mann

Each morning, 8-year-old Erin Cross springs out of bed excited to go to school. A third grader in Chester, England, she loves science and math, and imagines a future as a researcher making “potions” in a lab. She loves cracking jokes, rugby and playing make-believe games with her friends on the playground. For Erin, who spent most of her life in the hospital and away from others her age, she cherishes each day she is able to just be a kid.

“It’s amazing to see Erin back to living a normal life,” said her mother, Sarah Cross. “We’re so thankful that we’re able to enjoy time as a family doing regular things like taking picnics, playing on the beach or going to the zoo. It’s time that we never take for granted.”

Nearly three years ago, Cross faced the devastating reality that she may never see her daughter grow up. At age 2, Erin was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). She was able to achieve remission through her initial cancer treatments, but in 2016, her family received the shattering news that she had relapsed and was out of treatment options.

That was, until they found hope in Seattle Children’s Pediatric Leukemia Adoptive Therapy (PLAT-02) chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy clinical trial for children and young adults with relapsed or refractory ALL who are not likely to survive with current treatments. In July 2016, Erin’s family arrived in Seattle for the trial.

“Seattle Children’s threw us a lifeline,” said Cross. “We knew we had to get her there. We moved mountains to save our daughter’s life.”

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Avery Berg, 13, was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor at the age of 10. She endured six weeks of radiation, five brain surgeries, and six months of high-dose chemotherapy. Avery has been cancer-free for more than a year, but her mom Kristie says that cancer immunotherapy offers hope that other children can become cancer-free without having to endure such harsh therapies.

T-cell immunotherapy continues to take center stage as one of the most promising new cancer therapies of our time. What once sounded like a dream – reprogramming a person’s own immune system to fight cancer – is remarkably becoming a reality. What’s more; doctors and researchers in our own backyard are leading the way in developing this therapy for children and young adults around the world.

From covering the opening of the first T-cell immunotherapy trial when I was an anchor at KING 5 TV, to now seeing this therapy being tested in seven open clinical trials at Seattle Children’s and applied to a variety of cancers, I’ve been amazed to watch the enormous strides researchers have made in the field over a few short years.

The results also speak for themselves – 93% of patients with relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Seattle Children’s phase 1 PLAT-02 trial achieved complete initial remission. About 50% were still in remission one year after therapy. Some patients, who were otherwise unlikely to survive with traditional therapies, are still in remission nearly five years after receiving the experimental treatment. This is encouraging news, especially since leukemias are the most common childhood cancers.

And on Oct. 12, I will witness yet another major milestone – Seattle Children’s will bring their groundbreaking therapies to a global stage. Read full post »

Milton Wright III has returned to work at the hospital that saved his life.

Milton Wright III has only worked at Seattle Children’s for a couple months, but the hospital has been his second home for much of his life.

Milton’s childhood unfolded within Seattle Children’s walls — making friends, experiencing loss and facing death more times than he can count.

Today, Milton is back at Seattle Children’s — not as a patient, but as an employee and a symbol of hope.

“I want to do something that’s worthy of my life being saved,” Milton said.

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At Seattle Children’s, many children and young adults with cancer are finding hope in T-cell immunotherapy – an experimental treatment that boosts a patient’s immune system and uses it to fight a disease.

Seattle Children’s researchers are leading clinical trials in which a patient’s T cells are reprogrammed to express a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) on the surface of the cell. The CAR is like a puzzle piece that’s designed to attach perfectly to a specific antigen or marker on the surface of the cancer cell. When they attach, the CAR T cells attack the cancer cells as if they were fighting an infection.

In just five years, Seattle Children’s cancer immunotherapy program has grown tremendously to include trials that target leukemia, brain and spinal cord tumors and solid tumors. Curious how these clinical trials work? Read on to learn more about the immunotherapy clinical trial process at Seattle Children’s.

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Harper was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia when she was just 10 months old.

When asked about the birth of her daughter Harper, Sydney Beare lights up.

“Harper was 8 pounds, 1 ounce, 21.5 inches and the most beautiful baby I’ve ever seen!” she said.

By all accounts, Harper was an exceptionally happy, and seemingly healthy, baby. She began sleeping though the night when she was just a few days old and almost never fussed, even when teething. Beare said her daughter was “totally content.”

But in July 2017, when Harper was 9 months old, she became seriously ill.

Harper first developed an ear infection, a staph infection and had an infected cut on her finger. During the next month she became lethargic and pale.

Beare noticed bruises on her legs, and later on her back and face. Harper began having diarrhea and vomiting. She also slept all the time. Despite all this, Harper’s well-child checkup in August revealed no concerns.

Then, on Aug. 21, Harper woke up with a fever.

“She was just lying there, with dry, cracked lips, screaming,” Beare remembered, choking back tears. “I was worried something was wrong but I pushed that idea aside because I didn’t want to think anything bad could happen to my baby.”

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Forrest Potter with his younger brother Bryson Potter. Bryson was diagnosed with Leigh Syndrome (LS) as a child, a progressive neurodegenerative disorder.

Forrest Potter grew up at Seattle Children’s watching by the bedside as his little brother faced a debilitating diagnosis, Leigh Syndrome (LS), a progressive neurodegenerative disorder.

Nearly 17 years after his brother’s diagnosis, Potter hopes to once again find himself by the bedside, this time wearing a white coat. When he was younger, there was little he could do for his brother. Today, he’s hopeful he’ll be able to help those in need and that his experiences at Seattle Children’s will help him as he begins a medical journey of his own.

My introduction to medicine was one rooted in fear. Over the course of two weeks, I had developed a routine: Sit in the waiting room collecting my courage, wash my hands, get cleared by the nurse to walk into the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), get up on the step stool to talk to my unconscious brother for five minutes while looking as little as possible at the giant food processor like machine whirring with his blood. I felt helpless, but there was little more I could do to support my younger brother. Read full post »