Research

Josie, with her father, Luis, first came to Seattle Children’s when she was 2 months old.

Josie came to Seattle Children’ Emergency Department when she was 2 months old after acquiring a virus and going into respiratory distress. She was also in the beginning stages of heart failure.

Statistically, she was lucky to have made it that far.

Before birth, Josie was diagnosed with Trisomy 18, a life-threatening condition caused by an extra chromosome that disrupts the typical pattern of development in significant ways. Only about 5 to 10% of children with Trisomy 18 survive beyond their first year of life.

“I didn’t expect her to live that long,” said Josie’s mother, Jenny Castillo. “I hoped we would at least have a few days or weeks with her, and we’ve been thrilled with all the time we’ve had.” Read full post »

Russell Wilson walked the runway with three young cancer survivors for a special fashion show benefiting Seattle Children’s Strong Against Cancer.

Last week, the MoPOP in Seattle became a glamorous gateway to fashion and fun that benefitted Seattle Children’s Strong Against Cancer, a national philanthropic initiative with worldwide implications for potentially curing childhood cancers without the harmful affects of chemotherapy or radiation.

In partnership with Alaska Airlines, renowned fashion designer and Seattle Children’s supporter Luly Yang presented a fashion show to unveil her new collection, while generously sharing the runway spotlight with honored guests representing the important cause.

The show was kicked off by three pint-sized models – 4-year-old Greta Oberhofer, 5-year-old Lucy Watters and 7-year-old Mason Nettleton – each a courageous cancer fighter.

Alaska Airlines paired three of their pilots and captains with each of the kids as they individually strutted down the runway in their custom-made ensembles designed by Yang.

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The story of John Kahan and his wife, Heather, losing their son Aaron to SIDS 13 years ago inspired his colleagues at Microsoft to develop a data analysis tool for SIDS research, which they have donated to Seattle Children’s Research Institute. (Photo by Scott Eklund/Red Box Pictures)

John Kahan manages a team of renowned Microsoft data scientists who are changing how society can use data effectively, from deciding when to plant crops to creating predictive business models.

But when he’s not at work, Kahan commits his time to a personal mission: Raising awareness about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and fundraising for research. John and Heather Kahan lost their baby boy, Aaron, to SIDS shortly after his birth 13 years ago.

When Kahan’s data science team learned about Aaron, they volunteered to apply Microsoft technology to SIDS data and donate the company’s emerging tech tools to Seattle Children’s researchers who study SIDS.

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Hands-on experiments offered by many mobile science labs, like Seattle Children’s Science Adventure Lab, have been shown to positively impact test scores and drive interest in STEM subjects.

Researchers are calling for a greater focus on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education after a new study illustrated the reach and positive impact of mobile science labs in driving continued STEM interest in children in the U.S. – an interest researchers believe educators must work to foster as the demand in the STEM job market continues to grow.

Previous studies have reported that nine of the 10 fastest growing occupations in the U.S. require STEM skills and education, and employers are seeking workers already equipped with STEM knowledge. But according to the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)—known as “The Nation’s Report Card”— only one-third of high school students have the STEM skills needed for college-level classes and a career in STEM.

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Connor Pearcy, 5, with his family. Born with a tumor that did not respond to traditional therapies, he was enrolled in a clinical trial testing a new cancer drug. After four months of treatment, scans show his tumor is gone.

EDITOR’S UPDATE: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the cancer drug Vitrakvi (previously known as larotrectinib). Vitrakvi is indicated for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with metastatic or unresectable solid tumors that have a NTRK gene fusion without a known acquired resistance mutation, and have no satisfactory alternative treatments options or whose cancer has progressed following treatment. Read more about this landmark decision. 

Connor Pearcy, 5, was born with a tumor below his knee. A teenage boy developed a cancerous thyroid tumor in his neck. Connor and the teenager have very different tumors, but they are both on the same drug. How is that possible?

A new pediatric cancer trial at Seattle Children’s is testing a drug that targets a specific set of genetic alterations associated with soft tissue tumors in different parts of the body. Connor and the other patients in the trial have tumors that harbor one of the characteristic genetic changes the drug is designed to exploit.

Dr. Katie Albert, pediatric oncologist, and Dr. Doug Hawkins, associate division chief of Hematology and Oncology at Seattle Children’s, are overseeing the trial, which is making precision medicine possible for young cancer patients.

“It’s not easy having a child born with a tumor,” Amy Pearcy, Connor’s mom, said. “I appreciate that Dr. Hawkins never gave up looking for something new to offer, and so far it seems like we have found it.” Read full post »

Nicole Reeder and her mother, Susan, both participated in the I-SPY study to address Nicole’s migraine and sleep issues. Nicole is now benefiting from extended quality sleep and diminished headache pain following the study.

Days filled with pain, followed by restless nights, are more than nightmare scenarios for adolescents with chronic pain. Approximately half of all adolescents who suffer from chronic pain also have insomnia, a disorder characterized by difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep and experiencing poor quality sleep.

While there is ample research studying effective methods to treat adults who experience chronic pain and insomnia, there is very little as it pertains to adolescents. Seattle Children’s Research Institute is leading the way in changing this with an approach that focuses on empowering patients to improve their sleep to help treat their pain.

Dr. Tonya Palermo, an international expert in pediatric pain management at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, led a study recently published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. The study showed four brief sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) led to sustained improvement in sleep quality, psychological symptoms, and quality of life for adolescents experiencing insomnia and a co-occurring physical or mental health condition such as chronic pain, anxiety or depression. Read full post »

Food is the most likely source of exposure to the most harmful phthalates, which can also be found in household and personal care products.

Exposure during early pregnancy to some phthalates—man-made chemicals commonly found in household plastics, food and personal care products—can have adverse impacts on developing fetuses, according to a new study led by Dr. Sheela Sathyanarayana, a pediatric environmental health specialist at Seattle Children’s Research Institute and associate professor at the University of Washington.

The study, published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, found that increases in exposure to certain phthalates during the first trimester of pregnancy was associated with higher estrogen concentrations and lower testosterone concentrations in the fetus, thus increasing the chance of a genital abnormality in male babies at birth.

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Heather Armstrong and her daughter, Lauren, saw positive results from their time in the SHIFT study last year. Armstrong is now a SHIFT peer interventionist helping other families.

Heather Armstrong made a commitment to a healthier lifestyle when she volunteered herself and her 8-year-old daughter, Lauren, for a weight management treatment study at Seattle Children’s Research Institute.

For five months, Armstrong and Lauren attended weekly sessions in the Success in Health: Impacting Families Together (SHIFT) study that provided guidance and education to help them reach and sustain better eating and activity behaviors and ultimately better weight management. The sessions focused on healthy eating, supporting children throughout behavior changes, improving the home environment for physical activity and healthy eating, building confidence and incorporating more physical activity into family life. Read full post »

Seattle Children’s researchers developed a T cell that can both kill and resist HIV. On the left is a microscopic image of thousands of HIV-infected cells after being exposed to normal, unedited T cells. On the right is a microscopic image of HIV-infected cells after being exposed to edited T cells. The clumping in the image to the right indicates HIV positive cells are being killed by the edited T cells.

HIV is a cunning virus—it infects, takes over and shuts down the body’s T-cells that fight infection. This leaves HIV-positive individuals without immune power to fight off many types of infections, even a common cold, which can become deadly.

Researchers at Seattle Children’s Research Institute published two studies in the journal Molecular Therapy that could lead to a more permanent treatment that uses the power of the immune system to fight off disease. With the use of gene editing, they developed a T-cell that can both kill and resist HIV simultaneously, a promising step forward in the development of HIV immunotherapy.

“Our goal is to develop an HIV treatment that is more permanent than a daily drug,” said Dr. David Rawlings, director of the Center for Immunity and Immunotherapy at Seattle Children’s Research Institute. “In the future we hope this treatment would eliminate the need for HIV drugs that have negative side effects on people who need them to stay alive.” Read full post »

A pediatric heart surgery patient at the National Cardiovascular Center hospital in Jakarta, Indonesia. Researchers found giving babies thyroid hormone during and after heart surgery got them off ventilators faster.

Babies who need heart surgery in the U.S. have access to advanced healthcare and doctors that get them into the operating room quickly, allowing them to fix problems early and give the babies a chance at healthy growth.

But in developing countries, babies wait longer for surgery for a variety of reasons: Fewer qualified doctors, late diagnoses of heart conditions, and capacity issues at hospitals that cannot accommodate all the infants who need surgery. As a result, babies with heart conditions in developing regions of the world are often sicker and weaker when they finally have surgery.

Dr. Eva Marwali, a pediatric cardiac intensivist at the National Cardiovascular Center Harapan Kita in Jakarta, Indonesia sees this happen to babies in her country. She teamed up with Dr. Michael Portman, a cardiologist at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, and in a study out in the Annals of Thoracic surgery, they identified an easy, economical way to speed recovery for babies at her hospital who need lifesaving heart surgery. Read full post »