Welcome to Cornerstone!

Welcome to Cornerstone, the new blog of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute. We’re really excited to be launching this blog, where we’ll regularly be sharing news, interviews with CHOP investigators, and other commentary related to pediatric health.

The word research comes from the Old French word recercher, which means “to seek out, search closely,” and that’s just what CHOP’s researchers do every day: they seek out knowledge by looking closely at things, in the process helping us better understand the world around us. And research is the cornerstone of medical progress: without it, we wouldn’t have new treatments or medicines.

Here at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, we have a long history of “going first and being first” and improving the lives of countless children by conducting innovative, groundbreaking research, including:

• Being the first to develop the closed incubator for newborns
• The development the balloon catheter for the treatment of certain heart defects
• Discovering the cause of infectious mononucleosis
• Developing vaccines for mumps, whooping cough, and influenza

Indeed, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute is a very busy place: in the last few months alone, researchers at CHOP have ushered us into a new era of cancer therapy, identified genes that increase the risk of childhood obesity, improved our understanding of how mitochondria work, and testified before Congress about preventing and treating traumatic brain injury.

Rarely does a day go by without some new, exciting development, so be sure to check back often for updates.

Phil

Philip R. Johnson, MD
Director, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute
Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice President