Features

Watchful Waiting: The New Recommendation for Most Preterm Infants With PDA
Watchful Waiting: The New Recommendation for Most Preterm Infants With PDA 1024 683 Abbie Miller

A study published in JAMA found that treating patent ductus arteriosus with medication did not help with disease management but was associated with higher mortality.   A new study from the Neonatal Research Network, published in JAMA, found that treating patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in preterm infants with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or acetaminophen at…

Setting the Stage the Next Era of Gene Therapy for Ultrarare Disease
Setting the Stage the Next Era of Gene Therapy for Ultrarare Disease 1024 576 Abbie Miller

Researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital recently administered a novel gene therapy targeting SLC6A1, advancing precision medicine for children who previously could not be treated. Maxwell, age 8, made history this fall, when he received a bespoke gene therapy targeting his ultrarare disease. This wasn’t the first time he worked with the team at Nationwide Children’s…

3 Things to Know About Glomerular Disease
3 Things to Know About Glomerular Disease 1024 683 Gina Vitale, PTA

Gabriel Cara Fuentes, MD, PhD, offers insights for physicians regarding pediatric glomerular disease treatment and referral. Gabriel Cara Fuentes, MD, PhD, a pediatric nephrologist and principal investigator at the Kidney and Urinary Tract Research Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, is focused on a translational approach to improving pediatric care and outcomes. Since arriving at Nationwide…

Bringing Behavioral Health Into the Medical Home
Bringing Behavioral Health Into the Medical Home 1024 683 Pam Georgiana

Scaling integrated care across community pediatrics increases access to and utilization of mental health care. When a teenage patient shared feelings of anxiety and depression during a routine wellness visit, the pediatrician immediately called in the behavioral health clinician down the hall. Within minutes, both providers met with the patient and family. They left with…

Advancing Pediatric Behavioral Health: Care, Research and Prevention
Advancing Pediatric Behavioral Health: Care, Research and Prevention 150 150 Nationwide Children's

Meet David Axelson, MD, Chief of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Dr. Axelson and his team have achieved amazing things in the last decade, from more than doubling the volume of patients served to establishing a new research institute for mental and behavioral health, and they’re not slowing down. Read more By the Book: Guiding Teens…

Better Asthma Outcomes: A Systems-Level Approach
Better Asthma Outcomes: A Systems-Level Approach 1024 422 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES
Smiling child wearing a blue bike helmet and vest while riding outdoors on a sunny day, promoting bicycle safety and healthy outdoor activities for kids.

A dedicated team of experts embraced sweeping tactics to reduce asthma-related emergency department visits by 33% and inpatient length of stay by 0.9 days. This is how they did it. It started with a conversation about the data: Why are kids with asthma the hospital’s most frequent fliers? After all, excellent preventive and acute treatments…

Enhanced IV Line Clamp: A New Spin on a Classic
Enhanced IV Line Clamp: A New Spin on a Classic 1024 683 Madison Storm
Close-up of newly designed IV line clamps that improve patient safety and usability in hospitals by providing secure, easy-to-adjust flow control for intravenous therapy.

Revolutionizing patient care through human-centered design The IV line clamp is a long-standing technology used to deliver intravenous medications and fluids. For over 90 years, the simplistic, gravity-based design has remained unchanged, despite the growing complexity of patient care and significant advancements in medical technology. Enter Jenna Merandi, PharmD, MS, CCPS, medication safety officer, and…

How Medical-Legal Partnerships Support Families, Relieve Stress and Improve Health
How Medical-Legal Partnerships Support Families, Relieve Stress and Improve Health 1024 320 Wendy Margolin

With a small team of dedicated attorneys working as part of a medical-legal partnership, Lawyers for Kids is making an outsized impact for families at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. A classic example of a medical-legal partnership case is a child with asthma who frequently visits the emergency room. The parents and doctors know the cause is…

Bridging Care and Curiosity: Mentoring the Physician-Scientists of Tomorrow
Bridging Care and Curiosity: Mentoring the Physician-Scientists of Tomorrow 1024 316 Alaina Doklovic

The resident Research Pathway at Nationwide Children’s uniquely prepares trainees for medical research. Physician-scientists play a key role in bridging scientific discoveries and clinical care. That’s why Nationwide Children’s Hospital is committed to leading the path for the healers and innovators of tomorrow. The Research Pathway at Nationwide Children’s allows residents to pursue scientific and…

Cultivating Culture in a High-Growth, High-Performance Organization
Cultivating Culture in a High-Growth, High-Performance Organization 700 407 Catherine Krawczeski, MD
Catherine Krawczeski, MD

Catherine Krawczeski, MD, chief medical officer and physician-in-chief at Nationwide Children’s shares her thoughts on how to drive a positive, collaborative culture while pursuing academic and clinical excellence. When you walk through the doors of Nationwide Children’s Hospital, you can feel it: the energy, the sense of purpose and the collaborative spirit that make us…

Making Universal Donor CAR NK Cells
Making Universal Donor CAR NK Cells 1024 320 Abbie Miller

This article appeared in the 2025 Fall/Winter print issue. Download the issue here.   Image credit: Nationwide Children’s Read the Full Article: Universal Donor CAR NK Cells: A New Platform Technology for Cancer

Universal Donor CAR NK Cells: A New Platform Technology for Cancer
Universal Donor CAR NK Cells: A New Platform Technology for Cancer 1024 559 Abbie Miller
Intravenous (IV) chemotherapy or Cell therapy treatment bag surrounded by cancer cells, fighting the disease

A first-in-human study of universal donor CAR NK cells for acute myeloid leukemia could pave a path for a new approach to treating cancer If you ask Dean Lee, MD, PhD, the new first-in-human trial to evaluate universal donor chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) natural killer (NK) cells in patients with advanced, high-risk acute myeloid leukemia…

From the Operating Room to the Clinic: A New Protocol for Ear Tube Surgery
From the Operating Room to the Clinic: A New Protocol for Ear Tube Surgery 675 450 Alaina Doklovic
Pediatric patient at a follow-up appointment after in-office ear tube insertion, with a doctor examining the child’s ear while the mother provides support.

Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the only pediatric hospitals to offer in-office ear tubes as an established choice in their standard of care.  In the United States, bilateral myringotomy/ tympanostomy tube insertion (BTI), also known as ear tube surgery, is the most performed ambulatory pediatric surgery with about 667,000 children needing the procedure every…

Beyond the Bedside: Nurses Conducting Research to Transform Pediatric Outcomes
Beyond the Bedside: Nurses Conducting Research to Transform Pediatric Outcomes 1024 683 Madison Storm
Teenage girl having stomach ache, young woman health care provider examining her.

Nurses are vital to clinical research – supporting and conducting it. At Nationwide Children’s Hospital, nurse scientists are dedicated to advancing prevention, diagnosis and treatment of pediatric health conditions.   Nurses at Nationwide Children’s Hospital have long been recognized for their compassionate care and clinical expertise. These high-performing clinicians consistently collaborate with other teams to ensure…

Transforming the Approach to Cancer Epigenomic Studies
Transforming the Approach to Cancer Epigenomic Studies 1024 764 Abbie Miller

Two new publications from the Center for Childhood Cancer Research at Nationwide Children’s offer a new platform technology and proof of concept that illuminates the role of a known gene fusion driving rhabdomyosarcoma.  Synergy is an important part of scientific endeavors, and people, teams and organizations who can harness the energy of ideas and passion…

Meet Our Expert: Albert Isaacs, MD, PhD, Neurosurgeon and Genomic Scientist
Meet Our Expert: Albert Isaacs, MD, PhD, Neurosurgeon and Genomic Scientist 864 576 Lauren Dembeck

Albert Isaacs, MD, PhD, is a pediatric neurosurgeon at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and an assistant professor of Neurological Surgery at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. His research focuses on uncovering the molecular and immunologic drivers of neonatal hydrocephalus, with the goal of developing preventative treatments for at-risk infants. Dr. Isaacs’ extensive background and…

Forging the Future of Sarcoma Care and Research
Forging the Future of Sarcoma Care and Research 150 150 Nationwide Children's

Precision Medicine for Children With Sarcoma At age 7, Will was diagnosed with an osteosarcoma after breaking his leg while visiting his grandmother in Pennsylvania. Scans of the injury revealed that Will’s broken leg was likely caused by a tumor. Hundreds of miles from home and overwhelmed by their son’s crushing cancer diagnosis, Will’s parents…

New Trial Aims to Boost Kids’ Immune Systems to Fight Neuroblastoma
New Trial Aims to Boost Kids’ Immune Systems to Fight Neuroblastoma 1024 558 Lauren Dembeck

A new cellular therapy approach could improve outcomes and ease the treatment burden for patients and families. Neuroblastoma is rare, with only 700 to 800 new cases diagnosed in the United States each year, but it is the most common extracranial solid tumor in children. Neuroblastoma typically occurs in children younger than 5 years, with…

A Simple Intervention With Great Potential
A Simple Intervention With Great Potential 1024 585 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

If the CORD-CHD Study meets even a single endpoint, it will represent one of the simplest and most accessible improvements in congenital heart disease management in recent history. The concept is elegant in its simplicity: delay clamping the umbilical cord for a minute or two after birth to allow a gentle increase in the baby’s…

6 Key Insights for Understanding Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension
6 Key Insights for Understanding Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension 1024 575 Pam Georgiana

Nationwide Children’s pulmonary hypertension expert offers insights into the condition. Sarah P. Cohen, MD, physician in the Division of Pulmonary, Sleep Medicine and Cystic Fibrosis at Nationwide Children’s and assistant professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University, recently shared six essential insights for understanding pulmonary hypertension, a rare yet serious condition characterized by abnormally…

Who Do You Trust?
Who Do You Trust? 1024 304 Abbie Miller

Health and science communicators face increasing challenges in a world where misinformation abounds and trust is a coveted commodity. You might have heard the phrase “post-truth world” used to describe the shifting dynamics of fact, fiction and trusted sources. With the increase in artificial intelligence (AI) generated content, the end of fact-checking on the world’s…

Single Ventricle, Many Research Angles
Single Ventricle, Many Research Angles 1024 658 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

An overview of the people and projects behind one of the world’s most robust single-ventricle heart disease research hubs.  In the field of single-ventricle heart disease (SVHD), there are more questions than answers. What causes the heart to form with only one ventricle? At what point in fetal development might we intervene to improve its…

Setting the Standard for Cloacal Malformation Management
Setting the Standard for Cloacal Malformation Management 1024 928 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

The team in the Center for Colorectal and Pelvic Reconstruction at Nationwide Children’s Hospital has transformed the profession’s approach to surgical care and follow-up, dramatically altering patient outcomes in the process. To say that cloacal malformation management has been historically understudied may be an understatement. “At the time we published our surgical protocol, it was…

Clinical Genomics: From Research to Reality
Clinical Genomics: From Research to Reality 1024 716 Abbie Miller

Without genomic sequencing, many genetic diseases would never be diagnosed. Genomic testing — whole exome or whole genome sequencing — is vital to reducing the diagnostic odyssey for children with rare, undiagnosed disease. But is genetic analysis only useful in these cases? Experts across the country have long suggested that genomic testing can be even…

From Bench to Bedside: Collaborations Drive Meaningful Change
From Bench to Bedside: Collaborations Drive Meaningful Change 1024 360 Abbie Miller

The move from a research-first approach to genomic testing to offer more clinically available assays was driven in part by limitations in current clinical testing offerings, as well as by the decreasing cost and turn-around time of genomic sequencing. This environment drove the development of translational protocols. “Our team works with researchers, clinicians and others…

Genomic Analysis: Overcoming a Formidable Challenge
Genomic Analysis: Overcoming a Formidable Challenge 1024 360 Abbie Miller

Despite the improvements in scale and speed of generating genomic sequencing data, the challenge of genomic analysis and its costs remains. “In my opinion, the cost of data analysis has always been the largest component of the overall cost,” says Elaine Mardis, PhD, co-executive director of the Steve and Cindy Rasmussen Institute for Genomic Medicine…

Studying the Environment’s Impact on Pediatric Health Outcomes
Studying the Environment’s Impact on Pediatric Health Outcomes 1024 619 Wendy Margolin

A massive population database is expected to inform and transform children’s health outcomes. Researchers from Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University are focusing on how early exposures might be associated with areas such as neurodevelopment and cardiovascular outcomes as part of a large national study, Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program.…

Managing the Pain of Medical Procedures With Virtual Reality
Managing the Pain of Medical Procedures With Virtual Reality 1024 572 Mary Bates, PhD

Clinicians across departments pilot a virtual reality game for pediatric pain management, moving virtual reality closer to clinical standard practice. A recent pilot study from researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital demonstrated the benefits of a virtual reality (VR) game during potentially painful procedures in different clinical settings. Providers and patients reported positive feedback to the…

Congenital Hypothyroidism: What Endocrinologists Need to Know
Congenital Hypothyroidism: What Endocrinologists Need to Know 1024 585 Pam Georgiana

Your top 10 questions are answered by Nationwide Children’s experts from the Division of Endocrinology. Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is a common endocrine disorder, affecting approximately 1 in every 2,000 to 4,000 live births globally. Confusion regarding proper screening and follow-up protocols for this serious yet preventable condition impact clinical care and outcomes for children with…

Meet Amy Brown Schlegel, MD, Section Chief of Neonatology
Meet Amy Brown Schlegel, MD, Section Chief of Neonatology 1024 603 Pam Georgiana

After over a decade in Neonatology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Dr. Schlegel has been appointed section chief of Neonatology. We recently sat down to talk with Dr. Schlegel about her time at Nationwide Children’s and her plans for leading the next phase of growth in Neonatal care. Amy Brown Schlegel, MD, practices Neonatology in the…

Leveraging Technology and Partnerships to Transform Pediatric Orthopedic Care
Leveraging Technology and Partnerships to Transform Pediatric Orthopedic Care 1024 683 Erin Gregory

An interview with Allen A. Kadado, MD, director of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Center for Orthopedic Innovation, director of the Nationwide Children’s Pediatric Orthopedic Residency Program At Nationwide Children’s Hospital, the Department of Orthopedics drives pediatric health care innovation through collaborations that bridge clinical expertise and technological advancement. Specializing in areas like spinal deformities, trauma…

More Than One REMEDY for Genetic Disorders
More Than One REMEDY for Genetic Disorders 1024 768 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

How a new approach to correcting heterozygous mutations and other novel techniques for gene editing are transforming the potential to combat disease The field of gene therapy has had some astounding success in recent years — much of which emerged from labs at Nationwide Children’s Hospital — but it has also stumbled over some serious…

Innovative Highchair Design Revolutionizes Pediatric Care: A Collaborative Journey From Concept to Prototype
Innovative Highchair Design Revolutionizes Pediatric Care: A Collaborative Journey From Concept to Prototype 1024 683 Madison Storm

Highchairs are common in homes with babies and toddlers, as well as in places such as hospitals and restaurants where young children are fed. In hospitals, they are mainly used in pediatric care for infants, toddlers and children undergoing treatment or recovery. Highchairs provide a safe, stable seating option during meals and interactions with family,…

What’s New in Pulmonary Care for Children With Sickle Cell Disease?
What’s New in Pulmonary Care for Children With Sickle Cell Disease? 1024 575 Erin Gregory
Illustration of lungs on blue silhouette of upper chest on black background

A recent publication reviews the impact of pulmonary complications on children and youth with sickle cell disease (SCD) and offers suggestions to improve outcomes. Pulmonary complications are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children with sickle cell disease (SCD), yet they remain underrecognized and undertreated. A recent review published in Clinics in Chest Medicine…

Pivotal New Research Fuels Possibilities for Aggressive Pediatric Brain Cancer
Pivotal New Research Fuels Possibilities for Aggressive Pediatric Brain Cancer 1024 414 Wendy Margolin

A new umbrella trial of molecularly driven therapies for high-grade gliomas (HGG) and diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) aims to improve quality of live and extend survival rates for these aggressive tumors. The diagnosis of high-grade glioma (HGG), a type of aggressive, malignant brain tumor, in pediatric patients is particularly heartbreaking. HGGs are one of…

Meet Karen Texter, MD, Director of Fetal Echocardiography at Nationwide Children’s
Meet Karen Texter, MD, Director of Fetal Echocardiography at Nationwide Children’s 1024 691 Abbie Miller

Karen Texter, MD, is a pediatric cardiologist and director of Fetal Echocardiography at Nationwide Children’s. Her clinical and research interests include echocardiography in congenital and acquired heart disease and fetal cardiology. What inspired you to pursue a career in pediatric cardiology? How did you get into fetal cardiology, specifically? My interest in pediatric cardiology really…

Filling the Pipeline for Behavioral Health Professionals
Filling the Pipeline for Behavioral Health Professionals 150 150 Abbie Miller and Shannon Caldwell

Brittany Schaffner, IMFT-S, LPCC-S, shares how a new college course and professional resources are helping more students meet the need for behavioral health care in pediatrics. Tell us about your role at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. I’m a behavioral health clinical training supervisor here at Nationwide Children’s. I facilitate training programs for a wide range of…

Nephrotoxic-Associated Acute Kidney Injury (NAKI) Is Avoidable
Nephrotoxic-Associated Acute Kidney Injury (NAKI) Is Avoidable 375 280 Pam Georgiana

Quality improvement initiative at Nationwide Children’s Hospital leads to significant reductions in NAKI. Nephrotoxic-associated acute kidney injury (NAKI) — an under-recognized but serious risk in pediatric hospital care — affects up to 25% of hospitalized children. It occurs when medications or toxins reduce kidney function by disrupting blood flow, damaging renal cells or triggering inflammation.…

Meet Prof Eileen Africa: Fulbright Scholar and Sports Medicine Expert
Meet Prof Eileen Africa: Fulbright Scholar and Sports Medicine Expert 1024 683 Abbie Miller

Prof Eileen Africa, an associate professor in the Division of Movement Science and Exercise Therapy in the Department of Exercise, Sport, and Lifestyle Medicine at Stellenbosch University in South Africa and a Fulbright scholar, recently visited Nationwide Children’s to work with Dr. James MacDonald and the Sports Medicine Team conducting research about the effectiveness of…

Meet Antonio Cabrera, MD, Chief of Cardiology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Meet Antonio Cabrera, MD, Chief of Cardiology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital 150 150 Abbie Miller

Antonio Cabrera, MD, FAAP, FAHA, FACC, FHFSA, is the division chief of cardiology and co-director of the Heart Center. He is a professor of pediatrics at The Ohio State University and currently holds the Nationwide George H. Dunlap Endowed Chair in Pediatric Cardiology. Previously, Dr. Cabrera served as the L. George Veasy Presidential Professor at…

The Current and Future State of Scoliosis Care and Research
The Current and Future State of Scoliosis Care and Research 1024 683 Madison Storm

In the United States alone, scoliosis affects an estimated 7 million people – just under twice the population of Los Angeles – according to the Scoliosis Research Society. Each year, an estimated 30,000 children begin wearing braces for treatment.  Over time, the treatments available for different types of scoliosis have continued to advance, in large…

4 Things to Know About Bladder Exstrophy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
4 Things to Know About Bladder Exstrophy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital 1024 734 Abbie Miller

Led by V. Rama Jayanthi, MD, and Peter Cuckow, MB, BS, FRCS, the Bladder Exstrophy Program at Nationwide Children’s is poised to launch a new era of care for children in the United States. When Drs. Jayanthi and Cuckow start talking about their new program, their excitement is palpable. “We’re so excited to bring this…

Meet David Axelson, MD, Chief of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health
Meet David Axelson, MD, Chief of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health 1024 647 Shannon Caldwell

Dr. Axelson and his team have achieved amazing things in the last decade, from more than doubling the volume of patients served to establishing a new research institute for mental and behavioral health, and they’re not slowing down. We recently sat down to talk with Dr. Axelson about his time at Nationwide Children’s and his…

Treating Obesity With GLP-1s — Finding the Way Forward
Treating Obesity With GLP-1s — Finding the Way Forward 150 150 Abbie Miller

Using lessons learned from medicating mental and behavioral health conditions, Stephen Cook, MD, offers suggestions about how medications approved for adolescents with obesity should become part of care.   For most of the time in Western medicine, people have treated obesity like a choice — not a disease. Like other conditions now understood to be…

Approaching Uncertainty in Medicine With a Growth Mindset
Approaching Uncertainty in Medicine With a Growth Mindset 1024 531 Abbie Miller

In baseball, a really good batting average is .333 — which means the batter hits the ball and gets to first base a third of the time. That also means they miss —they fail — two-thirds of the time. Medical providers are expected to get things right 100% of the time,” says Michael Patrick, MD,…

Weight-Based Stigma and Its Impact on Children With Obesity
Weight-Based Stigma and Its Impact on Children With Obesity 1024 376 Alaina Doklovic

More children in the United States live with obesity than any other chronic condition. The obesity rate among U.S. children and teens has more than tripled since 1980, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Although there are numerous efforts underway to help children and adults reach and maintain a healthy weight,…

Virtual Surgical Planning for Musculoskeletal Oncology
Virtual Surgical Planning for Musculoskeletal Oncology 150 150 Abbie Miller

CT of pelvis showing tumor MRI of pelvis showing tumor Step 1: Data acquisition: Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance images (MRI) are obtained during the same visit with markers used to help align the scans to create the composite image. That composite is used to develop the virtual model. Step 2: The 3D Printing and Innovations…

Biofilms: The Good, the Bad & the Groundbreaking
Biofilms: The Good, the Bad & the Groundbreaking 1024 615 Katie Brind'Amour, PhD, MS, CHES

Decades of research into the structure and function of bacterial biofilms have begun to pay off in the form of imminent clinical applications capable of harnessing both the protective and problematic aspects of this universal phenomenon. Imagine a hospital emergency department filled with patients — those with painful ear infections, recurrent urinary tract infections, fevers…

From Scan to Plan: Making Virtual Surgical Planning the Standard of Care for Ortho-oncology Operations
From Scan to Plan: Making Virtual Surgical Planning the Standard of Care for Ortho-oncology Operations 1024 281 Abbie Miller

“We deal in rarities,” says Thomas Scharschmidt, MD, director of the Pediatric Orthopedic Oncology Program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and professor of Orthopedics at The Ohio State University. “When you consider that across the entire U.S. population, we have between 2,500 and 3,000 cases of primary malignant bone tumors each year, and only half of…

Lessons Learned: From First Gen Student to Chief Scientific Officer
Lessons Learned: From First Gen Student to Chief Scientific Officer 1024 683 Nationwide Children's

Joanne Turner, PhD, chief scientific officer at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, shares what it’s like to go from first gen college student to academic leadership.    What inspired you to go to college and pursue a bachelor’s degree in science? When I was in school, college never came up as…