THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA RECEIVES $500,000 BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB UNRESTRICTED NUTRITION GRANT
Contact: Kajsa Haracz, (215) 590-7092; [email protected]
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 2 --- The Nutrition Center of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, which supports the pediatric nutrition clinical, educational and research activities at Children's Hospital and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, has received a $500,000 Bristol-Myers Squibb Unrestricted Nutrition Research Grant. The unrestricted grant will support wide-ranging clinical and basic research in human nutrition and related areas of research for both healthy children and those with serious chronic disorders.
The grant will be supervised by Virginia A. Stallings, M.D., Director of the Nutrition Center and Deputy Director of the Stokes Research Institute at Children's Hospital. Dr. Stallings was also recently appointed to the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine within the National Academy of Sciences.
The grant was announced by David A. Cook, Ph.D., Vice President, Global Scientific Affairs, Mead Johnson Nutritional Group of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. "The Nutrition Center is emerging as a national and international leader in pediatric nutrition research," said Dr. Cook, "with a focus on innovative multi-disciplinary research in areas of major pediatric health issues. We're very pleased to welcome Dr. Stallings and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to our roster of 167 leading research institutions throughout the world who have received grants from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation."
"This grant will help us conduct ground breaking research that translate common sense about good nutrition into scientific proof and treatments for children suffering from cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disease, cerebral palsy, obesity and osteoporosis," said Dr. Stallings. "We once thought that poor growth was always a part of the chronic disease, but we now know nutrition problems play major, major roles, and often can be improved with nutrition-based therapy."
Researchers at the Nutrition Center, established in 1985, have concentrated on growth and nutrition problems in children with common chronic diseases. Center staff members have led efforts to improve nutritional care for children with two of these conditions, cystic fibrosis and cerebral palsy; ongoing studies target nutritional problems in children with sickle cell disease, Crohn's disease, osteoporosis, lipid disorders and obesity.
The Center provides a central facility for interdisciplinary research, relying on a large variety of sophisticated devices for measuring body composition, bone density, food intake and energy expenditure.
The nutrition program is one of six biomedical research grants programs funded by the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation. The others support research in cancer, cardiovascular/metabolic diseases, infectious disease, neuroscience, and orthopaedics. More than $80 million has been committed to these programs to date.
Each of the six Bristol-Myers Squibb Unrestricted Biomedical Research Grants Programs also consists of an annual award for distinguished achievement to an individual researcher. As supervisor of an unrestricted nutrition research grant, Dr. Stallings is automatically a member of an independent Selection Committee that selects the winner of the annual $50,000 Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Distinguished Achievement in Nutrition Research.
Bristol-Myers Squibb is a diversified worldwide health and personal care company whose principal businesses are pharmaceuticals, consumer products, nutritionals and medical devices. It is a leading maker of innovative therapies for cardiovascular, metabolic and infectious diseases, central nervous system and dermatological disorders, and cancer. The company is a leader in consumer medicines, orthopaedic devices, ostomy care, wound management, nutritional supplements, infant formulas, and hair and skin products. Visit Bristol-Myers Squibb on the World Wide Web at: http:/www.bms.com.
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the nation's first children's hospital, is a leader in patient care, education and research. This 373-bed multispecialty hospital provides comprehensive pediatric service, including home care, to children from before birth through age 19. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia admits more than 16,000 patients, and cares for more than 50,000 emergency patients and 500,000 patients annually. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia operates a pediatric healthcare network that also includes The Joseph Stokes, Jr. Research Institute, eight outpatient specialty care centers, four primary care centers, inpatient units at three community hospitals, a poison control center and 28 Kids First physician practices in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. Visit The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on the World Wide Web at: http:/www.chop.edu.
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