Research and Clinical Trials
Our pediatric investigators are making important scientific discoveries to advance child health and prevent and treat a wide range of childhood diseases. Our pediatric investigators are engaged in the full spectrum of pediatric research from basic mechanisms of disease to clinical/translational research to quality and process improvement science. Our efforts have led to improved outcomes and quality of life for the children of New Jersey and around the globe. The faculty of Hackensack Meridian Children’s Health lead local, national and international clinical trials research.
What Families Should Know About Pediatric Clinical Trials
A Pediatric Clinical Trial asks families and children to help doctors and scientists answer questions about child health or disease. A Pediatric Clinical Trial may test new ways to prevent, detect or treat disease, learn about the long-term course of a disease, or help us to learn if a new drug or treatment is safe and effective.Being part of a Clinical Trial may improve your child’s health. Your child may be offered new experimental drugs or treatments that are not available outside of a Clinical Trial. You will be seen by leading doctors at the forefront of their fields. Results of this research might help develop new information about your child’s medical condition and help other children with the same condition. But there is no guarantee that your child will see a direct benefit from being in a clinical trial. It is important that all kinds of people are included in Clinical Trials to make sure new treatments are safe and effective for children of all ages and backgrounds. Clinical Trials have led to important discoveries that make our lives better.
Your child’s safety will be monitored closely by the Principal Investigator, who is the doctor in charge of the study. An Institutional Review Board (IRB), a local independent committee made up of medical experts and members of your community, oversees all Clinical Trials to make sure that patients’ rights are protected.
It is your choice whether or not to allow your child to join a Clinical Trial. Before you decide, the research staff will explain the study to you, you will be able to ask questions and you be asked to give informed consent. You may refuse and if you consent you have the right to change your mind and quit the trial at any time without affecting the medical care your child receives.
Overview
Our physician investigators have made significant contributions to pediatric clinical research and have received national recognition in the following subspecialties: Blood and Marrow Transplantation, Endocrinology, Genetics, Hematology, Neonatology, Oncology, and Rheumatology.
Due to their significant involvement in pediatric clinical research, our investigators are members of the following national and international consortiums:
Blood and Marrow Transplant Consortium
Childhood Arthritis & Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA)
Children Oncology Group
North American Pediatric Aplastic Anemia Consortium Steering Committee Meeting (NAPAAC)
Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators
Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Consortium
Primary Immune Deficiency Consortium Member
Prospective Pediatric Acute Kidney Injury Research Group
Hackensack Meridian Health Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI)
The Hackensack Meridian Health Center for Discovery and Innovation (CDI) is an academic-based entrepreneurial center that rapidly harnesses innovations arising from a new renaissance in biomedical sciences to restore patient health. It’s where new revolutionary therapies are created to help physicians orchestrate the best possible care.
The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
The Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine is a world-class medical school, offering students broad access to train at Hackensack Meridian Health's 17 hospitals, including three academic medical centers, and other medical facilities in the state. The medical school recognizes research as an essential piece of advancing care at our hospitals.
Other Research Programming
Healthy Steps - An evidence-based, interdisciplinary pediatric primary care program that promotes positive parenting and healthy development for babies and toddlers with an emphasis on culturally diverse families living in low-income communities. Child-focused and adult-focused outcomes include well child care visit and vaccination rates, avoidance of childhood obesity, maternal depression screening and referral for services, and adherence to child safety practices among many others.
New Jersey Integrated Care for Kids (InCK) Model - The goal of this population-based approach and the associated APM is to identify children and adolescents who are covered under New Jersey Medicaid and who have higher than average health issues as indicated by a combination of factors, including medical, behavioral and social risks. Once identified, this model aims to improve their outcomes, including reducing Emergency Department use, inpatient admissions and out-of-home placements for escalated behavioral needs and substance use disorders through integrated care coordination and case management.
