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Our Centers

Center for Pharmacogenomics and Translational Research (CPTR)

At the Center for Pharmacogenomics and Translational Research (CPTR), our multidisciplinary team focuses on asthma and other diseases, with an eye toward tailoring treatments to fit each child’s individual needs.

Pharmacogenomics is the study of how genetic variations influence a person’s response to medication — why some drugs work better for some children than for others, and what part genes may play in a medication’s effectiveness. Translational research means taking what we learn in research and using that information to improve patient care — translating findings from the lab to the bedside.

The CPTR brings �ֲ���ý doctors, nurses, researchers and respiratory therapists together in a team approach to caring for children. Combining our research efforts with patient care allows �ֲ���ý doctors to achieve the best possible outcome for each child.

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Our work is divided into four active research sections:

The American Lung Association - Airways Clinical Research Centers (ALA-ACRC)

The primary mission of this nationwide 18-center network is to conduct large clinical trials (in diverse populations of people with asthma) that will have a direct impact on patient care and asthma treatment.

Since 1999, �ֲ���ý and the University of Florida have partnered in an ACRC research consortium that has been supported by more than $3 million in research support funding from the American Lung Association, enabling our team to make significant research contributions that advance patient care. �ֲ���ý Children's Health, Jacksonville, is one of only two facilities in Florida belonging to the prestigious ACRC network.

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Center for Pharmacogenetics

Researchers at the Center for Pharmacogenetics study the relationship between individual genetics and response to treatment. By examining this relationship, �ֲ���ý doctors are better able to determine if a child is more likely to be at risk for developing asthma, based on his or her individual genetic code, and which treatment plans might work best.

Pharmacogenetics is a relatively new discipline, and much of our current research efforts focus on asthma treatment, as prior studies have shown that today’s asthma drugs are effective in only about 50% of patients. This difference in response to asthma drugs is related to genetic variation. Knowledge of the genes that are responsible for the inadequate drug response will enable us to predict which drugs work best to treat asthma, ultimately creating personalized therapies. A personalized medical approach may be the future of medicine and will likely improve treatment for children and reduce medication side effects.

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Core Clinical Research Program

This important program supports �ֲ���ý scientists in diverse research areas, including studies relating to asthma and CF. CPTR research coordinators and staff are available for scientific consultation and support to �ֲ���ý clinical scientists interested in conducting research.

For consultations, call (904) 697-3925.

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�ֲ���ý Network for Asthma Research

This targeted program involves research into the diagnosis and treatment of asthma in non-ACRC research projects. The research areas of our program include Comparative Effectiveness and Outcomes Research, Sickle Cell Disease-Related Asthma and Lung Disease, Obesity-Related Asthma and Lung Disease, and the Impact of Nutrition on Asthma.

�ֲ���ý scientists currently have a wide range of externally-funded and multiyear grants (including NIH/NHLBI, Thrasher Research Fund, James and Esther King Biomedical Research Program) to study these important areas in asthma care.

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The �ֲ���ý Noninvasive Pulmonary Evaluation Lab (NIPEL)�� provides specialized respiratory testing that’s useful in the diagnosis of respiratory disease. The Center frequently collaborates with the departments of Pulmonology, Orthopedics, Pediatric Critical Care, Bone Marrow Transplant, Cardiology and Neonatalogy.

Under the direction of��Thomas H. Shaffer, MSE, PhD, the team’s revolutionary work with the use of perfluorochemicals for liquid ventilation for respiratory distress syndrome, blood substitutes and imaging is known worldwide, as is their work in developmental airway physiology and clinical pulmonary function evaluation in neonates.

Additionally, NIPEL has introduced a new pulse oscillometry machine as a noninvasive way of performing pulmonary function testing on small children.

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The Center for Pediatric Lung Research (CPLR)

The Center for Pediatric Lung Research uses progressive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and techniques to help ease the work of breathing for infants and children challenged by acute and chronic lung disease. The Center takes a proactive role in developing and fostering opportunities for research in neonatal and pediatric lung disease. Two labs support the CPLR’s work:

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�ֲ���ý Noninvasive Pulmonary Evaluation Lab (NIPEL)

The �ֲ���ý Noninvasive Pulmonary Evaluation Lab (NIPEL), provides specialized respiratory testing that’s useful in the diagnosis of respiratory disease. The Center frequently collaborates with the departments of Pulmonology, Orthopedics, Pediatric Critical Care, Bone Marrow Transplant, Cardiology and Neonatalogy. Under the direction of��Thomas H. Shaffer, MSE, PhD, the team’s revolutionary work with the use of perfluorochemicals for liquid ventilation for respiratory distress syndrome, blood substitutes and imaging is known worldwide, as is their work in developmental airway physiology and clinical pulmonary function evaluation in neonates. Additionally, NIPEL has introduced a new pulse oscillometry machine as a noninvasive way of performing pulmonary function testing on small children.

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�ֲ���ý Aerosol Research Lab

Many children with respiratory problems like asthma and CF inhale their medications in aerosol form — fine particles of medicine suspended in air or some other gas. Sometimes the nebulizers and inhalers they use to inhale these medications don’t work properly — because the medication particles are too large to get into the child’s lungs.

The �ֲ���ý Aerosol Research Lab has studied the delivery of inhaled therapies, focusing on getting more of the medicines where they’ll do the most good: in the lungs. By determining the right amount and size of particles that are needed, and finding ways to get the particles from their container into the lungs, the lab has helped children derive the most benefit from every dose of medication.