The Children's National Medical Center (CNMC) proposes to develop a Washington D.C. Pediatric Pharmacology Research Unit (W-PPRU) in collaboration with the Departments of Pediatrics of Georgetown University Medical Center and Howard University Hospital. The District of Columbia is a multiethnic, multiracial, and multicultural community with a broad socioeconomic base, ideally suited to perform clinical and translational pediatric research. This W-PPRU collaboration will bring complementary strengths and interests from the 3 institutions (i.e., broad patient base, minority recruitment of both subjects and trainees, translational and basic science programs). The PPRU will be housed within the NCRR funded Pediatric Clinical Research Center at CNMC in 3,000 sq. ft. of clinical space; it will have facilities for inpatient and outpatient studies. Although not currently a PPRU, CNMC has participated in 124 clinical trials that have enrolled 1494 children over the past 4 years. This has involved over 50 pediatric faculty in 12 subspecialties. The Principal Investigator, John van den Anker, M.D., Ph.D. is a neonatologistlclinical pharmacologist with prior experience as PI of a PPRU. The Unit will include a core laboratory that provides both mass spectrometry and molecular genetics resources and strong research pharmacy support. Additionally, there is a strong Data Management unit. The training mission will involve didactic courses, practicum experiences, and career development opportunities for a broad range of health care professionals. Proposed drug evaluation studies include pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic models for optimizing the treatment of neonatal pain (morphine), and the use of off-patent drugs (dopamine and dobutamine). Additional pharmacological studies will bring to the PPRLI Network new drugs used in Orphan Diseases (Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and Urea Cycle Disorders) for which CNMC is an international Center.
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