Transdisciplinary Initiatives Program (TIP)

"Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects nearly 1 in 54 children and constitutes a significant concern for public health, yet the etiology of the disorder is not known. Funding from MCHRI has allowed us to investigate, for the first time, neurobiological markers that detect autism and predict severity of autism symptoms in male and female children in novel quantitative ways that were not previously possible."

Kaustubh Supekar, PhD
The Taube Family Endowed Transdisciplinary Investigator for Maternal Child Health
Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

2024 Awards

Project Title: A Proof-of-Concept Pilot for a Multi-Modal Preclinical Screening Pipeline for the Inflammatory Demyelinating form of X-Linked Adrenoleukodystrophy
PI: Keith Van Haren, MD, Assistant Professor, Neurology and Neurological Sciences (Child Neurology)
Co-PI: Scott Dixon, PhD, Associate Professor, Biology

Project Title: Culture-Independent Rapid Sepsis Diagnostics
PI: Charles Gawad, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Pediatrics (Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, Stem Cell Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine)
Co-PI: Alberto Salleo, PhD, Professor, Materials Sciences

Project Title: Innovative Platform to Unravel the Mechanisms Behind Mucus Obstruction in Lung Disorders
PI: Carlos Milla, MD, Professor, Pediatrics (Pulmonary, Asthma and Sleep Medicine)
Co-PI: Gerald Fuller, PhD, Professor, Chemical Engineering

Project Title: Maladaptive Myelination in Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome
PI: Juliet Knowles, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Neurology and Neurological Sciences
Co-PIs: Paul Nuyujukian, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Bioengineering;
Jennifer McNab, PhD, Associate Professor, Radiology (Radiological Sciences Laboratory);
Elizabeth Tong, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Radiology (Pediatrict Radiology)

Project Title: The Effects of Prenatal Exposure to Psychosocial Stress, Environmental toxins, and Inflammation on the Development of Psychopathology in Young offspring: A Cross-Cultural Study
PIs: Ian Gotlib, PhD, Professor, Psychology;
David Stevenson, MD, Professor, Medicine (Neonatal and Developmental Medicine);
Marshall Burke, PhD, Associate Professor, Environmental Social Sciences
Co-PIs: Gary Shaw, DrPH, Professor, Pediatrics (Neonatal and Developmental Medicine);
Andres Cardenas, PhD, MPH, Assistant

Past Awards

FY 2023 Awards

2023 Awards

Project Title: Precision Treatment of Pediatric Cardiac Arrhythmias
PI: William Goodyer, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Pediatrics (Cardiology)
Co-PI: Chaitan Khosla, PhD, Professor, Chemistry, Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering

Project Title: Microstructural and Cellular Biomarkers of Brain Development in Children
PI: Kalanit Grill-Spector, PhD, Professor, Psychology
Co-PI: Sarah Heilshorn, PhD, Professor, Materials Science and Engineering

Project Title: Chronic Monitoring of Single-Neuron Activity and Neurotransmitters in the Neonatal Developing Enteric Nervous System
PI: Guosong Hong, PhD, Assistant Professor, Materials Science and Engineering
Co-PI: Julia Kaltschmidt, PhD, Associate Professor, Neurosurgery

Project Title: Organoid Models of Pediatric Leukemia
PIs: Kathleen Sakamoto, MD, PhD, Shelagh Galligan Professor, Pediatrics (Hematology/Oncology)
Emma Lundberg, PhD, Professor, Bioengineering
Calvin Kuo, MD, PhD, Professor, Medicine

FY 2022 Awards

2022 Awards

Project Title: High-dimensional Immunofluorescence Atlas of Tissue Architecture and Microbiome in Pediatric Fibro-stenosing Crohn's Disease
PI: Stephan Rogalla, MD, PhD. Medicine - Gastroenterology and Hepatology (School of Medicine)
Co-PI: Olav Solgaard, PhD. Director, Edward Ginzton Laboratory and Professor of Electrical Engineering (School of Engineering).

Project Title: Investigating the potential of quorum sensing molecules, produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, to produce sensory hearing loss in chronic suppurative otitis media
PI: Peter Santa Maria, MD, PhD. Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (School of Medicine)
Co-PI: Lynette Cegelski, PhD. Chemistry and, by courtesy, of Chemical Engineering (School of Humanities and Sciences)

Project Title: Instant ELISA: Extremely Rapid Biomarker Detection at the Bedside
PI: Tom Soh, MS, PhD. Radiology, Electrical Engineering, and By Courtesy Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering (School of Engineering)
Co-PI: Timothy Cornell, MD. Pediatric Critical Care Medicine (School of Medicine)

Project Title: Novel biopsy-free preimplantation genetic testing in embryos
PI: Bo Yu, MD, MS. Obstetrics & Gynecology - Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility (School of Medicine)
Co-PI: Stanley Qi, PhD. Bioengineering (School of Engineering)

Project Title: “Going from Manually-crafted to Digitally-designed Oral Devices: A Digital Workflow to Treat Neonates with Cleft Lip and/or Palate or Robin Sequence to Ameliorate Surgical Procedures.”
PI: HyeRan Choo, DDS, DMD, MS. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (School of Medicine)
Co-PI: Joseph Desimone, PhD. Radiology, Chemical Engineering and, by courtesy, of Chemistry, of Materials Science and Engineering, and of Operations IT at GSB (School of Engineering)

FY 2021 Awards

2021 Awards

Project Title: In Vivo Evaluation of Short Bowel Function Using Soft Bioelectronic Sensors
PI: James Dunn, MD, PhD, School of Medicine (Surgery)
Co-PI: Zhenan Bao, PhD, School of Engineering (Chemical Engineering)

Project Title: AI to Monitor Maternal and Child Health Globally in Near Real Time and At an Extremely High Spatial Resolution: A Proof-Of-Concept Study
PI: Pascal Geldsetzer, MD, PhD, MPH, School of Medicine (Medicine)
Co-PIs: Marshall Burke, PhD, School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences (Earth System Science); Gary Darmstadt, MD, MS, School of Medicine (Pediatrics); David Lobell, PhD, School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences (Earth System Science); Stefano Ermon, PhD, School of Engineering (Computer Science)

Project Title: Data-Driven Approach to Personalized Type 1 Diabetes for Underserved Populations Facilitated by Continuous Glucose Monitor Data and Telehealth: Scaling Beyond Lucile Packard Children's Hospital
PI: Ramesh Johari, PhD, School of Engineering (Management Science & Engineering)
Co-PIs: David Maahs, MD, PhD, School of Medicine (Pediatrics); Priya Prahalad, MD, School of Medicine (Pediatrics); David Scheinker, PhD, School of Medicine (Pediatrics)

Project Title: FocusLab
PI: Anthony Norcia, PhD, School of Humanities and Sciences (Psychology)
Co-PIs: Tawna Roberts, OD, PhD, School of Medicine (Ophthalmology); Euna Koo, MD, School of Medicine (Ophthalmology); Scott R. Lambert, School of Medicine (Ophthalmology); Ann Shue, MD, School of Medicine (Ophthalmology)

Project Title: Examining Communication and Marketing Strategies to Reduce Food Insecurity among Latinx Children in California's San Joaquin Valley
PI: Anisha Patel, MD, MSPH, MSHS, School of Medicine (Pediatrics)
Co-PI: Szu-Chi Huang, MA, PhD, Graduate School of Business (Marketing)

Project Title: Using Maternal Metabolomic Profiles to Determine Gestational Age and Risk of Preterm Birth and Preeclampsia in Low Resource Settings
PI: Victoria Ward, MD, School of Medicine (Pediatrics)
Co-PIs: David K. Stevenson, MD, School of Medicine (Pediatrics); Andrea Montanari, PhD, School of Engineering (Electrical Engineering and Statistics); Mohsen Bayati, PhD, MSc, Graduate School of Business (Operations, Information & Technology); Gary L. Darmstadt, MD, MS, School of Medicine (Pediatrics); Karl G. Sylvester, MD, School of Medicine (Surgery)

FY 2020 Awards

2020 Awards

Project Title: Modeling the Earliest Developmental Stages of Human Cardiac Vascularization using Pluripotent Stem Cells
PI: Daniel Bernstein, MD, Professor, School of Medicine (Pediatrics)
Co-Is: Oscar J. Abilez, MD, PhD, Instructor, School of Medicine (Medicine); Ellen Kuhl, MS, PhD, Professor, School of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering)

Project Title: Lysosomal Dysfunction in Childhood-Onset Neurodegeneration: Biochemical Profiling and Genetic Correction of Progranulin Deficiency
PI: Natalia Gomez-Ospina, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Medicine (Pediatrics)
Co-I: Monther Abu-Remaileh, Assistant Professor, School of Engineering (Chemical Engineering)

Project Title: Deciphering the Cellular and Molecular Basis of Congenital Arteriovenous Malformations Using Stem Cell-Derived Artery and Vein Endothelial Cells
PI: Kyle M. Loh, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Humanities & Sciences (Development Biology)
Co-Is: Kristy Red-Horse, Associate Professor, PhD, School of Humanities & Sciences (Biology); Marlene Rabinovitch, MD, Professor, School of Medicine (Pediatrics); Lay Teng Ang, PhD, Instructor, Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine

Project Title: Discovering Adolescents' Smartphone Food Environments
PI: Thomas N. Robinson, MPH, MD, Professor, School of Medicine (Pediatrics)
Co-Is: Byron Reeves, PhD; School of Humanities & Sciences (Communication); Kayvon Fatahalian, PhD; School of Engineering (Computer Science); Maneesh Agrawala, PhD, School of Engineering (Computer Science); Nilam Ram, PhD, School of Humanities and Sciences (Communication and Psychology)

Project Title: Identifying Neurobiological Markers of Autism by Leveraging "Big Data" and Using Deep Learning
PI: Kaustubh Supekar, PhD, The Taube Family Endowed Transdisciplinary Investigator for Maternal Child Health; Clinical Assistant Professor, School of Medicine (Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences)
Co-Is: Vinod Menon, PhD, Professor, School of Medicine (Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences); Tengyu Ma, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Engineering (Computer Science) & School of Humanities & Sciences (Statistics)

FY 2019 Awards

2019 Awards

Project Title: Prenatal Predictors of Child Mental Health: Testing a Neurobiological Model of Children’s Risk for Psychopathology
PI: Ian Gotlib, PhD, The Taube Family Endowed Transdisciplinary Investigator for Maternal Child Health,
School of Humanities & Sciences (Psychology)
Co-PI: David K. Stevenson, School of Medicine (Pediatrics)

Project Title: Reversal of Opioid-Induced Neonatal Cardiac Malformation Using CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing
PI: Detlef Obal, MD, PhD, DESA, School of Medicine (Anesthesiology, Perioperative & Pain Medicine)
Co-PI: Joseph C. Wu, MD, PhD, School of Medicine (Medicine); Lei (Stanley) Qi, MA, PhD, Schools of Engineering & Medicine (Bioengineering) and School of Medicine (Chemical & Systems Biology)

Project Title: Quantifying Regionalized Care Delivery and Outcomes Using Network Science
PI: Jochen Profit, MD, MPH, School of Medicine (Pediatrics)
Co-PI: Jurij Lesckovec, PhD, School of Engineering (Computer Science)

Project Title: Real-time Biosensor for Treating Type 1 Diabetes in Children
PI: H. Tom Soh, PhD, School of Engineering (Electrical Engineering and Radiology)
Co-PI: Bruce Buckingham, MD, School of Medicine (Pediatrics)

2018 Awards

Project Title: Small Molecules to Inhibit CREB: CBP Interaction for Treatment of Childhood Acute leukemia
PI: Kathleen Sakamoto, MD, PhD, School of Medicine (Pediatrics)
Co-PIs: Soichi Wakatsuki, MD, PhD, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory; Ron Dror, PhD, School of Engineering (Computer Science); Chaitan Khosla, PhD, School of Engineering (Chemical Engineering and Chemistry)

Project Title: Low-Cost Volumetric Ultrasound Body Scanner for pediatric Patients: Complete Abdominal 3D Imaging without Radiation
PI: Jeremy Dahl, PhD, School of Medicine, Department of Radiology
Co-PIs: Boris Murmann, PhD, School of Engineering (Electrical Engineering); Sebastian Thrun, PhD, School of Engineering (Electrical Engineering); Biondo Biondi, PhD, School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences (Geophysics)
Co-Is: Safwan Halabi, MD, School of Medicine (Radiology); Carl Herickhoff, PhD, School of Medicine (Radiology)

Project Title: Innovative Phenotyping and Theratyping of newborns with Cystic Fibrosis
PI: Carlos Milla, MD, School of Medicine (Pediatrics)
Co-PIs: Jeffrey Wine, PhD, School of Humanities & Sciences (Psychology); Ron Kopito, PhD, School of Humanities & Sciences (Biology)

Project Title: Development of a 3D Model for Human Placental Development to Improve Maternal and Child Health
Co-PIs: Alexander Dunn, PhD, School of Engineering (Chemical Engineering); Katherine Bianco, MD, School of Medicine (Obstetrics & Gynecology)
Co-Is: Roger Pedersen, PhD, School of Medicine (Obstetrics & Gynecology); Virginia Winn, MD, PhD, School of Medicine (Obstetrics & Gynecology); Ruth Lathi, MD, School of Medicine (Obstetrics & Gynecology); Vittorio Sebastiano, PhD, School of Medicine (Obstetrics & Gynecology)

FY 2017 Awards

Project Title: Role of mechanical stress in telomere shortening in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy cardiomyopathy
PI: Helen M. Blau, PhD, Microbiology & Immunology – Baxter Laboratory
Co-PI: Sarah C. Heilshorn, PhD, Materials Science & Engineering

Project Title: Integrated in vitro and in silico models of pulmonary valve dysfunction in children with Tetralogy of Fallot
PI: Alison L. Marsden, PhD, Pediatrics and Bioengineering
Co-PIs: John K. Eaton, PhD, Mechanical Engineering; Doff B. McElhinney, MD, Cardiothoracic Surgery

Project Title: The Health and Well-Being of Children in Immigrant Families
PI: Fernando S. Mendoza, MD, Pediatrics
Co-PIs: Jens Hainmueller, PhD, Political Sciences; David D. Laitin, PhD, Political Sciences; Tomás R. Jiménez, PhD, Sociology; Duncan Lawrence, PhD, Immigration Policy Lab

Project Title: Neurodevelopmental origins and predictors of childhood and adolescent anxiety: a big-data machine learning approach
PI: Vinod Menon, PhD, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Co-PI: James J. Gross, PhD, Psychology

FY 2015 Awards

Project Title: iPSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes to Determine Mechanisms by Which β-Cardiac Myosin Mutations Cause Pediatric Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
PI: Daniel Bernstein, MD, Pediatrics
Co-PIs: Beth Pruitt, PhD, Mechanical Engineering; James Spudich, PhD, Biochemistry; Alexander Dunn, PhD, Chemical Engineering

Project Title: Measuring Children’s Physical Activity and Sleep in the Real World: Processing and Analysis of High-Dimensional Accelerometry Data Using Statistical Learning Techniques
PI: Manisha Desai, PhD, Medicine
Co-PIs: Thomas Robinson, MD, Pediatrics; Clete Kushida, MD, PhD, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; Scott Delp, PhD, Bioengineering, Mechanical Engineering & Orthopedic Surgery; Ram Rajagopal, PhD, Civil and Environmental Engineering; Dennis Wall, PhD, Pediatrics

Project Title: Cerebellar Circuitry in Development, Learning, and Clinical Conditions
PI: Heidi Feldman, MD, PhD, Pediatrics
Co-PIs: Brian Wandell, PhD, Psychology; Bruce McCandliss, PhD, Education; Kristen Yeom, MD, Radiology

Project Title: The NSD2 methyltransferase in pediatric ALL
PI: Or Gozani, MD, PhD. Biology
Co-PIs: Julien Sage, PhD, Pediatrics and Genetics; Justin Du Bois, PhD, Chemistry; Norman J. Lacayo, MD, Pediatrics

Project Title: The role of ALDH2 genetic variation and aldehyde metabolism in hematopoietic stem cell biology and the pathogenesis of bone marrow failure
PI: Kenneth Weinberg, MD, Stem Cell Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine
Co-PIs: Daria Mochly-Rosen, PhD, Chemical and Systems Biology; Eric Kool, PhD, Chemistry; Matthew Porteus, MD, PhD, Stem Cell Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine

FY 2014 Awards

Project Title: Transforming Growth Factor Beta Induced Protein Promotes Pulmonary Angiogenesis in the Developing Lung by Activating NFκB and Wnt Signaling in the Pulmonary Endothelium
PI: Cristina Alvira, MD, Pediatrics
Co-PIs: Vinicio A. de Jesus Perez, MD, Medicine; Sarah Heilshorn, PhD, Materials Science and Engineering

Project Title: The development and application of novel methodologies for the interpretation of personal genomic data to elucidate the molecular underpinnings of prematurity and bronchopulmonary dysplasia
PI: Gill Bejerano, PhD, Developmental Biology & Computer Science
Co-PIs: Hugh O'Brodovich, MD, Pediatrics; Andrew Ng, PhD, Computer Science; Dmitri Petrov, PhD, Biology

Project Title: Characterizing Blood-Brain Barrier Transport and Brain Tumor Penetration of An Engineered Tumor-Targeting Peptide
PI: Gerald Grant, MD, Neurosurgery
Co-PIs: Jennifer Cochran, PhD, Bioengineering and Chemical Engineering; Edward Graves, PhD, Radiation Oncology; Mark Smith, PhD, Institute for Chemical Biology; Yoon-Jae Cho, MD, Neurology

Project Title: Generation and use of novel glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) activators to correct G6PD deficiency; application for neonatal jaundice
PI: Daria Mochly-Rosen, PhD, Chemical and Systems Biology
Co-PIs: Soichi Wakatsuki, PhD, SLAC and Dept of Structural Biology; David Stevenson, MD, Pediatrics

Project Title: The effect of the opportunistic microbes, Aspergillus fumigatus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, on deterioration of lung function in cystic fibrosis
PI: Jeff Wine, PhD, Psychology
Co-PIs: Richard Moss, MD, Pediatrics; David A. Stevens, MD, Medicine; Alfred Spormann, PhD, Civil & Environmental Engineering

FY 2013 Awards

Project Title: Towards Intestinal Stem Cell Transplantation for Pediatric Intestinal Disorders
PI: Calvin Kuo, MD, PhD, Medicine
Co-PIs: Andrew Bonham, MD, Transplant Surgery; Sarah Heilshorn, PhD, Materials Engineering; Karl Sylvester, MD, Pediatric Surgery

Project Title: Defining and Managing the Neuropsychological Abnormalities of Myotonic Dystrophy
PI: John W. Day, MD, PhD, Neurology, Pediatrics
Co-PIs: Michael Greicius, MD, MPH, Neurology; Brian Wandell, PhD, Psychology

Project Title: Improving the Accuracy of Diagnosing Concussions with Biomechanical and Plasma Biomarkers
PI: David Carmarillo, PhD, Bioengineering
Co-PIs: Tony Wyss Coray, MS, PhD, Neurology; Andrew Hoffman, MD, Medicine; Rebecca Shultz, PhD, Orthopedic Surgery

Project Title: Non-invasive MR Imaging Diagnosis of Transplant Rejection
PI: Heike Daldrup-Link, MD, Radiology
Co-PIs: Waldo Concepcion, MD, Surgery; Paul Grimm, MD, Pediatrics; Michael Moseley, PhD, Radiology; Dwight Nishimura, PhD, Electrical Engineering

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