Research Collaborations

Our partnerships are a defining piece of our culture at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Our collaborations lead to discoveries meant to help children worldwide, not limiting our reach to only one part of the state or country.

NIH-Funded Center for Clinical and Translational Science

In 2008 the National Institutes of Health Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) brought together Wexner Medical Center at The Ohio State University, OSU’s seven health science colleges and Nationwide Children’s to create the OSU Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS). The Research Institute receives funding annually in support of CCTS activities. In addition, faculty members on the Nationwide Children’s campus are eligible to compete for pilot and training grants originating from the CCTS, and utilize shared resources, including clinical trial recruitment and retention services to help achieve recruitment goals.

Ohio Perinatal Research Network

The Research Institute, Nationwide Children’s, Wexner Medical Center and OSU have developed the Ohio Perinatal Research Network (OPRN), a research collaborative involving dozens of faculty members dedicated to a better understanding of preterm birth and its complications. A major effort of the OPRN is a research repository for clinical data and specimens from infants delivered prematurely and their mothers. These initial efforts are intended to facilitate large grant applications to the NIH and other agencies that will be available to researchers at the collaborating institutions. Nationwide Children’s and Wexner Medical Center are also teaming with OhioHealth, Mt. Carmel and additional community partners in the Ohio Better Birth Outcomes project (OBBO). OBBO is a community outreach program aimed at mothers and physicians to prevent preterm births.

Muscle Group

The Ohio State University and Nationwide Children’s Muscle Group was founded in 2006 as a way to bring investigators together with diverse research interests in skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and neuromuscular biology. The goal of the group is to foster interactions among our laboratories to improve the basic and translational approaches to treating muscle injury and disease. The group has grown to 26 laboratories with over 100 members spanning multiple schools and programs within our respective campuses. These include Cell Physiology, Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Pediatrics, Neurology, Cancer Genetics, Sports Medicine, Nutrition, Nursing, Neuroscience, and Dentistry.

Center for Microbial Interface Biology

Members of the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis and the Center for Vaccines and Immunity at The Research Institute interact with the larger microbial pathogenesis community at OSU through the Center for Microbial Interface Biology (CMIB), an official academic center. It includes more than 70 local investigators who share and discuss their current research and look for collaboration opportunities and grant submissions.

Rev1Ventures

Nationwide Children’s is a sustaining member of Rev1Ventures (formerly TechColumbus), an organization created to accelerate innovation, business growth, job creation, and prosperity in the 15-county region of central Ohio. Rev1Ventures works to create new companies, strengthen existing businesses, open doors to technology resources, and support the attraction and retention of technology-based businesses.

Battelle

Battelle Memorial Institute is a 501(c)(3) charitable trust headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, dedicated to scientific, educational, technology and community endeavors and investments for a safer, healthier, and more productive tomorrow. Battelle experts collaborate with leading professionals at national laboratories and universities, utilizing the best technology and best practices to address the world’s most pressing problems. In 2007, Battelle gave a $5 million gift to fund the Battelle Center for Mathematical Medicine and the Battelle Endowed Chair in Quantitative and Computational Biology at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s.

Nationwide Pediatric Innovation Fund

A $10 million gift from the Nationwide Insurance Foundation established the Nationwide Pediatric Innovation Fund at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, which supports pediatric research and innovative projects advancing the science and practice of pediatric health care. The Innovation Fund investments are directed long-term to both clinical and research program development and recruitment in areas of greatest priority.

The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center

A collaborative agreement among Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center broadens the study of childhood cancer and accelerates the transfer of key research findings to the clinical setting. The unique relationship between the three institutions is stimulating novel research and developing collaborations in pediatric cancer–related studies that will also have applications to adults.