The Stead Family Department of Pediatrics has a long, distinguished history of excellence in scientific discovery and a strong tradition of pediatric research programs led by physician scientists. Ours is a culture that values, respects, and supports curiosity and discovery. We have received national recognition for our research success. Over the past 15 years, the department has been highly ranked for its NIH funding, when compared with the pediatric departments of medical schools across the United States.
Strengths
Our department of is known nationally and internationally for its work in genetic and environmental contributors to pediatric disease. Other groundbreaking research includes:
- Treatment for asthma and cystic fibrosis
- Anemia and transfusion of pre-term infants
- Prevention/intervention/treatment of diabetes in children
- Breastfeeding promotion and support
- Epilepsy
- Neuromuscular disorders
- Fetal programming of cardiovascular disease
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Feeding disorders
- Disruptive behaviors
Structured Mentoring Program for the Development of Physician Scientists
The Stead Family Department of Pediatrics has a long-standing commitment to training future leaders in academic medicine. Through a defined process of identification and selection of mentors for our fellows, we have a strong history of successful fellow research mentorships. Along with our national recognition for research success, there are many opportunities for individualized postdoctoral research to place trainees on the path to an academic career.
- Details on our many subspecialty fellowship programs
- A description of our individualized training plan, with contact information for our Pediatric Physician Scientist Training Pathway (PSTP)
From Bench to Bedside
Clinical and translational research is particularly strong at Iowa. The University of Iowa's Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS) through its NIH-supported CTSA Child Health Leadership group interfaces with other ICTS groups and services to support child health research and researchers in multiple ways. Examples of these include:
- Assisting in grant preparation
- Biostatistical analysis
- Database creation and management
- Information technology assistance
Through the support of patient-oriented investigation, child health functions as a link fostering multidisciplinary activities and approaches that enhance and expand the scope of translational research at Iowa.
A Multidisciplinary Approach
The UI Department of Pediatrics is consistently highly ranked among all medical college departments in NIH research funding for pediatric diseases.
Pediatric laboratory investigation emphasizes cellular and molecular biology, developmental biology, applied genetics and genomics, animal models of human disease, and translational research. Studies in these areas emphasize a multidisciplinary team approach. Our collaborative research environment provides an outstanding setting for training the next generation of scientists with research interests focusing on problems that affect children's health.