Message from the CFRC Scientific Director

The Children’s Foundation Research Center of Memphis is approaching its tenth birthday! The progress made since the CFRC first opened its doors in 1995 is truly amazing. Although we owe much of our success to the hard work of our investigators, the vision and tireless support of the Children’s Foundation of Memphis have formed the catalyst for this success. The unique partnership of the Children’s Foundation, Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center conceived of the CFRC, made it a reality and has continued to sustain the Center.

The CFRC has evolved strong basic, clinical and translational research programs in the areas of Obesity/Nutrition, Cardiology/Hypertension, Pediatric Pharmacology, Inflammation in Pediatric Disease and Pediatric Wellness/Health Promotion. Many of the discoveries from these research teams have already made a positive impact on the health and well-being of children. Attainment of funding by CFRC investigators from the National Institutes of Health, an important benchmark for success in research, has increased dramatically over the past two years, reflecting an important payoff for the investment made in nurturing the careers of young pediatrician scientists.

The CFRC currently supports more than 30 full-time scientists. CFRC staff employ more than 75 research technicians, post-doctoral fellows, research nurses and study coordinators. We are proud of the 6 to 10 summer students we sponsor each year. These include medical, undergraduate and high school students. We are especially proud of the minority students we sponsor through the Memphis Challenge and McNair programs. The number of pediatric physician scientists has been steadily declining over the past two decades. Programs that spark an interest in science and biomedical research in students at an early stage of their career may help reverse this disturbing trend. As we look to the future, we thank the visionary alliance of the Children’s Foundation of Memphis, Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and look forward to continued support as we formulate a strategic plan to double the size of the CFRC over the next five years. We also thank LHS, Inc. for support in developing our successful Wellness/Health Promotion programs and a future state-of-the-art pediatric neuroscience research program.

We are very excited about the new Musette and Allen Morgan, Jr. Foundation for the Study of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis that will be based in the CFRC and will sponsor research to find new treatments for this debilitating liver disease. Most of all, we thank the members of Children’s Foundation of Memphis for their faith, confidence, involvement and unwavering sup-port of the CFRC. It has been my privilege and pleasure to serve as Scientific Director of the CFRC during the past five years of exciting growth, and I look forward to the future.

Happy Birthday, Children’s Foundation Research Center of Memphis!

Dennis D. Black, M.D. CFRC Scientific Director