Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute

Funding at ACHRI: Capability, Collaboration, and Community

“In 2007, funding at ACHRI topped $20 million for the first time in its 15-year history,” says Richard F. Jacobs, MD, FAAP, Horace C. Cabe Professor and Chairman, Department of Pediatrics, UAMS, and President, ACHRI.

ACHRI research support comes from grants and contracts with federal, state, industry and private agencies and from and philanthropic donations. Federal funds account for $12.8 million of ACHRI’s research support money. Of this federal support, $6.7 million is from the USDA and $4.3 million is from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Funds from the State of Arkansas total $5 million. State funds include support from the Arkansas Biosciences Institute, created as the major research component of the Tobacco Settlement Proceeds Act of 2000. ACHRI researchers receive the majority of these funds through grant applications and contract arrangements to support their research efforts.

A handful of scientists were present when ACHRI opened its doors at Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Today more than 100 researchers conduct their research in the highly collaborative, multidisciplinary culture that has evolved within the institute. “ACHRI embraces various forms of research from healthcare policy to molecular biology and from translational research to network collaborations,” says Dr. Jacobs.

The strength of this diversity of research interests is a reflection ACHRI’s strong affiliation with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). ACHRI’s association with UAMS gives the institute a unique advantage over other research organizations of the same size. Essentially all ACHRI researchers are UAMS faculty with appointments within the UAMSCollege of Medicine, College of Nursing, College of Public Health, College of Health Related Professions, or the College of Pharmacy. "I am passionate about excellence in research, and that excellence cannot be achieved without sound collaboration with other research institutions,” says UAMS Chancellor I. Dodd Wilson, MD. “With ACHRI as a close working partner, UAMS will be able to do even more to serve the state of Arkansas, which is a key part of our mission as Arkansas’s only academic medical center." No matter which college the researchers represent, they all share common ambitions to make the world better by preventing and curing disease and improving the health, development, and well-being of children and their families.

A majority of ACHRI’s research community are faculty of the UAMS College of Medicine Department of Pediatrics. “I am very proud of the research being conducted at ACHRI,” says Dr. Debra Fiser, MD, Dean, College of Medicine, and Vice Chancellor, UAMS. “The institute has attained a new level of maturity in its development with a number of seasoned, well-funded scientists who serve as mentors for a very bright and capable junior faculty.” The strong leadership within the College of Medicine and the Department of Pediatrics has resulted in tremendous growth of research grants and contracts on the UAMS campus during the last twenty years. Research funding from the National Institutes of Health to UAMS and ACHRI continues to rise.

“Almost 40% of the Department of Pediatrics’ full-time faculty is active in research,” says Dr. Jacobs. Members of the Department of Pediatrics have brought in over $26.5 million in extramural research funding in fiscal year 2007, of which $5.1 million came from NIH and $13.1 million from other federal agencies. Approximately 57% or $15.1 million was awarded through UAMS and 43% of its grant funding or $11.4 million was awarded through ACHRI.

Another important element of ACHRI's research community is the Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center (ACNC). Established in 1995, the ACNC is the sixth of the USDA’s National Human Nutrition Centers, the second of these centers devoted to children. It’s rapid increase in funding (more than 600% in the past decade), makes the ACNC the fastest growing of the six-member national human nutrition research centers program. “A healthy mix of local and state support and the unwavering support and leadership of our federal legislative representatives, combined with USDA, NIH and industry funding have been key components to this explosive growth,” said Thomas M. Badger, PhD, UAMS College of Medicine Professor and ACNC Director. “Our goal is to become the recognized global leader among nutrition research centers and by partnering with ACHRI and UAMS to develop the world’s best pediatric research program, thereby helping to provide the finest, cutting-edge medical care for the children of Arkansas. A significant part of this plan is the establishment of the Center on Developmental Obesity, which is a partnership between the ACNC, the ACHRI and NIH aimed at preventing childhood overweight and obesity.”

The ACNC research facilities, unlike the other USDA nutrition centers, were not built with federal appropriations but with private contributions raised by Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH). This ACNC construction is an illustration of the commitment of ACH and its supporters to pediatric research. “Research is critical to the best care for the sickest children. We know that research is essential to our young patients. Fundraising is one more tool in providing physicians, scientists and researchers with the resources they need to unlock the mysteries of illnesses and diseases, thus leading to new treatments and cures,” says John Bel, President, ACH Foundation.

“ACHRI and the Department of Pediatrics are very excited with this growth in research funding, especially considering the current extramural funding environment. This reflects the commitment and diligence of our researchers,” says Dr. Jacobs

Through disciplined, passionate pursuit, ACHRI’s capable researchers strive to achieve a future in which childhood health disorders are prevented or cured. The presence of not only state-of-the-art facilities, but a spirit of collaboration in their immediate and extended research communities moves them forward to their goal. In addition, the fundamental assistance of ACH and its community of supporters provides a foundation of affirmation and encouragement to aid ACHRI in its mission has been to improve children’s health, development and well-being through high quality research.