Research Blog
Published on January 25, 2022

First-of-its-kind study aims to see if gut bacteria are linked to abnormal bone regulation in children on dialysis. Read More
Published on December 23, 2021

Niharika Gajawelli, PhD
Staff Scientist
As an electrical and computer engineering student at Rutgers University, Niharika experimented with various research areas, including microelectromechanical systems and speech processing. But when she began studying MRI data... Read More
Published on December 23, 2021

Flow cytometry is a powerful tool to measure multiple biological characteristics of individual cells—analyzing millions of cells in a very short time.
To assist investigators with this tool, the Flow Cytometry (FACS) Core at CHLA—led by Hisham Abdel-Azim,... Read More
Published on December 17, 2021

Juli Wu, PhD
Juli works as the Senior Program Manager in the office of the CSO. She shares her hopes of bringing researchers together to solve broad scientific problems. She also discusses the origin of her half-French cat.
Officially, Juli is Senior Program Manager... Read More
Published on December 17, 2021

The Human MRI Core—led by Marvin D. Nelson, MD, MBA, FACR,—offers investigators unique access to the state-of-the-art Philips Achieva dStream 3.0T MRI system, which is dedicated solely to research. This system provides an opportunity to develop, refine, test and implement novel... Read More
Published on December 17, 2021

Stephanie Yi-Tsi Chen, MD
Stephanie is a research resident and fellow investigating immunotherapy resistance in neuroblastoma.
Stephanie’s dream is to become a pediatric surgeon at an academic institution like CHLA. But she wants her career to extend outside of the... Read More
Published on December 17, 2021

Andrew Marshall, PhD
Division of Research on Children, Youth and Families
As a kid, Dr. Marshall often wondered what that “unleaded” sign at the gas station really meant. He had no idea that his career would one day revolve around lead—and its toxic impacts on children... Read More
Published on December 13, 2021

Bridget Fernandez, MD, MS
Professor, Medical Genetics and Associate Director of Clinical Research, TSRI
Dr. Fernandez is launching CHLA’s first-ever Autism Genomics Clinic, which will provide medical genetics consultations for children with autism spectrum disorder (... Read More
Published on December 13, 2021

Ramon Durazo-Arvizu, PhD
Biostatistics and Data Analysis Core
“Statistical thinking goes beyond number crunching,” says Dr. Durazo-Arvizu. “It’s about improving scientific rigor and making research sounder.”
As Faculty Director of the Biostatistics and Data... Read More
Published on December 13, 2021

Shafali Spurling Jeste, MD
Neurological Institute
“In neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, we know that changes in brain development can begin before birth,” says Dr. Jeste. “But we are diagnosing kids with autism after age 2, thus missing out on this amazing... Read More
Published on December 13, 2021

Paige Berger, PhD, RD
Paige is a postdoctoral research fellow studying early nutrition and brain development.
“I’ve always been interested in the interplay between nutrition and exercise—the use of food as fuel,” says Paige. “But I really found my niche working with Dr... Read More
Published on December 13, 2021

The Stem Cell Analytics Core facilitates stem cell research and innovation for all investigators at CHLA. Led by David Cobrinik, MD, PhD, and Jennifer Aparicio, PhD, the Core can:
Distribute human pluripotent stem cell (PSC) cultures to researchers
Maintain... Read More
Published on December 10, 2021

The SC2 Core aims to promote and enable high-impact basic and translational research by establishing novel and evolving technologies and instrumentation for investigators at CHLA and USC. Led by Shahab Asgharzadeh and Jeffrey Bender and managed by... Read More
Published on November 12, 2021

Should surgeons perform partial nephrectomies in more children with kidney tumors—safely removing the mass, but leaving the child’s kidney in place? Read More
Published on November 11, 2021

Researchers at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles have brought us closer to understanding the biology of autism spectrum disorder, a condition affecting a person’s ability to communicate, learn and socialize. The findings are published in The Journal of Child Psychology and... Read More
Published on November 8, 2021

Researchers have been delving deeper to better understand long-term cancer survival and quality of life for adolescent and young adult patients. Read More
Published on November 4, 2021

New study identifies factors that may help predict which neonatal ECMO patients will have to return to the hospital. Read More
Published on October 14, 2021

Researchers are searching for biomarkers to better identify which children with acute liver failure will recover on their own—and which will need a liver transplant. Read More
Published on September 21, 2021

In a worldwide pediatric study, researchers from Children’s Hospital Los Angeles show the clear benefit of using living donor liver tissue for transplants. Read More
Published on September 7, 2021

Brian Dias, PhD
Faculty Lead, TECPAD Postdoc Training and Development
Division of Research on Children, Youth & Families
Dr. Dias grew up in India and received his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin. Over the years, he has investigated the... Read More