The Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research conducts basic science and translational research within the Department of Pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine, offering exceptional opportunities for collaborations between basic scientists and physicians. The goals of the Wells Center are to increase knowledge of the causes and mechanisms of serious pediatric diseases, to develop innovative approaches to diagnosis and treatment of childhood diseases, and to provide an outstanding training environment for medical and graduate students, residents, and fellows. Areas of pediatric research include immune disorders, blood-related and heart diseases, lung development, diabetes, and cancer and growth disorders.
Since opening in 1991, the Center has grown from four investigators and three employees to the current staff of 34 investigators and 230 staff members. Work in the Wells Center focuses on both discovery basic research and "translational" studies, which seek to rapidly move basic or bench research findings into the clinical setting. The research programs of Wells faculty are multidisciplinary and traverse traditional clinical section boundaries. Sections represented from Riley Hospital and Department of Pediatrics includes Hematology/Oncology, Neonatal/Perinatal Medicine, Cardiac Development Biology, Endocrinology and Pulmonology.
Wells Center research programs have achieved national recognition and continue to thrive. The research endeavors of the faculty have led to an outstanding record for attaining peer-reviewed, external research funding, including funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the American Heart Association, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the Department of Defense.
In 2008, the Department of Pediatrics ranked #8 nationally for NIH funding to pediatric departments.
