Research Areas and Clinical Studies

Many Directions with a Common Purpose

Research and clinical care go hand in hand at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

To a great extent, our research areas parallel our primary hospital divisions. Each of our many research programs is focused on an important problem in pediatric medicine and uses the most advanced cellular and molecular technologies and tools.

UPMC Children’s has an expansive team of investigators engaged in several hundred projects. These studies range from basic laboratory research to comprehensive multi-center clinical trials in pursuit of new medical therapies. This work supports a key plank in UPMC Children’s mission: to advance our knowledge about pathogenesis, diagnosis and prevention and treatment of pediatric disease.

Clinical Studies

Clinical research is vital to solving many of today's health challenges, and UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh is one of the leading sites in the United States for pediatric clinical studies. UPMC Children’s is one of only a handful of NIH-funded centers in the nation whose clinical trial initiatives include a Pediatric Clinical and Translational Research Center (PCTRC) devoted to pediatric research.

Research volunteers have a unique opportunity to contribute to the future of health care. Without clinical trials and the volunteers that participate in them, many of the strides that have been made in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases would not have been possible. The rights and welfare of anyone participating in a clinical trial at UPMC Children’s are protected by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the University of Pittsburgh, which has oversight of all human research studies at the University of Pittsburgh and all UPMC facilities, including UPMC Children’s Hospital.

Enroll in a Clinical Study

The Pitt+Me Registry connects community members and patients of all ages with researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC. Parents who enroll their children in the Pitt+Me Registry will learn about research studies in areas of their choosing related to their child’s health.

Parents can sign their children up online, at any Children's Hospital or Children’s Community Pediatrics outpatient office, or through MyUPMC*.

*If you are a current MyUPMC user and would like to request proxy access for a patient under 18 years of age, you may do so online. Simply log in to MyUPMC and select Request Proxy Access from the Access Another Family Member list in the top right corner.

Learn More About Clinical Studies

• Clinical Study FAQs
• How to Participate in a Clinical Study