The Clinical and Translational Science Institute at Children's National (CTSI-CN) is a partnership between Children’s National Hospital and The George Washington University (GW). CTSI-CN provides research infrastructure to translate discoveries that improve health in the greater Washington, DC region. Our institutions and affiliated partners encompass a research ecosystem that includes a pediatric health system, an academic medical center, an integrated clinical network, a strong foundation in public health
research and practice, and community-focused programs.
Our Purpose
The mission of CTSI-CN is to accelerate discoveries toward achieving better health and more equitable healthcare, with a particular emphasis on children and families. We provide highly integrated, cost-effective, investigator-focused resources designed to overcome research barriers, promote collaborative research, and enrich the research workforce.
As we move forward, CTSI-CN is dedicated to building upon our successes in designing, demonstrating, continuously evaluating, and disseminating programs that:
- Enhance the skills competency and diversity of our research workforce
- Empower patients and communities as partners in research initiatives
- Advance Health Equity in clinical and translational research
Our History
The CTSI-CN is a partnership between Children’s National Hospital, a top-10 pediatric health system, and The George Washington University (GW), a comprehensive, global research university. Together, Children's National and GW form an academic medical center focused on patient care and research across the lifespan.
In July 2010, Children's National was awarded the prestigious Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) grant, from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), to establish CTSI-CN. Since then, CTSI-CN has provided needed research services, enabled access to valuable resources, and delivered direct support to countless investigators and research teams across Children's National and GW.
Our Leadership
The CTSI-CN is led by a dual-Principal Investigator team: Michael J. Bell, MD (Children's National) and Robert H. Miller, PhD (GW). Drs. Bell and Miller are proven leaders who bring complementary expertise and experience to the program.
- Michael Bell, MD
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Michael J. Bell, MD, is the Chief of the Division of Critical Care Medicine at Children's National Hospital. A nationally known expert in the field of pediatric neurocritical care, Dr. Bell is also the DC Lawyers Care for Children Professor of Critical Care Medicine.
Dr. Bell joined Children’s National from Children’s Hospital of UPMC in Pittsburgh, Pa., where he served as director of Pediatric Neurocritical Care and the Pediatric Neurotrauma Center, and established the pediatric neurocritical care program. Prior to joining the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Bell served on the faculty at Children’s National and simultaneously conducted research on the impact of inflammation on the developing brain at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), within the laboratory of the chief of the NINDS Stroke Branch.
Dr. Bell is a prominent figure in both critical care and neurocritical care research. He has authored or reviewed more than 150 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, and is a founding member of the Pediatric Neurocritical Care Research Group, an international consortia of 40 institutions dedicated to advancing clinical research for children with critical neurological illnesses. His current research interests include: barriers to implementation of traumatic brain injury guidelines, the effect of hypothermia on various brain injuries and applications for neurological markers in a clinical setting.
- Robert H. Miller, PhD
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Dr. Robert Miller is a neuroscientist, researcher and administrator in the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He is a professor in the Department of Anatomy and Regenerative Biology and was installed as the university's Vivian Gill Distinguished Research Professor in 2015.
Prior to joining GW in 2014, Dr. Miller served as the vice president for research at Case Western Reserve University where he was also the director of the Center for Translational Neurosciences, professor in the department of neurosciences and the Allen C. Holmes Professor of Neurological Diseases.
Dr. Miller’s awards and honors include the Outstanding Faculty Award at Case Western Reserve University, the Jacob Javits Neuroscience Award, the John S. Diekhoff Award for Excellence in Graduate Training and the Charles Judson Herrick Award from the American Association of Anatomists. He is also a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the International Society for Neurochemistry and other national and international societies. Dr. Miller received a bachelor’s of science in zoology and a Ph.D. from the department of zoology at University College London.
Dr. Miller has published more than 200 papers in the area of neural development and disease with a particular interest in the brain and spinal cord