Today Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) announced funding to support the recently launched Center for Microbial Medicine. This pioneering initiative is made possible by three transformative gifts from the McCausland Foundation, the Chappell Culpeper Family Foundation and another generous donor. Together, their support totals $13 million.
The mission of the center is to bring discoveries in microbial medicine directly to patients with the goal of improving pediatric health. Through advanced sequencing and analytical techniques, the center aims to inform clinical decisions based on a patient’s microbiome — the community of organisms that live in a person’s gut. This includes using the microbiome to look for early biomarkers of disease and predict treatment response for conditions spanning inflammatory disorders, metabolic disorders, allergies, cancer and more. The center also plans to develop new treatment options for children by harnessing the microbiome. With partnerships in infectious disease and clinical diagnostics, the center is also using sequencing to track pathogens and infectious disease outbreaks to develop prevention strategies and decrease the risk of infection in children at CHOP. This groundbreaking initiative will be housed in the forthcoming Morgan Center for Research and Innovation — a state-of-the-art research facility designed for seamless bench-to-bedside breakthroughs.
“With these incredible gifts, CHOP will continue to become a world leader in microbial medicine,” says Joseph Zackular, PhD, co-director of the Center for Microbial Medicine. “We will also have unprecedented opportunities to better diagnose and treat a wide range of pediatric conditions. The entire team at CHOP is grateful for the contributions of the McCausland Foundation, the Chappell Culpeper Family Foundation, and the additional donor, whose shared commitment to advancing pediatric research and care has made this dream a reality. Their generosity will have a lasting impact on countless young people and their families.”
Peter and Bonnie McCausland are longtime philanthropic partners to CHOP. In 2020, their support through the McCausland Foundation established the Adzick-McCausland Distinguished Chair in Fetal and Pediatric Surgery. Their daughter and son-in-law, Elizabeth and Kyle Salata, are visionary advocates of CHOP’s microbial medicine research initiatives.
With their latest gift, the Chappell Culpeper Family Foundation continues their legacy of funding cutting-edge programs at CHOP. Founded by John Chappell with his daughter, Jennifer Paradis Behle, as CEO, the foundation’s support catalyzed CHOP’s first Frontier Program, the Jill and Mark Fishman Center for Lymphatic Disorders. They also contributed to endeavors in prenatal gene editing aimed at curing devastating disorders and new technologies to improve recovery from life-threatening injuries.
“Along with myself, the Center is led by world leaders in microbial medicine, Drs. Robert Baldassano, Paul Planet and Ahmed Moustafa, and we are proud to be the premier pediatric center in the microbial medicine space and to make a huge difference in children’s healthcare,” adds Dr. Zackular. “This Center has the chance to impact pediatric medicine across all disciplines, diseases and disorders — a truly forward-thinking initiative for CHOP. We thank these donors for their generosity and look forward to continuing a meaningful partnership to improve the lives of children.”
To learn more about the Center for Microbial Medicine at CHOP and its mission, please visit https://www.research.chop.edu/center-for-microbial-medicine.
Featured in this article
Experts
Specialties & Programs
Research
Today Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) announced funding to support the recently launched Center for Microbial Medicine. This pioneering initiative is made possible by three transformative gifts from the McCausland Foundation, the Chappell Culpeper Family Foundation and another generous donor. Together, their support totals $13 million.
The mission of the center is to bring discoveries in microbial medicine directly to patients with the goal of improving pediatric health. Through advanced sequencing and analytical techniques, the center aims to inform clinical decisions based on a patient’s microbiome — the community of organisms that live in a person’s gut. This includes using the microbiome to look for early biomarkers of disease and predict treatment response for conditions spanning inflammatory disorders, metabolic disorders, allergies, cancer and more. The center also plans to develop new treatment options for children by harnessing the microbiome. With partnerships in infectious disease and clinical diagnostics, the center is also using sequencing to track pathogens and infectious disease outbreaks to develop prevention strategies and decrease the risk of infection in children at CHOP. This groundbreaking initiative will be housed in the forthcoming Morgan Center for Research and Innovation — a state-of-the-art research facility designed for seamless bench-to-bedside breakthroughs.
“With these incredible gifts, CHOP will continue to become a world leader in microbial medicine,” says Joseph Zackular, PhD, co-director of the Center for Microbial Medicine. “We will also have unprecedented opportunities to better diagnose and treat a wide range of pediatric conditions. The entire team at CHOP is grateful for the contributions of the McCausland Foundation, the Chappell Culpeper Family Foundation, and the additional donor, whose shared commitment to advancing pediatric research and care has made this dream a reality. Their generosity will have a lasting impact on countless young people and their families.”
Peter and Bonnie McCausland are longtime philanthropic partners to CHOP. In 2020, their support through the McCausland Foundation established the Adzick-McCausland Distinguished Chair in Fetal and Pediatric Surgery. Their daughter and son-in-law, Elizabeth and Kyle Salata, are visionary advocates of CHOP’s microbial medicine research initiatives.
With their latest gift, the Chappell Culpeper Family Foundation continues their legacy of funding cutting-edge programs at CHOP. Founded by John Chappell with his daughter, Jennifer Paradis Behle, as CEO, the foundation’s support catalyzed CHOP’s first Frontier Program, the Jill and Mark Fishman Center for Lymphatic Disorders. They also contributed to endeavors in prenatal gene editing aimed at curing devastating disorders and new technologies to improve recovery from life-threatening injuries.
“Along with myself, the Center is led by world leaders in microbial medicine, Drs. Robert Baldassano, Paul Planet and Ahmed Moustafa, and we are proud to be the premier pediatric center in the microbial medicine space and to make a huge difference in children’s healthcare,” adds Dr. Zackular. “This Center has the chance to impact pediatric medicine across all disciplines, diseases and disorders — a truly forward-thinking initiative for CHOP. We thank these donors for their generosity and look forward to continuing a meaningful partnership to improve the lives of children.”
To learn more about the Center for Microbial Medicine at CHOP and its mission, please visit https://www.research.chop.edu/center-for-microbial-medicine.
Contact us
Kaitlyn Tivenan
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Foundation