Annual Report 2023-2024

Witnessing a sea change in research

And Shriners Children’s is on the right path, according to Dr. Harris. He believes the allocation of resources for research at Shriners Children’s is well worth the investment. “The delivery of care is the most primal and palpable activity the organization could participate in, but a close second is research — because it is through research activities that Shriners Children’s can make scientific contributions that will impact outcomes for patients, not only locally, but internationally as well,” he said. Members meet annually to review each grant or fellowship application for funding from researchers throughout Shriners Children's. The goal of this peer-review process is to identify, through an independent evaluation and scoring process, those research projects that are of the highest quality and merit funding based on the mission of Shriners Children's. The research programs department presents the results for approval to the Shriners Children’s Clinical and Basic Research Committee. Grant funding recommendations are then presented to the Board of Directors and Board of Trustees for final approval. “Many members of the board have served in excess of 10 years – why do they do it? To a person, everyone feels it is an incredible honor, privilege and pleasure to serve the healthcare system. It is the least we can do,” said Dr. Harris.

“Shriners Children’s is such a unique organization which makes it easy to embrace the mission,” said Hobart Harris, M.D., chair of the Research Advisory Board for Shriners Children’s. The board is comprised of approximately 80 independent clinicians and scientists from around the country with diverse areas of expertise who provide objective evaluation, assessment and oversight of the healthcare system’s research activities. Dr. Harris, a San Francisco Bay area gastrointestinal surgeon joined the board over 20 years ago and has served as chair since 2008. Since those early years, he has observed a culture change. “Funding for research at Shriners Children’s is much more competitive than it was when I first joined the board. We approach our role much as the NIH does. We are looking for studies that are innovative, with meaningful science that is translational to patient care the organization provides,” he said. Dr. Harris has also seen a shift in emphasis over the years. Shriners Children’s leaders are employing a more integrated, system-wide approach, with an increase of multisite studies. There is a greater focus on neuroscience, genomics and genetics, which go hand in hand with the primary service lines, he said.

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