FAQs

According to the United States Census Bureau, more than 22 percent of the population of the United States is under age 18. According to the NIH’s spending database, it commits about 12 percent of its total budget to pediatric research. This figure, however, likely does not accurately portray the NIH pediatric funding picture. For example, a project that has a small pediatric component may be categorized as focusing on child health even if most of the funds are allocated to non-child activities. Additionally, multiple studies published in academic journals over the years have tracked inequity when it comes to NIH’s funding for pediatrics, even during periods in which NIH funding has increased sharply.

Pediatric research is supported by most every one of NIH’s 27 Institutes and Centers. The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development reports committing more than 55 percent of its budget to child health research, but this is less than 20 percent of the total NIH investment in pediatric research.

No. NIH does not have an Office of Child Health Research. In 2018, NIH launched the NIH Pediatric Research Consortium or N-PeRC with the expressed goals of better coordinating child health research activities across Institutes and Centers. N-PeRC is chaired by leaders of NICHD and has representatives from multiple Institutes and Centers as well as programs such as the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program. N-PeRC does not include extramural research stakeholders.

While NIH is a significant funder of child health research, there are multiple other funders including philanthropic organizations, such as those whose missions are focused on a specific disease or condition as well as entities like the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Another major funder of pediatric medical research are children’s hospitals including the members of the Coalition. Combined, the members of our coalition commit more than $1 billion in funding to support a wide array of child health research projects. This grantmaking augments a sizeable investment in research laboratories and buildings as well as advanced research equipment, particularly equipment early-career researchers can access to build their careers.

Research performed at children’s hospitals or within pediatric academic departments has a broader impact for multiple reasons. First off, a sizeable component of the research being done is basic or early-stage laboratory research that seeks to generate new ideas and knowledge, information that may subsequently inform interventions and development of therapies. Much of this work is focused on answering a fundamental question that could then lead to follow-on and targeted later stage or translational research. Additionally, a component of the research done by children’s hospitals and pediatric academic departments focuses on the perinatal, infancy and early years of life and the growing recognition that exposures and adverse events during these periods can contribute to diseases that may onset during adulthood.