Finding Better Treatments Through Research

In 2014, The Max and Minnie Tomerlin Voelcker Clinical Research Center, a 12,000-square-foot facility at The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, opened and laid the foundation for what research at The Children’s Hospital has become today.

“The gifts we received from the Max and Minnie Tomerlin Voelcker Fund during our early stages have really allowed us to do more and grow more. They funded all the tools we needed to get started, including an emergency generator, which is critical,” said Dr. Vivienne Marshall, Ph.D., director of clinical research at The Children’s Hospital. “We are so grateful. Their investment in our facility has continued to multiply in terms of opportunities, growth, and other funding over the last two years.”

The research teams have accomplished incredible work in a short time and have grown in their level of distinction. In August, Dr. Marshall was a recipient of a CPRIT (Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas) grant entitled “The Adolescent and Childhood Cancer Epidemiology and Susceptibility Service (ACCESS) for Texas.” The purpose of the grant is to identify genetic risk factors and gene-environment interactions important to understanding cancer susceptibility among children and adolescents in Texas.

“There will be three regional centers, or core facilities, in Texas that will house bio repositories for samples from cancer patients, and potentially, their family members,” said Dr. Marshall. “Baylor College of Medicine is the lead site, and the three Texas biobanks will be located at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio and UT Southwestern in Dallas. These banks will allow for more in-depth studies of cancer patients. We will collect samples from across the state, with more detailed information about the patients’ families and their lifestyles, geographical location, family history, and genetic screenings, so we will end up with a very detailed picture. The idea is that we might be able to use this information to find out more and explore different trends and causes of cancers.”

Through the CPRIT grant, The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio will receive more than $1 million over the next five years.

“We have the space and capacity, an emergency generator to ensure the samples are stored safely, and most importantly, we have the experts and experience. These were all huge factors in us being selected for this important cancer research,” Dr. Marshall added.

Most recently, the Max and Minnie Tomerlin Voelcker Fund awarded Dr. Mark Gorelik, medical director of pediatric rheumatology at The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio and assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine, with a 2016 Young Investigator Award. Dr. Gorelik’s research will focus on the Role of Follistatin Like 1 Protein in Coronary Artery Aneurysms of Kawasaki Disease, the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children. Dr. Gorelik, the first board-certified pediatric rheumatologist in San Antonio, was among four recipients of the Voelcker Young Investigator Award, and will receive $150,000 a year for three years, for a total of $450,000. His research will be conducted at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute.

This competitive grant is the first Voelcker Fund research grant awarded to CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System and the first basic science grant awarded to The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio.

“This award is significant because a basic science grant is the first step toward gaining subsequent funding from other sources, such as the National Institutes of Health,” said Dr. Mark Gilger, pediatrician-in-chief at The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, “Dr. Gorelik’s work in this important field of research is yet another major milestone in the development of San Antonio’s only freestanding children’s hospital.”

“It has been wonderful to see so many people interested in research and wanting to be involved in what we are doing here.  I’m excited for our future. We will only get better and learn more to improve outcomes for our children,” added Dr. Marshall.

To learn more about The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio Foundation and how you can help advance pediatric care, visit ChildrensHospitalSAFoundation.org.