Children's Establishes Endowed Chair For Pediatric Infectious Disease Research
April 29, 2005
Children’s Hospital Guild Association raised $1.5 million to establish an endowed chair in Pediatric Infectious Disease Research. Craig Rubens, M.D., Ph.D., chief of Infectious Diseases, Immunology and Rheumatology at Children’s, has been selected as the first holder of the chair. Dr. Rubens’ appointment was made jointly by Children’s and the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Funding for Children’s Endowed Chair in Pediatric Infectious Disease Research will be used to develop new vaccines, drugs and diagnostic tools, and to better understand how microbes, like viruses and bacteria cause disease and become resistant to drugs used to treat these infections.
“Dr. Rubens has received this appointment for his contributions to research on bacterial infections in newborns and children, and for his leadership in developing research programs in Infectious Disease,” said Kandace Holley, Guild Association Board of Trustees chair. “Our ability to endow this chair, as well as meet our other commitments to the hospital, is a testament to the dedication each of our 7,500 guild members has for the hospital.”
Dr. Rubens’ research at Children’s has focused on how Group B Streptococcus (GBS) bacteria causes infections in newborns and pregnant women. Dr. Rubens has begun to identify the important factors produced by these bacteria, some of which have been targeted for a vaccine or new antibiotic therapies.
GBS is the most common life threatening infection in newborns and a leading cause of newborn death in the United States. GBS infects about 3,200 newborns every year in the United States.
About Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center
Consistently ranked as one of the best children's hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report, Children's serves as the pediatric referral center for Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. Children's has been delivering superior patient care for 100 years, including advancing new discoveries and treatments in pediatric research, and serving as a primary teaching, clinical and research site for the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine. For more information about Children's, visit www.seattlechildrens.org.
Media Contact
Jennifer Seymour, Director, Public Relations
Phone: (206) 987-5207
Pager: (206) 469-1011
E-mail: jennifer.seymour@seattlechildrens.org