In Ewing Sarcoma patients, exosomes in the blood may be an early detector of relapse. Partnering with the University of Kansas, Glenson Samuel, MD created a chip that could detect and analyze these exosomes and their proteins with minimum blood. Now, he is using that knowledge to find, and reverse, chemo-therapy-related resistance in tumor cells, making patients more responsive to therapy.

Join Glenson Samuel, MD as he discusses his studies and his work with the genome center.

Gerald Woods, MD, Division Director of Hematology/Oncology/BMT, has more than 30 years experience in sickle cell treatment. Dr. Woods is currently a PI for a study of GBT-440, a new drug to treat sickle cell.

Children’s Mercy is one of only two U.S. hospitals initially invited to participate in this research. Dr. Woods is leading the hospital’s participation in a Health Resources and Services Administration grant for the Sickle Cell Disease Treatment Demonstration Program Regional Collaborative.

Join us as Dr. Woods discusses the latest advancements in sickle cell disease and efforts to increase treatment options.

Researchers at Children’s Mercy have developed Astrolabe, software for predicting a patient’s response to medications using whole genome sequencing. When used with a newly developed, low cost sequencing method, the software can identify the pharmacogenetics profile of each patient, enabling physicians to tailor medication selection to the patient’s DNA.

Join Neil Miller, Director of Informatics and Software Development in the Children’s Mercy Genome Center, as he introduces us to the Astrolabe software and the benefits it will offer to physicians and our pediatric patients.

Minimally invasive interventional radiology services, including angiography, vascular malformations, and tumor ablations, boast lower costs, fewer complications and faster recovery times compared to open surgery.

However, 65 percent of patients are entirely familiar with interventional radiology (IR) with 54 percent of medical students “unclear” of IR duties.

Join Brenton D. Reading, MD, with the Division of Radiology at Children’s Mercy Kansas City, as he introduces us to IR, IR services and outcomes from his dedicated interventional radiologist team at one of the largest pediatric radiology divisions in the nation.

Research shows that the most common cancer treatments can result in damage to the heart or vascular system. Children’s Mercy is now one of only a few pediatric hospitals in the world offering a Cardio-Oncology Program to address cancer treatment-related cardiotoxicity. In one appointment, patients will receive evaluation and expert advice from an oncologist and a cardiologist.

The program provides early detection of patients at risk for cardiotoxicity, early application of cardioprotective agents and ongoing monitoring to minimize damage secondary to cancer treatment.

Aliessa Barnes, MD, Medical Director of Pediatric Cardiac Transplant and Joy Fulbright, Director of Survive and Thrive, discuss how they are helping make sure today’s cancer survivors are not tomorrow’s heart failure patients.

Children’s Mercy is one of only a handful of programs across the nation using a unique bridging technique called Rapid Exchange of Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy (RECRRT) for children diagnosed with acute kidney injury. By consistently using RECRRT, Children’s Mercy has become proficient in the bridging technique, resulting in significantly less blood exposure and therapy downtime for these critically ill children.

The technique’s primary goal is to reduce exposure to blood products for these patients.

Vimal Chadha, MD, Pediatric Nephrologist explains how this technique helps lower the risk for iron overload, transfusion reactions, exposure to infectious agents and sensitization to different antigens that could jeopardize a future kidney transplant.

The Children's Mercy Diabetes Center is making a change to the way it cares for the 250 to 300 type 1 and 2 diabetes patients newly diagnosed each year, transitioning them from inpatient to outpatient treatment.

Patients over 5 years old and their families will receive the education and training needed to maintain healthy blood glucose levels in three outpatient visits over the course of 1 month. Children under 5 or those who present with diabetic ketoacidosis will continue to be admitted to the hospital. This change is being made to enhance the patient experience in receiving and retaining education related to their new diabetes diagnosis.

Hear from Ryan McDonough, DO, as he discuss this new clinic model and the benefits it will offer to patients newly diagnosed with diabetes.

Children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer face months to years of chemotherapy, sometimes including radiation and surgery. These life-altering disruptions place demands on children, teens and their parents.

The diagnosis is usually stunning and unwelcome, followed rapidly by tests, treatments and lots of information. Yet helping children, teens and families cope with this unexpected and unwelcome intruder is vital to physical and psychosocial health.

Listen in as Kristin Stegenga, PhD explores typical patterns of coping among children and adolescents while touching on the role of parent and family coping in these patterns. Ideas for supporting children and teens will also be discussed.

The adolescent sports population is especially prone to knee ligament injuries with the increased specialized sport participation, overuse and suspected sedentary elementary years preceding highly active adolescent sports participation. The Center for Sports Medicine at Children’s Mercy is one of the nation’s leading sports medicine programs offering a comprehensive model of care from sideline trainers, to operative and non-operative treatment and return-to-play protocols.

Join Kevin H. Latz, MD, Chief, Section of Sports Medicine within the Division of Orthopaedic Surgery at Children’s Mercy Kansas City as he gives an introduction to knee ligament injuries, including prevention, epidemiology and choosing operative or non-operative treatment.

Eating disorders can be physically, emotionally and socially devastating for patients and are difficult for families of those affected. This disorder is the third most chronic condition in adolescents, after obesity and asthma.

Recently the AAP published a clinical report addressing the interaction between obesity prevention and eating disorders. Adolescents can misinterpret what ‘healthy eating’ looks like and thus can lead to an eating disorder.

Hear from Sara Gould, PhD, on how to best manage conversations with teens and providing the right tools on how to live a healthier lifestyles and how the Children’s Mercy Kansas City Eating Disorder Center focuses on the complex medical, psychological, and nutritional issues that contribute to an eating disorder