What exciting times we live in!  Most of the human genome has been sequenced; the molecular bases of disorders like cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, and polycystic kidney disease have been determined; stem cells from adult tissues may hold the promise of a cure for diseases of people of all ages.  Within this veritable explosion of technical capability and biomedical knowledge, one unifying truth has come to light: many of the molecular species responsible for common adult diseases play a critical role in normal growth and development.  What this means is no surprise to any card-carrying pediatrician – the seeds for healthy adulthood must be sown during childhood.  While children are most certainly not just “little adults”, adults are just as certainly the cumulative product of processes that begin in childhood and adolescence.  This is what makes the increasing incidence of, for example, obesity, heart disease, and diabetes at younger and younger ages so frightening.

At every level, we at Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong and our partners in the community and region and at the University of Rochester approach childhood healthcare from this prospective.  In our offices and clinics and on the Hospital wards, we all serve as educators as well as physicians, giving proactive and anticipatory guidance to families and children, making prevention of disease and maintenance of health our first priority.  This family education process all starts before birth and, in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, includes attention not just to parents, but to siblings, as well.  In our laboratories, we apply concepts learned from the study of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease to the therapy of childhood nervous system cancers and apply what we learn about immune system embryonic development to the conquest of adult diseases like lupus and lymphoma.  Our research is basic, clinical, and “translational” (bridging-the-gap) biomedical and social science.  In the classroom, we train medical students, residents, and fellows to access and acquire new knowledge, not just to memorize today’s facts, because what is state-of-the-art today may be obsolete tomorrow.

What is absolutely certain in all of this is that we could not do any of this alone.  We depend on and remain ever grateful for the support of the Greater Rochester community in all of our efforts.  What we have here together is virtually unique – a perfect synergy among the community, the Hospital, and the University and Medical Center.  What better role model could there be for our children as they forge ahead into adulthood?  You joined us at our annual Galas and you encouraged your children to enter our coloring and kid-naming contests.  There can be nothing more exciting than the confluence of purpose and dedication to the health and well-being of our region’s – indeed, our world’s – children.

Come. Browse our web pages. Share our pride and excitement in our exemplary clinical services for children and families at Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong.  Feel the explosive growth of our understanding of human development at the Pediatric Center for Biomedical Research and Strong Children’s Research Center. Be a part of the training and mentoring of the next generation of pediatricians, child health specialists, and developmental biomedical researchers in our Focus on Science and Pediatric Links to the Community programs and in our undergraduate, MD, and PhD student, resident, and fellow research rotations and mentorships. Join us as we stand on the shoulders of the giants in our URMC history, keep today’s children, families, and communities healthy, and move pediatrics forward into the 21st century!

Dr. Nina Schor

Nina F. Schor, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Department of Pediatrics
Golisano Children’s Hospital at Strong