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Dear Friends,

Thanks to your support of the Children’s Fund, researchers across the Stanford campus are coming together to solve some of the most difficult challenges facing children and pregnant mothers in our community and around the world.

Donor dollars, and the Maternal and Child Health Research Institute grants you make possible, allow investigators to be creative about solving health challenges, take risks, and accelerate discovery.

In 2018, we awarded $420,000 to faculty researchers to promote innovative pilot projects. Key themes included Early Prediction of Preeclampsia, Risk and Resiliency in Preschool Children, and Phenotyping of Adolescent Depression. For every $1 awarded, groundbreaking research projects like these have historically generated $6 in additional funding—a testament to the power of philanthropy.

You may notice a subtle but important change to the name of the Stanford Child Health Research Institute. We are now the Stanford Maternal and Child Health Research Institute (MCHRI), reflecting our long-standing commitment to maternal health. You have likely seen news stories about how maternal health in the United States ranks shockingly low when compared to our peers around the world. We want to change that. With your help, we can.

In the years ahead, you’ll hear more from us at MCHRI as we share stories of Stanford researchers who have benefited from your support and gone on to change the health of mothers and babies in our community and beyond.

Thank you so much for your gifts to the Children’s Fund—we hope the work we do to improve health for children and families continues to make you proud.

With gratitude,

Mary B. Leonard, MD, MSCE
Arline and Pete Harman Professor and Chair, Department of Pediatrics
Director, Stanford Maternal and Child Health Research Institute
Stanford School of Medicine
Adalyn Jay Physician-In-Chief,
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford