Welcome from the Head of Department
Paediatrics is entering an exciting phase where we can have an even greater impact on the overall healthcare system. In the coming decade, we will help develop the whole genome neonatal screen of the future, and stratified treatments (e.g., gene therapy, lifestyle, psychological interventions) with potential to improve long term outcomes or even prevent disease in children and across the life course.
Such approaches must also account for the complexity of the environment, including psychosocial and economic circumstances, and promote universal access to innovative and high quality medical care. To this end, our research values diversity, equity and inclusion in the setting of the UK’s National Health Service.
Our efforts will be greatly augmented with the building of Cambridge Children’s Hospital, planned to open in 2025/26. Cambridge Children’s will be the first hospital in the world that is purpose-built to integrate physical and mental healthcare. Our vision is to embed and co-locate research investigators with patients and clinicians to promote multidisciplinary exchange.
Durable progress in understanding the root causes of disease will rely on training a strong cadre of paediatric researchers that are skilled in mechanistic, translational and health data analysis. We will promote career development in research areas such as brain and behaviour, paediatric cancer, diabetes and obesity, inflammation, immunity, genomics and global medicine partnering with low- and middle-income countries.
David H Rowitch, MD, ScD, FMedSci, FRS
Professor and Head of Paediatrics
Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator
University of Cambridge
About the Department
The Department of Paediatrics is an internationally recognised centre for research in child health and development.
Research within the Department is focused on the areas of Developmental Neurobiology, Diabetes, Endocrine, Gastroenterology, Neonatal and Paediatric Intensive Care, and the determinants of birth size and infant growth. It also has a very active teaching programme for medical students, and supports postgraduate research degrees at MD and PhD level.
The Department of Paediatrics is part of the School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge and is embedded within the Addenbrooke’s Hospital on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. The Department comprises about sixty staff, with senior research staff working on multi-centre research projects and collaborating actively with other University departments, clinical partners in the NHS, other national and international academic institutions, the UK Government and various policy groups, as well as service users and carers.
