Center for Pediatric Experimental Therapeutics
Mission
The mission of the Center for Pediatric Experimental Therapeutics is the integration
of basic, applied, and clinical sciences on the development of new treatments for
childhood diseases.
Benchmarks for success include:
- the number and quality of publications,
- the quantity and quality of competitive funding to support Center activities,
- the training opportunities for students, residents and postdoctoral fellows, and
- the educational offerings by Center investigators to the scientific community.
Specific Goals
Education
- To improve the quality of education by coordinating existing resources and by attracting
outstanding nationally and internationally recognized faculty in pediatric experimental
therapeutics.
- To disseminate information resulting from Center research to health professionals
and citizens in Tennessee, the Mid South region, and Nation through publications,
presentations, participation in professional organizations, and continuing education.
- To establish the Center as an n internationally recognized resource for educational
and research training in the area of pediatric experimental therapeutics attracting
the very best students and postdoctoral trainees to Tennessee.
Research
- To coordinate, integrate and enhance pediatric experimental therapeutics research
programs, particularly in microbial pathogenesis and in new drug development, to yield
highly focused and competitive research.
- To integrate existing basic research programs and resources, including the Molecular
Resource Center (MRC); Regional Bio-containment Laboratory (RBL); other UTHSC COREs;
the Departments of Clinical Pharmacy, Microbiology, Immunology, and Biochemistry,
and Pediatrics; and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
- To establish the Center as an internationally recognized resources in pediatric experimental
therapeutics.
Clinical Care
- To coordinate pediatric experimental therapeutics research across the Health Science
Center, the University, and State of Tennessee into a collaborative program functioning
as one program, improving treatments for serious childhood diseases.
- To recruit talented clinicians of national importance to the Center to broaden the
specialized expertise in treating pediatric diseases, particularly infectious diseases
and cancer.
- To serve as a national and international resource for defining optimal pediatric treatment
strategies.
Leadership
Jarrod Fortwendel, PhD
Director
jfortwen@uthsc.edu
- Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Translational Science
- University of Tennessee Health Science Center
P. David Rogers, PharmD, PhD, FCCP
Scientific Advisor
dave.rogers@stjude.org
- Member, St. Jude Faculty
- Chair, Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Endowed Chair in Pharmaceutical Sciences
Brian M. Peters, PhD
Scientific Advisor
brian.peters@uthsc.edu
- Professor, Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Translational Science
- First Tennessee Endowed Chair of Excellence in Clinical Pharmacy
- Assistant Professor of Microbiology, Immunology, and Biochemistry
