Colin’s Kids Awards $20,000 in Research Grants
Columbia University Medical Center
Media Contact: Ashley Elich (ashley.elich@columbia.edu/212.342.5793)
Colin’s Kids Inc., Selects Dr. Teresa Lee, Dr. Jonathan Flyer, and Dr. Erin Paul as 2015 Research Awardees
NEW YORK, December 10, 2015— Colin’s Kids has honored Teresa Lee, MD, Jonathan Flyer, MD, and Erin Paul, MD, of Columbia University Medical Center, with research grants toward their work in pediatric cardiology. Dr. Lee is the recipient of the $10,000 Colin Molloy Research Award and Drs. Flyer and Paul are each recipients of the $5,000 Andrew King Research Award.
The awards, presented annually, were established to support the Colin’s Kids’ mission of providing critical funding to advance medical research related to the diagnosis, life-improving treatment, prevention and cure of congenital heart defects.
Nancy King and Kelly Molloy founded Colin’s Kids in 2008. Their children, Colin Molloy and Andrew King, were born with congenital heart defects and subsequently were treated in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian. While there, the families became each other’s support system and built a lasting friendship in the face of unforeseen adversity.
Andrew survived a transposition of the great arteries, in part due to an arterial switch procedure that did not exist until thirty years ago. Unfortunately, Colin, diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, passed away due to surgical complications. He was only 47 days old. Even though Colin did not survive, he lives on through Colin’s Kids and the work it continues to do in an effort to better the lives of children and spare the heartache that so many families, like the Molloys, are all too familiar with.
“It is a privilege to celebrate the life of Colin in such an impactful way,” said Molloy. “I believe that supporting research that can ultimately change the course of a child and their loved one’s lives is the greatest way to honor him.”
Adds Nancy King, “Colin was Andrew’s first friend. He spent most of his life right next to my son. I know that he is still there, as his guardian angel, watching over him.”
The recipients of these awards are grateful for the continued support of Colin’s Kids and its commitment to the Division of Pediatric Cardiology at Columbia University Medical Center.
Dr. Lee, Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, will focus her research on the genetics of structural congenital heart disease and cardiomyopathy. Her research efforts involve the use of stem cells as a model to study heart disease. It is the goal of this research to provide insight into the underlying mechanisms involved in heart disease which will hopefully lead to better understanding and new treatment options.
Dr. Flyer, Postdoctoral Clinical Fellow in the Department of Pediatrics, will focus his research on investigating the safest and most effective treatment for pediatric arrhythmias after transplant. His current research investigates the dose-related effect of a common antiarrhythmic medication, adenosine, on the pediatric heart post-transplant, and so that it may be utilized appropriately in the emergent setting.
Dr. Paul, Postdoctoral Clinical Fellow in the Department of Pediatrics, will focus her research on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging error correction in pediatric and congenital heart disease patients. It is the goal of this research to provide more patients with access to valuable tests and improve the care of pediatric patients undergoing cardiac MRI studies
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Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, pre-clinical and clinical research, in medical and health sciences education, and in patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and nurses at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Established in 1767, Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons was the first institution in the country to grant the M.D. degree and is among the most selective medical schools in the country. Columbia University Medical Center is home to the largest medical research enterprise in New York City and State and one of the largest in the United States.
Media Contact: Ashley Elich (ashley.elich@columbia.edu/212.342.5793)
Colin’s Kids Inc., Selects Dr. Teresa Lee, Dr. Jonathan Flyer, and Dr. Erin Paul as 2015 Research Awardees
NEW YORK, December 10, 2015— Colin’s Kids has honored Teresa Lee, MD, Jonathan Flyer, MD, and Erin Paul, MD, of Columbia University Medical Center, with research grants toward their work in pediatric cardiology. Dr. Lee is the recipient of the $10,000 Colin Molloy Research Award and Drs. Flyer and Paul are each recipients of the $5,000 Andrew King Research Award.
The awards, presented annually, were established to support the Colin’s Kids’ mission of providing critical funding to advance medical research related to the diagnosis, life-improving treatment, prevention and cure of congenital heart defects.
Nancy King and Kelly Molloy founded Colin’s Kids in 2008. Their children, Colin Molloy and Andrew King, were born with congenital heart defects and subsequently were treated in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian. While there, the families became each other’s support system and built a lasting friendship in the face of unforeseen adversity.
Andrew survived a transposition of the great arteries, in part due to an arterial switch procedure that did not exist until thirty years ago. Unfortunately, Colin, diagnosed with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, passed away due to surgical complications. He was only 47 days old. Even though Colin did not survive, he lives on through Colin’s Kids and the work it continues to do in an effort to better the lives of children and spare the heartache that so many families, like the Molloys, are all too familiar with.
“It is a privilege to celebrate the life of Colin in such an impactful way,” said Molloy. “I believe that supporting research that can ultimately change the course of a child and their loved one’s lives is the greatest way to honor him.”
Adds Nancy King, “Colin was Andrew’s first friend. He spent most of his life right next to my son. I know that he is still there, as his guardian angel, watching over him.”
The recipients of these awards are grateful for the continued support of Colin’s Kids and its commitment to the Division of Pediatric Cardiology at Columbia University Medical Center.
Dr. Lee, Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, will focus her research on the genetics of structural congenital heart disease and cardiomyopathy. Her research efforts involve the use of stem cells as a model to study heart disease. It is the goal of this research to provide insight into the underlying mechanisms involved in heart disease which will hopefully lead to better understanding and new treatment options.
Dr. Flyer, Postdoctoral Clinical Fellow in the Department of Pediatrics, will focus his research on investigating the safest and most effective treatment for pediatric arrhythmias after transplant. His current research investigates the dose-related effect of a common antiarrhythmic medication, adenosine, on the pediatric heart post-transplant, and so that it may be utilized appropriately in the emergent setting.
Dr. Paul, Postdoctoral Clinical Fellow in the Department of Pediatrics, will focus her research on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging error correction in pediatric and congenital heart disease patients. It is the goal of this research to provide more patients with access to valuable tests and improve the care of pediatric patients undergoing cardiac MRI studies
###
Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, pre-clinical and clinical research, in medical and health sciences education, and in patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and nurses at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Established in 1767, Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons was the first institution in the country to grant the M.D. degree and is among the most selective medical schools in the country. Columbia University Medical Center is home to the largest medical research enterprise in New York City and State and one of the largest in the United States.