Annual Southeastern Pediatric Research Conference

Summary. Established in 2011, the Southeastern Pediatric Research Conference has become a leading regional meeting that brings together researchers, clinicians, students, trainees and other healthcare professionals dedicated to advancing pediatric science and making an impact on child health. Co-hosted by Emory University Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Morehouse School of Medicine, the conference serves as fertile ground for promoting cross-institutional collaboration and highlighting innovative research focused on improving pediatric conditions. The 2026 conference will be held on August 28 at the Georgia Aquarium and will commemorate 15 years of fostering scientific exchange and professional development in pediatric research. The theme of the next conference is “Bench to Bedside and Beyond: Transforming Our Research to Impact Children in Our Communities”. This theme reflects the conference’s commitment to supporting the continuum of research from basic sciences to community-based research. The program for this one-day event includes keynote lectures by prominent invited speakers, rapid-fire presentations by trainees, students and young investigators, interactive poster sessions, and dedicated time for networking and mentoring opportunities With over 540 attendees and more than 200 abstracts in 2025, the conference continues to grow. The scientific programming of the meeting includes multiple NICHD priority areas, including child development and behavior, developmental biology and congenital anomalies, maternal and pediatric infectious diseases, pediatric growth and nutrition, pharmacology, and intellectual and developmental disabilities. Considering the strong interest of the broader research community, as well as the lack of comparable conferences across the nation, we propose a five-year plan to expand the reach of the conference to accommodate the growth and interest in this destination child health research event while keeping registration fees relatively low. With NICHD’s R13 support, we will be able to sustainably implement this expansion as a premier forum for promoting child health research and training and connecting the next generation of pediatric researchers. Project Number: 1R13HD122424-01 | Fiscal Year: 2026 | NIH Institute/Center: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) | Principal Investigator: KRISTY MURRAY | Institution: EMORY UNIVERSITY, ATLANTA, GA | Award Amount: $20,000 | Activity Code: R13 | Study Section: Special Emphasis Panel[ZRG1 SCIL-T (80)] View on NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11392676