May 27, 2008 — Before funding from the National Institutes of Health, before multi-center clinical trials and before appearing in medical publications, research projects start as  small ideas that need to be nurtured in order to one day have big implications. The public will get to see where it all begins when they attend the 20th annual University of Virginia Children’s Hospital research symposium on Thursday, May 29, from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., in the Jordan Hall Conference Center. Thirty-six posters featuring the work of members of U.Va. Children’s Hospital will be presented.
 
Faculty, fellows, residents, basic scientists and nurses have submitted abstracts. Among them scientists are examining ways to address breathlessness and asthma misdiagnosis in children who are obese. Dr. Diane Pappas, pediatrician at U.Va. Children’s Hospital, takes a look at whether waiting room toys spread infections among children when they visit their doctor. On a cellular level, scientists have found that a particular isoform of the Apoliprotein E gene may facilitate recovery after a brain injury in a fetus or newborn.
 
The posters will be on display and researchers will be on hand in conference rooms A, B and C on the 2nd floor of Jordan Hall.