Updates

Research

Research today. Impact for a lifetime.

We protect your child's right to just be a kid by pioneering research across pediatrics and women's health. Discover our worldwide network of clinical trials
and scientific breakthroughs.

A smiling young girl in overalls playing outdoors under water splashing from a sprinkler.

The brains behind the brain

Texas Children's Research Institute (TCRI)

At Texas Children's Research Institute, we're reimagining how diseases are diagnosed, treated, and prevented. Directly connecting discovery and innovation from our labs to patient care.

Two researchers wearing lab coats and gloves collaborating over a fluid sample on a lab bench
A red-haired scientist wearing orange gloves carefully using a pipette to transfer liquid into a multi-well plate

Solving the unsolvable

Duncan Neurological Research Institute (Duncan NRI)

Housing 44 principal investigators and over 400 scientists, Duncan NRI bridges the gap between basic neuroscience and innovative therapeutic interventions for complex neurodevelopmental disorders.

Nutritional health for today and tomorrow

Children's Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)

Co-operating with USDA Agricultural Research Service, CNRC conducts foundational, basic, and clinical research studying the molecular mechanisms of metabolic disease, metabolism, and plant physiology.

A researcher wearing blue gloves using a microscope to examine a sample in a dish.

Tomorrow's cures start here

By coordinating research across Texas Children's and the nation’s largest pediatric healthcare system — including our Texas Research Institute and collaborations with Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute, and USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center — we bridge the gap between discovery and use case.

  • 400+

    Clinical trials

  • $88M+

    Invested in research in 2025

  • 1,700+

    Peer-reviewed scientific studies published

  • 500+

    Researchers driving breakthroughs

Support a limitless tomorrow

By driving breakthroughs directly from the laboratory to the clinic, our researchers take hope and turn it into tangible cures. Pushing state-of-the-art care forward to help even more children.

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An ecosystem of scientific discovery

Research spans the full breadth of the Texas Children’s healthcare system, unifying diverse medical specialties to transform outcomes for patients and families.

Discovery Research Centers

TCRI has five specialized Discovery Research Centers pursuing early-stage discoveries to revolutionize care.

Explore TCRI Centers

Access world-class laboratories

Find out more about the core and investigator-led laboratories supporting our research breakthroughs.

Find a laboratory

Breakthroughs to care

Dr. James Versalovic, President, Texas Children’s Research Institute

“We have a tremendous opportunity to advance precision medicine for our patients. Moving from discovery to development and delivery, the three Ds of innovation.”

James Versalovic, MD, PhD President, Texas Children's Research Institute and Pathologist-in-Chief

Dr. Huda Zoghbi, Research-in-Chief, Texas Children’s Hospital

“Discovery is the beginning of care. The research we do today, in the laboratory and the clinic, is the pipeline for the therapies children and women will receive tomorrow.”

Huda Zoghbi, MD Research-in-Chief, Texas Children's Hospital and Founding Director, Duncan Neurological Research Institute

Joshua Shulman, MD, PhD, Co-Director, Duncan Neurological Research Institute

“Our unparalleled cross-disciplinary approach at Duncan NRI propels groundbreaking research on brain diseases affecting children and adults alike.”

Joshua M. Shulman, MD, PhD Co-Director, Duncan Neurological Research Institute