Ananya Padhiari

Advances in pediatric medicine begin with a vision for a future in which all children can grow up to be healthy adults. Arkansas Children's Research Institute (ACRI) researchers share this common vision and have devoted their lives to making this vision a reality. At ACRI, children are at the center of everything that we do. Researchers at ACRI are addressing a broad spectrum of children's health concerns, such as the biological mechanisms underlying birth defects; diabetes-related complications; and numerous childhood diseases, including asthma and cancer. Research expertise is diverse, ranging from basic science to clinical and community-based research.

Arkansas Children's Research Institute is a not-for-profit corporation owned by Arkansas Children's, Inc. The Arkansas Children's Hospital Board of Trustees established ACRI in 1989, and ACRI officially opened in May of 1992. The Research Institute Building is located one block south of the main hospital building. ACRI's total research grant base in 1997 was $7.5 million. Today its researchers bring in over $21 million yearly in grants and contracts from federal and private agencies and industry and from philanthropic donations and professional organizations.