Boston Children’s Hospital has invested and led the way in life-changing pediatric innovation since its founding in 1869 as a 20-bed facility. From surgical advances to new treatments, to discoveries that change the biology textbooks, the hospital continues its leadership in advancing pediatric health and health equity in Massachusetts and across the globe. Many of our discoveries also benefit adults.
Boston Children’s Hospital embodies a culture of innovation and scientific discovery, empowering our clinicians and scientists to challenge the status quo. We are dedicated to preventing, treating, and curing diseases of childhood and giving every child the best chance at a healthy life, no matter how rare or complex their condition. We embrace bold questions and tough problems and invest in cutting-edge research tools and facilities to get the answers we need. We collaborate with other research organizations when we can’t find an answer alone.
Boston Children’s has the world’s largest and most highly funded pediatric research enterprise, investing $603 million in externally sponsored research in FY2024 alone. We have consistently led the nation in federal funding to children’s hospitals, and we are unmatched among children’s hospitals in the depth, breadth, quantity, and quality of our scientific research.
Adding to our roughly 1 million square feet of research space, we will open a new building before the end of the decade, expanding our laboratory space by approximately 20 percent.
Our scientific faculty, who have academic appointments at Harvard Medical School, have garnered a disproportionate share of prestigious honors and awards. Of our current faculty:
For a full list of our researchers, visit our faculty page.
We are dedicated to bringing our discoveries to the clinic and work closely with industry to make this happen through our Technology & Innovation Development Office (TIDO). In addition, our Innovation & Digital Health Accelerator (IDHA) works to enhance clinical care. In the past 20 years, we have spun out more than 50 startup companies.
The history of research at Boston Children’s Hospital is traced directly to our founding document in 1869. From early studies of infant diseases to the advanced genetic and molecular studies of today, our researchers have always pushed the boundaries. Read more about how Boston Children's history is preserved in our archives.
We invest heavily in a variety of technologies and core facilities to translate research from the laboratory to clinical care. Our capabilities include: