Research

The Floating Hospital has a long and distinguished history of performing research to improve the care of children. Hospital physician-researchers have also made substantial contributions to the basic knowledge of childhood diseases and issues. For example, researchers at the Floating Hospital developed the infant formula Similac that is used to nourish millions of infants world-wide.

All full-time physicians at the Floating Hospital hold faculty appointments at Tufts University School of Medicine, which ranks in the top 5 percent of institutions nationwide receiving National Institutes of Health research funding. Floating staff members have contributed groundbreaking research in minimally invasive procedures in children, particularly endoscopic surgery for brain tumors and cardiac procedures for infants and young children. Active research programs are also ongoing in gastroenterology, particularly inflammatory bowel disease, and the causes of childhood obesity. The neonatology group is studying treatments for persistent fetal circulation, and is part of the Fetal Treatment Program’s research effort in embryology, fetal surgery and molecular genetics.

Research is funded by the National Institutes of Health, private foundations, industry, and private individuals. Our mission is not only to advance knowledge but to train pediatricians (as well as obstetricians and non-clinicians) to become the investigators of the future.