Research Opportunities

This page connects researchers and participants for current, and ongoing research. For findings from recently completed research, please visit Research Findings .

We have listed a few of the current studies and trials specific to pediatric stroke, but encourage families to use the information under Clinical Trials to search for other opportunities that may be in your area.

As a researcher, if you would like us to include your study on the Currently Recruiting list, please contact us! We would be happy to help with recruitment.

Research Studies and Trials Currently Recruiting

I-ACQUIRE Clinical Trial
Recruitment for the I-AQUIRE Clinical Trial for infants and toddlers (8 months to 36 months old) who have had a perinatal arterial stroke (PAS) is in progress. This intensive therapy is at no additional cost (excluding travel/housing arrangements) and currently has 13 different locations across the U.S. For more information, including who to contact see the I-ACQUIRE two page flyer. Page 1 and Page 2

This is a Phase III multi-site randomized controlled trial comparing 2 dosages of a form of intensive pediatric rehabilitation known as Infant ACQUIRE (I-ACQUIRE) to Usual and Customary treatment (U&CT).

The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, a university-level research institute of Virginia Tech, will oversee the I-ACQUIRE Phase III trial, which includes funding for the program leadership’s work in Roanoke as well as sub-awards to a national coordinating center at the University of Cincinnati, a national assessment core at Ohio State University, statistics and data management center at the Medical University of South Carolina, and a neuroimaging center at Stanford University. Other clinical sites are: Ann Arbor, Michigan; Atlanta, Georgia; Baltimore, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; Cincinnati, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio; Houston, Texas; New Haven, Connecticut; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roanoke, Virginia; and San Diego, California.

More information can be found on ClinicalTrials.gov

Research Studies on Recovery after Perinatal and Childhood Stroke
Researchers at the Center for Brain Plasticity and Recovery (CBPR) at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, DC, are studying the effects of both perinatal and childhood stroke on cognitive and language abilities. The study is done in Washington, DC, but compensation for travel will be provided.

Years of research has produced groundbreaking findings as detailed in https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/731074 and https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2207293119 – and CBPR aims to continue to uncover more in its clinical studies and your family can help! The group is currently seeking both perinatal and childhood stroke survivors aged 11 and older to undergo functional MRI’s to determine how the brain reorganizes after stroke. These images are taken without any invasive procedures or radiation. Participation involves two or three visits to the Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, DC, and participants will be compensated for their time, and hotel in and transportation to and from Washington, DC is provided. Please note: they are looking for children, teens, and young adults who had an ischemic stroke as a baby, child, or teen. If you are unsure what type of stroke your child has had, please reach out to them and they can do a preliminary screening.

If you are interested in learning more, please email cbpr@georgetown.edu or call 202-687-3727. To find out more about the Center for Brain Plasticity and Recovery, please visit their website. A full description of this study can be found here or on the CBPR 2023 Flyer.

Baby Brain Recovery Study
This study aims to assess, over the first two years of life, concurrent recovery and development of the infant brain and resultant function after an early brain injury (such as perinatal stroke, brain bleed, or HIE). They are recruiting families with 0-6 months old infants with a history of early brain injury. The visits will take place at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Waisman Center, 1500 Highland Avenue in Madison, Wisconsin. There will be 4-5 study visits over 2 years. Financial support for travel is available. If you’re interested in participating or have questions, call 608-381-2699 or email brainrecovery@pediatrics.wisc.edu. Please see the Baby Brain Recovery Study brochure or visit ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT number): NCT05013736 for more information.

TOlerability of transcranial direct current stimulation in Pediatric Stroke Survivors (TOPSS)
The TOPSS Study is a research project by the UTHealth Pediatric Stroke Program in Houston, Texas that’s looking at new ways to help kids get better after a stroke. This study is for kids and teenagers (current age 5 – 19) who had a stroke when they were 1 month old or older and now have a hard time moving one side of their body. This is not for children that had a perinatal stroke (stroke at or around the time of birth).

In this study, kids will try a new type of treatment for stroke. They’ll get regular occupational therapy, which helps them learn to do daily tasks, along with a special treatment called non-invasive neuromodulation, which uses safe and gentle electricity to try to help the brain recover. 

If your child joins the study, they’ll have 5 occupational therapy sessions (usually 5 consecutive days) to try to improve the use of their affected arm, and at the same time they’ll also receive the non-invasive neuromodulation treatment. There is also a pre and post assessment session. The study will be conducted at UTHealth in Houston, TX. There is a stipend given per each of the seven sessions, but travel to and lodging in Houston is not covered.

The study is open now and they are recruiting. Click here for the TOPSS flyer. For more information you can email pedistroke@uth.tmc.edu or call Melika at 713-500-7164.

Vein of Galen Malformation Research
Research for understanding the genetic factors that cause Vein of Galen malformation (VOGM) is now underway. This important research is being conducted by the Vein of Galen malformation Genetics Research Consortium (VOGM-GRC), which includes pediatric neurosurgeons, neurointerventionalists, neurologists, neurointensivists, geneticists, and molecular biologists. They are looking for patients of any age who have been diagnosed with VOGM and their family. Participant eligibility requires a donation of DNA from a cheek swab kit that will be mailed directly to your home. A short questionnaire detailing medical history will also be requested. For more information please visit the VOCM-GRC website; email Caroline Caudill, the Research Coordinator at vogm-genetics@uabmc.edu; see their VOGM Research brochure; or check their Twitter account, @VOGM_GRC.

Use of Ride-On Toys for Improving Arm Function, (Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts)
Researchers at the University of Connecticut are seeking participants for a study funded by the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM). The study will examine how a home program involving a joystick-operated ride-on-toy affects a child’s bilateral upper extremity use and functional participation. The study involves two phases: the first phase is a 6-week control phase in which the team will keep track of conventional therapy the participant is presently receiving in and out of school through weekly check-ins; the next 6-week is the intervention phase where the participant receives training for a ride-on-toy.

Participants will be between the ages of 3 and 8 years old and have hemiplegic cerebral palsy. Research will be conducted at the participant’s home school or a local playground, so participants should reside in the Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts area within a 1.5 hour driving radius from the University of Connecticut, Storrs campus.

Please see the call for research participants flyer for more information. If you’re interested in participating, please call 860-486-6192 or email sudha.srinivasan@uconn.edu.

Research Studies on Pediatric Hemiplegia in Chicago, IL
Do you have a child with weakness in one arm from childhood-onset hemiplegia? If so, your child is invited to participate in a pediatric hemiplegia study at Northwestern University. Participants will be compensated. To learn more about the research study, click here.
Contact Divya Joshi at divyajoshi@u.northwestern.edu or 312-503-6018 if you are interested!

Cerebral Palsy Foundation’s Research and Clinical Trials
The Cerebral Palsy Foundation offers a new monthly email to help connect you with research trials currently recruiting individuals with cerebral palsy in the United States. They have curated this list to help you find studies that might be a good fit for you or your child, they are listed study type, in order by age range. To learn more about each study, just click on the title to go to the study page. If you are interested in subscribing to their CPResource.org weekly newsletter and to learn more about Featured Clinical Trials, please Sign-Up Here. 

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov is a database of privately and publicly funded clinical studies conducted around the world. You can search by condition or disease (i.e. “pediatric stroke”, “hemiplegia”, “perinatal stroke”),  location, recruiting, completed, or terminated. The listings are updated regularly, so you are encouraged to check the site frequently.

We’ve made it easier for you by providing direct links to some of the terms associated with pediatric stroke.

ClinicalTrials.gov for Pediatric Stroke, recruiting/not yet recruiting
ClinicalTrials.gov for Perinatal Stroke, recruiting/not yet recruiting
ClinicalTrials.gov for Hemiplegia, (birth to 17 years) recruiting/not yet recruiting
ClinicalTrials.gov for Cerebral Palsy, (birth to 17 years) recruiting/not yet recruiting

International Pediatric Stroke Study

The International Pediatric Stroke Study (IPSS) performs collaborative research aimed at understanding, preventing and improving outcomes in pediatric stroke, and to promote professional education, support families with pediatric stroke members, and support public education.

The IPSS currently includes over 150 participating research staff, investigators and collaborators from 55 active centers that have enrolled over 5600 children with stroke. Establishing this network has led to successful competitions for millions of dollars in research grants to fund the execution of the multicentre research studies and clinical trials required to advance knowledge and improve outcomes.

Please see the International Pediatric Stroke Study Colleagues and Collaborators list, to locate centers who participate in the IPSS worldwide. If you would like to contact IPSS directly, please send an email to ipss.research@sickkids.ca

Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)

The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute was established to fund research that can help patients and those who care for them make better-informed decisions about the healthcare choices they face every day, guided by those who will use that information. As the largest public research funder that focuses primarily on Clinical Effectiveness Research (CER), they issue funding announcements several times each year that call for proposals for CER projects. They include patients and other healthcare stakeholders throughout the research process, so the resulting evidence will address their most important questions and concerns.

PCORI sends weekly emails to notify you of newly funded research and engagement awards, opportunities to apply for funding, results of our funded research, stakeholder workshops, and original featured stories about their work.