About the Network

The Childhood Liver Disease Research and Education Network (ChiLDREN) is a collaborative team of doctors, nurses, research coordinators, medical facilities and patient support organizations in the US working together to improve the lives of children and families dealing with rare liver diseases.

ChiLDREN has recently been funded and combines the Biliary Atresia Research Consortium (BARC) and the Cholestatic Liver Disease Consortium (CLiC), as well as new studies on cystic fibrosis liver disease (CFLD). This consolidation seeks to facilitate our ability to discover new diagnostics, etiologic, and treatment options for children with liver disease, and those who undergo liver transplantation, and to train the next generation of investigators in rare pediatric liver diseases. The Network is sponsored by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), a division of the National Institutes of Health.

Although we are quickly moving to consolidate the previous consortia into one network, currently different childhood liver diseases are being studied at different clinical sites. One of the purposes of the network is to provide a way for patients to join with doctors and researchers by participating in research studies. The greater the collaboration between doctors and patients and their families, the more we can learn about rare liver diseases. This important first step is necessary if we are to find new and better treatments.

Infants and children with cholestasis (blockage of bile flow from the liver) who receive their medical care at one of the participating BARC centers may be eligible to enroll in current BARC studies.

Infants and children with one of the following five diseases who receive their medical care at one of the participating CLiC centers may be eligible to enroll in current CLiC studies:

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Participating Centers

Research

Diseases We Study