Medical Devices

Shriners Children’s to Establish Research Institute at Science Square

admin — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 12:58:49 +0000

Shriners Children’s to Establish Research Institute at Science Square admin Thu, 07/03/2025 - 08:58

Gov. Brian P. Kemp has announced a new world-renowned tenant for Science Square, signaling Georgia Tech's role in Atlanta and Georgia's expanding life sciences sector. According to the governor’s office, Shriners Children’s will establish a new pediatric medical research facility at Science Square, investing more than $153 million into the facility and creating 470 new jobs. The move by this nonprofit healthcare system, which has locations across North America and a global reach, shows the continued momentum in the region for this important area of research and development.

The Shriners Children’s Research Institute will be in Science Square Labs, positioned across from Georgia Tech’s North Avenue Research Area. The institute will serve as a multidisciplinary innovation hub focused on advancing healthcare for children. Areas of research will include cell and gene therapies, robotics, artificial intelligence, medical devices, biologics, and data informatics.

"Georgia Tech is excited to welcome Shriners Children’s to Science Square,” said Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera. “We developed Science Square to create a leading hub for life sciences research and innovation, and Shriners’ decision to be here will accelerate our progress to drive medical innovation, create high-impact jobs, and greatly strengthen Atlanta's thriving innovation ecosystem.”

Georgia Tech’s proximity and research strengths were key factors in the decision to locate the institute in Atlanta. The collaboration is expected to enhance the region’s growing reputation in life sciences and advanced research. Projected to be the largest tenant of Science Square, Shriners Children's would put the facility at 82% occupancy.

Shriners Children’s, founded in 1922 by members of the Shriners International fraternity, focuses on orthopedic and neuromuscular conditions, burn injuries, spinal cord injury rehabilitation, and cleft lip and palate. The organization also maintains a strong commitment to education and research. In 2024, Shriners Children’s served patients from all 50 U.S. states, every Canadian province, and 128 countries.

This news comes after Tech’s recent announcement regarding the move-in of about seven biomedical research labs into Science Square.

Science Square, a mixed-use development adjacent to Georgia Tech’s Midtown campus, continues to attract leading organizations in healthcare, technology, and research. The addition of Shriners Children’s further establishes the district as a hub for global innovation and community impact.

Subtitle

Governor’s office touts move that will create 470 new jobs.

Summary sentence

Shriners Children’s will open a $153 million pediatric medical research facility at Science Square, becoming the largest tenant in the development and contributing to Georgia Tech’s growing role in Atlanta’s life sciences sector.

Summary

Shriners Children’s will establish a new pediatric medical research facility at Science Square in Atlanta, investing more than $153 million into the project. Located across from Georgia Tech’s North Avenue Research Area, the facility will collaborate with Georgia Tech researchers and focus on advancing care in areas such as orthopedic and neuromuscular conditions, burn injuries, spinal cord injury rehabilitation, and cleft lip and palate.

Dateline

Thu, 07/03/2025 - 12:00

media@gatech.edu

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Siobhan Rodriguez
Senior Media Relations Representative
Institute Communications

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Shriners Children’s

Georgia Tech

science square

pediatric research

medical research facility

atlanta

orthopedic conditions

neuromuscular conditions

spinal cord injury

burn injuries

cleft lip and palate

Biomedical Engineering

artificial intelligence

robotics

Gene Therapy

Medical Devices

biologics

data informatics

research collaboration

Life Sciences

healthcare innovation

research institute

North Avenue Research Area

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Health and Medicine

Family Loss Brings About Medical Breakthrough

admin — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 20:28:41 +0000

Family Loss Brings About Medical Breakthrough admin Mon, 06/10/2024 - 16:28

The call from his mom is still vivid 20 years later. Moments this big and this devastating can define lives, and for Hong Yeo, today a Georgia Tech mechanical engineer, this call certainly did. Yeo was a 21-year-old in college studying car design when his mom called to tell him his father had died in his sleep. A heart attack claimed the life of the 49-year-old high school English teacher who had no history of heart trouble and no signs of his growing health threat. For the family, it was a crushing blow that altered each of their paths.

“It was an uncertain time for all of us,” said Yeo. “This loss changed my focus.”

For Yeo, thoughts and dreams of designing cars for Hyundai in Korea turned instead toward medicine. The shock of his father going from no signs of illness to gone forever developed into a quest for medical answers that might keep other families from experiencing the pain and loss his family did — or at least making it less likely to happen.

Yeo’s own research and schooling in college pointed out a big problem when it comes to issues with sleep and how our bodies’ systems perform — data. He became determined to invent a way to give medical doctors better information that would allow them to spot a problem like his father’s before it became life-threatening.

His answer: a type of wearable sleep data system. Now very close to being commercially available, Yeo’s device comes after years of working on the materials and electronics for an easy-to-wear, comfortable mask that can gather data about sleep over multiple days or even weeks, allowing doctors to catch sporadic heart problems or other issues. Different from some of the bulky devices with straps and cords currently available for at-home heart monitoring, it offers the bonuses of ease of use and comfort, ensuring little to no alteration to users’ bedtime routine or wear. This means researchers can collect data from sleep patterns that are as close to normal sleep as possible.

“Most of the time now, gathering sleep data means the patient must come to a lab or hospital for sleep monitoring. Of course, it’s less comfortable than home, and the devices patients must wear make it even less so. Also, the process is expensive, so it’s rare to get multiple nights of data,” says Audrey Duarte, University of Texas human memory researcher.

Duarte has been working with Yeo on this system for more than 10 years. She says there are so many mental and physical health outcomes tied to sleep that good, long-term data has the potential to have tremendous impact.

“The results we’ve seen are incredibly encouraging, related to many things —from heart issues to areas I study more closely like memory and Alzheimer’s,” said Duarte.

Yeo’s device may not have caught the arrhythmia that caused his father’s heart attack, but nights or weeks of data would have made effective medical intervention much more likely.

Inspired by his own family’s loss, Yeo’s life’s work has become a tool of hope for others.

Summary sentence

Family tragedy changed Hong Yeo’s life, with his new direction leading to a new potentially lifesaving medical device.

Summary

When he was in college, Hong Yeo's father died in his sleep from a heart attack, and Yeo changed his academic and research efforts as a result. Now, he and his research collaborators have developed a device that monitors vital signs during sleep, and it's the type of thing that may have helped doctors intervene in his father's illness if it had been available. This Sleep Scan device is a type of mask you can easily take on and off, and it has now been tested with human subjects and is close to being available commercially.

Dateline

Tue, 05/14/2024 - 12:00

Blair.Meeks@gatech.edu

Contact

Blair Meeks

Institute Communications

Georgia Tech

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Biomedical Engieering

Medical Devices

Sleep Apnea

Memory Research

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Shriners Children’s to Establish Research Institute at Science Square

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Family Loss Brings About Medical Breakthrough

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