The UCSF Pediatric Stroke Research Center is the research arm of the Pediatric Stroke and Cerebrovascular Disease Center directed by Dr. Christine Fox. Dr. Heather Fullerton, Chief of Child Neurology, serves as the director of the UCSF Pediatric Stroke Research Center and manages numerous research studies within it.

The mission of the center is to improve the lives of children affected by cerebrovascular disease worldwide through research, education, clinical care, and advocacy. To support this mission, the group collaborates with researchers both nationally and internationally on innovative studies. The group also actively participates in the International Pediatric Stroke Organization (IPSO), a non-profit where Dr. Fullerton serves as the inaugural president, and UCSF’s Brain Recovery Education Initiative (BREd), a program dedicated to creating personalized cognitive rehabilitation programs within an educational framework for children recovering from acquired brain injury (ABI).

The center is run by a team of pediatric vascular neurologists, a full-time epidemiologist and biostatistician, a project manager, and several clinical research coordinators. The center also benefits from dedicated research volunteers, many of whom go on to matriculate into medical and nursing schools.