Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation

About the Center

Founded in 2010 through a $150 million gift from the government of Abu Dhabi, the mission of the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation (SZI) is to make pediatric surgery more precise, less invasive and pain free. Our focus areas include technology innovation, pediatric device development and basic science designed to improve any interventions in pediatric patients.

Since its inception, the Institute has created an extensive infrastructure for research and development along with a focus on intellectual property and technology commercialization. The Institute encourages close partnerships between clinical and scientific experts, as well as with outside collaborators in both academia and industry.

The Institute currently has more than 15 investigators primarily affiliated with SZI and more than 70 technical and scientific staff, including postgraduate and graduate students and fellows. The Institute is further supported by, and has access to, more than 600 clinicians and clinician-scientists with Children’s National Hospital and the Children’s National Research Institute, the research arm of Children’s National.

The six winners, who presented medical devices for the NCC-PDI competition to improve NICU care, emerged from a field of 10 finalists.

Principal Investigators

Contact Us

Anthony Sandler, M.D.
Center Director
[email protected]

Kolaleh Eskandanian, Ph.D., M.B.A., P.M.P.
Executive Director, Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer
[email protected]

Kevin Cleary, Ph.D.
Associate Director for Engineering
[email protected]
202-476-3809