
Children's Mercy Hospital is one of twenty-two type 1 diabetes TrialNet International Clinical Centers at the forefront of type 1 diabetes research. Led by Wayne Moore, MD, PhD the TrialNet team at Children's Mercy is dedicated to preventing type 1 diabetes and stopping disease progression by preserving insulin production before and after diagnosis.
Our Team

Wayne Moore, MD, PhD
Dr. Moore is Co-Principal Investigator for the Clinical Center at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. His primary interests in diabetes research have been prevention of diabetes and its complications at a translational and clinical level. He is a Certified Physician Investigator through the Association of Clinical Research Professionals. Dr. Moore has been at Children’s Mercy Hospital for over 20 years and was at University of Kansas Medical Center prior to Children’s Mercy. MD, PhD and Pediatric Residency were completed at University of Minnesota.

Mark Clements, MD, PhD
Dr. Clements is Co-Principal Investigator for the Clinical Center at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. His primary interests in diabetes research have been prevention of diabetes and its complications, and the use of big data predictive analytics to improve diabetes care. He is a Certified Physician Investigator through the Association of Clinical Research Professionals. Dr. Clements has been at Children’s Mercy Hospital for 13 years. He attended Butler University, then trained in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD program) at Washington University in St Louis. He completed his Pediatric Residency and Endocrine/Diabetes Fellowship at Children’s Mercy Kansas City.

Ryan McDonough, DO, FAAP
Ryan McDonough, DO, FAAP is a Pediatric Endocrinologist and the Co-Medical Director of the Children’s Diabetes Center. His expertise is in the use of clinical and medical informatics to improve management of clinical trials and health care delivery, and in the care of children and adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes. His role in the Clinical Center is recruiting and assisting in prevention trials. He completed his medical school at Des Moines University in Des Moines, IA, and Pediatrics Residency and Pediatric Endocrinology & Diabetes Fellowship at Children’s Mercy.

Fadi Al Muhaisen, MD, FAAP
Fadi Al Muhaisen, MD, FAAP is a Pediatric Endocrinologist and the Co-Medical Director of the Endocrine Disorders in Cancer patients clinic. He has a joint appointment at the Kansas University-Wichita School of Medicine as a Clinical Assistant Professor. His expertise is in the use of clinical and research to improve management of clinical trials and health care delivery, and in the care of children and adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes. His role in the Clinical Center is recruiting and assisting in prevention trials. Dr. Al Muhaisen is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, board certified, and a member of Pediatric Endocrine Society

Jennifer James, BA

Aliza Elrod

Dara Watkins, MA, CCRP

Susan Mitchell, RN, BSN

Casey McClain, BPS, MHA, CCRC

Kelsye Howell, RN

Steve Orlich, RN, ACRP-CP
Susan Parish, RN, CPN
Rachel Goff, BSN, RN, CPN
Luiz Sainz, BS, CCHI
Regional Affiliates
Affiliates provide opportunities for people who do not live near a TrialNet Clinical Center. The affiliate sites listed below work with Children's Mercy to offer convenient participation in our research programs
Research Studies
If you have a relative with T1D, you may be eligible for risk screening that can detect the early stages of T1D years before symptoms appear. More
Depending on your risk screening results, you may be eligible for monitoring. We’ll monitor you for disease progression and let you know if you become eligible for a study. More
We are testing the drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to see if it can delay or prevent early stage T1D (stage 1) from progressing to abnormal glucose tolerance (stage 2) and ultimately prevent clinical diagnosis (stage 3). HCQ is already used to reduce symptoms and progression of other autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. This is the first study to see if it can prevent or delay T1D. Details
TrialNet tested the drug abatacept to see if it could delay or prevent stage 1 T1D (two or more diabetes-related autoantibodies, but normal blood sugar) from progressing to stage 2 (abnormal blood sugar) or to stage 3 (clinical diagnosis). In an earlier study in people newly diagnosed (stage 3), participants treated with abatacept had 59% better insulin production and a 9.6-month average delay in progression of insulin loss compared to those who received placebo. That difference extended out to 3 years. Details
If you are diagnosed with T1D while participating in one of our prevention studies, we’re still here for you. You can continue to receive personal monitoring while helping us learn more. More
TrialNet is testing the safety of a new treatment, NNC0361-0041, in adults diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in the past 48 months. This is a Phase 1 study, which means it is the first time this treatment is being tested for safety in people. If this study results in no safety concerns, we plan to conduct a larger study to see if this same treatment can slow down or stop T1D in people at high risk, before clinical diagnosis. More