BREAKING THROUGH with Madeline Bell

When Hannah was a baby, she was diagnosed with a rare eye disease that usually leaves patients completely blind. But Hannah’s story turned out differently thanks to an incredible gene therapy developed at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine. In this episode of The Breakthrough Chronicles, 11-year-old Hannah and her mom, Amy, share their family’s inspiring story with Madeline – and talk about how this breakthrough treatment changed Hannah’s life.

When Addy and Lily Altobelli were born in CHOP’s Garbose Family Special Delivery Unit, they needed highly specialized care because they were conjoined – their bodies were connected at the chest wall, diaphragm and liver. After spending almost a year in intensive care at CHOP, they were separated during a 10-hour surgery – and today, they’re thriving. Their parents, Dom and Maggie, join Madeline to share their daughters’ incredible story. Incredible stories like Addy and Lily's would not be possible without continued advancement by dedicated researchers and clinicians at CHOP and generous philanthropic support from partners like you. Click here to donate.

Our mitochondria make the energy that keeps us alive. Geneticist Marni Falk, MD, joins Madeline to discuss what happens when our mitochondria don’t work properly, the breakthroughs she and her team are making for patients with mitochondrial disease, and the importance of having a strong vision for your career.

Pediatric and fetal surgeon Holly Hedrick, MD, has made life-changing breakthroughs for children with congenital diaphragmatic hernia and other rare birth defects. She joins Madeline to talk about the advice her mentors shared with her along the way – and the children who continue to inspire her every day.

The team at CHOP’s Cardiac Center has been making life-changing breakthroughs for children for many years. The center’s co-director, pediatric heart surgeon Dr. Jonathan Chen, joins Madeline to discuss his team’s latest innovations – and to share his vision for the future of pediatric cardiac care.

World-renowned hematologist and scientist Dr. Katherine High has spent much of her career focused on achieving a goal few believed was possible: developing gene therapies and getting them to patients. Dr. High joins Madeline to talk about her journey from idea to breakthrough – and what it was like to create Spark Therapeutics, a company based on her innovations.

Strange symptoms with no clear cause. Medical histories that mystify even the most experienced doctors. Dr. Ian Krantz, Co-Director of CHOP’s Roberts Individualized Medical Genetics Center, specializes in solving “medical mysteries” – and he and his team have found answers for many patients who had almost given up hope. He joins Madeline to discuss the latest advances in precision medicine, why it’s important to share data with other scientists, and more.

In the spring, doctors began noticing a mysterious inflammatory condition in children that involved fever, rashes, diarrhea and vomiting. Now known as Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, or MIS-C, the rare syndrome seems to be a postviral inflammatory response to COVID-19. Dr. Edward Behrens, Chief of the Division of Rheumatology and Director of the Immune Dysregulation Frontier Program, discusses what his team has discovered about MIS-C and what gives him hope for the future.