Following sharp reductions in pediatric medical researchers at the National Institutes of Health, bipartisan legislation seeks to increase pediatric-focused research at the agency by addressing challenges in researcher recruitment and retention and by creating a pipeline of early-career pediatric researchers. Sen. Joni Ernst is one of seven co-sponsors of the Pediatricians Accelerate Childhood Therapies (PACT) Act. It would establish an NIH-wide grant to support early-career pediatric researchers. “A strong pipeline of pediatric researchers is essential to ensuring kids in Iowa, and across the country, have access to innovative cures and treatments for the complex medical conditions that they and their families are facing,” Ernst said in a news release. The legislation is supported by the Iowa Pediatric Collaborative, an association of the primary pediatric specialty providers in Iowa that includes Blank Children’s Hospital, ChildServe, MercyOne Children’s Hospital and the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital.