Leanne West has spent over a decade transforming how pediatric health solutions get developed, moving from laboratory concepts directly into children's hospitals by bridging the gap between engineers and clinicians who treat kids every day. Her recognition as a 2026 Innovator of the Year in Pediatric Health by the Atlanta Business Chronicle reflects a broader shift in how America approaches children's healthcare innovation, one that prioritizes real clinical needs over theoretical research .

What Does Pediatric Technology Innovation Actually Mean for Your Child?

When West began her work more than a decade ago, pediatric hospitals faced a persistent problem: brilliant engineering solutions existed in university labs, but they rarely made it to the bedside where children actually needed them. West's approach changed this by establishing the Pediatric Technology Center (PTC) as a partnership between Georgia Tech and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, creating a direct pipeline from clinical observation to engineered solutions .

The model works by identifying unmet needs directly from nurses, clinicians, and researchers who work with children daily. West then assembles multidisciplinary teams to develop prototypes, validate their effectiveness, secure funding, and navigate the regulatory pathways required by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This clinician-driven approach ensures that every innovation addresses a real problem children face, rather than solving problems that don't exist .

How Is West Expanding Pediatric Innovation Beyond Georgia?

West's influence extends far beyond Atlanta. In June 2025, Shriners Children's announced it would establish the Shriners Children's Research Institute (SCRI) in Georgia, co-located with Georgia Tech at Science Square, making Atlanta a nationally recognized hub for pediatric technology innovation . This partnership grew from West's steady engagement beginning in 2019, when she connected Shriners clinicians with researchers at Georgia Tech, Emory University, and Kennesaw State University to tackle real-world clinical challenges.

West also helped promising research teams navigate FDA pathways and secure national funding, accelerating the transition from laboratory discoveries to patient care. Her work demonstrates that pediatric innovation thrives when organizations align around a shared commitment to improving children's health .

Ways West Is Elevating Children's Voices in Healthcare Development

• Patient Inclusion in Trials: As president of the International Children's Advisory Network (iCAN), West ensures pediatric patients and their caregivers participate in device and drug development, clinical trials, healthcare education, and regulatory conversations with the FDA and industry partners.
• Youth Career Development: West champions opportunities that train and inspire young people and early career professionals to pursue roles across healthcare and life sciences, from clinicians and innovators to public health leaders and patient advocates.
• Global Advocacy: West served as an invited speaker at the 2025 World Health Organization's World Children's Health Day on the importance of clinical trials for children's safety, and at FDA meetings on pediatric research equity and pharmaceutical development.

West's leadership in elevating patient voices reflects a critical gap in healthcare innovation: children's perspectives are often absent from the development of products and treatments designed for them. By centering the voices of young people with chronic and rare conditions, iCAN ensures that solutions address what children and families actually need .

In November 2025, West consolidated three major gatherings into the first International Pediatric Healthcare Innovation Summit, combining Pediatric Innovation Day, the International Society for Pediatric Innovation's (iSPI) biennial PEDS2040 event, and the joint meeting of FDA-funded Pediatric Device Consortia. The Summit brought together more than 150 representatives from children's hospitals, startups, venture capitalists, clinicians, patients, and leaders from across the Georgia innovation ecosystem, strengthening the region's global presence in pediatric health innovation .

"What excites me most is what we can accomplish together when we combine our strengths to align around a children-first mindset to improve the healthcare of children everywhere," said West. "Kids will benefit in ways no one organization could achieve alone."

Leanne West, Chief Research and Innovation Officer at Shriners Children's

West's new role as chief research and innovation officer at Shriners Children's, announced in January 2026, expands her longstanding commitment to pediatric innovation at a national scale. Her recognition as one of Titan CEO's 2026 Georgia Titan 100 Honorees reflects the cumulative impact of more than a decade of leadership, partnership-building, and translational work across the worldwide pediatric ecosystem .

For families concerned about children's health, West's work signals an important shift: pediatric innovation is becoming more responsive to real clinical needs, more inclusive of children's voices, and more effective at moving solutions from research labs into hospitals where they can help kids. As more institutions adopt this collaborative model, children's healthcare will increasingly reflect what clinicians, engineers, and young patients actually need rather than what researchers think they should have.