Breakthroughs

Great Ormond Street Hospital is an Intelligence Research Hospital, combining our extensive research and innovation work to improve the lives of children with rare and complex diseases. Our dedicated staff are often researchers themselves and we have more than 500 active research projects underway at any one time.

Over more than 160 years of innovation and dedication, GOSH has remained at the forefront of paediatric medicine.

Thanks to the sustained and rigorous efforts of our staff, the hospital enjoys a strong heritage of ground-breaking work, be that understanding the nature and causes of disease, pioneering new treatments or discovering better ways of working. 

1852 – First hospital in UK to dedicate care to children

GOSH was the first hospital in the UK to offer dedicated inpatient care to children and opened with just 10 beds.

1934 – First hospital in the UK to obtain the Drinker Respirator

Also known as the ‘iron lung’, this device was used to treat polio by helping to expand children’s lungs, allowing them to breathe easier. It was subsequently loaned out to other hospitals.

1962 - First heart and lung bypass machine for children

The hospital pioneered the first heart and lung bypass machine for children, revolutionising heart surgery.

1962 - Shunt valves for children with hydrocephalus

Children’s author Roald Dahl, hydraulic engineer Stanley Wade, and paediatric neurosurgeon Kenneth Till joined forces to invent a pioneering shunt valve for children with hydrocephalus (water on the brain). The new shunt, which is used to drain excess fluid from the skull, was robust, easy to sterilise and, crucially, didn’t jam like previous versions.

1967 - First UK clinical trials of the rubella vaccine

Within a year, 110 children had been vaccinated. Three years later, in 1970, the UK-wide immunisation of girls and childbearing adult females was rolled out for rubella.

1970s – New technique developed to isolate vital immune cells

An immunologist at GOSH developed a technique used to isolate vital immune cells in the blood, extracting immune cells from a healthy donor and transplanting them into a child.

1979 - First bone marrow transplant at GOSH

As part of our pioneering bone marrow transplant programme, Professor Roland Levinsky attempted to transplant cells from a healthy donor into the bone marrow of a patient with severe combined immunodeficiency. The operation was successful, curing the young patient of the disease.

2001 – Ground-breaking programme of research into gene therapy begins

Immunologists at GOSH sparked a ground-breaking programme of research into gene therapy, a technique where a faulty section of DNA (a gene) is replaced with a working copy. The team began a trial that would become the second-ever successful trial of gene therapy for any disease anywhere in the world.

2001 - Heart valve replacements

A radical technique was introduced to replace faulty heart valves in children without the need for open heart surgery. The collapsible stent is inserted into a balloon and pushed through a blood vessel into the heart. The balloon is inflated, causing the stent and valve to expand into position.

2015 – New wave of CAR T-cell research sparked around the world

GOSH immunologist used CAR T-cells to treat a one-year-old patient with ‘incurable’ leukaemia. This incredible world-first sparks a new wave of CAR T-cell research around the world.

2018 – GOSH’s Data Research, Innovation and Virtual Environments (DRIVE) unit is established and the Digital Research Environment (DRE) is launched across GOSH and UCL ICH

Following the introduction of EPIC Electronic Patient Record system, GOSH’s world-leading DRIVE unit and DRE are established to focus on using data and technology to improve clinical care and patient experience.

2019 – Clinical Informatics Research Programme (CIRP) is launched
Funded by GOSH Children’s Charity, CIRP was launched at GOSH DRIVE to support research academics to build vital skills and evidence for the application of data and computer science in healthcare.

2021 – 100,000 Genome Project uncovers new diagnoses for patients

A world-first scientific study with major involvement from GOSH showed that whole genome sequencing could uncover new diagnoses for people across the broadest range of rare diseases investigated to date and could deliver enormous benefits across the NHS.

2021 – Non-invasive imaging technique helps parents find answers after miscarriage

The imaging team at GOSH developed a non-invasive imaging technique for the post-mortem imaging of babies who are miscarried or stillborn. The technique can provide answers for bereaved parents and help tackle the stigma around pregnancy loss and miscarriage.

2021 – Gene therapy offers a potential cure to children born without an immune system

An international team of researchers at GOSH and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) developed a gene therapy that successfully treated 48 out of 50 children with a form of severe combined immunodeficiency that leaves them without an immune system. Results from this trial could support gene therapy to become a possible first-line treatment for this disease.

2021 – New technique makes heart transplant possible for more children in need

A new technique developed by researchers funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) at GOSH and the UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Science (UCL ICS) has doubled the number of children able to receive a heart transplant, giving them new hope of a longer and healthier life.

2022 – Ideas platform launched by DRIVE for staff led projects

Dedicated to capturing the needs and ideas of our staff, the Ideas Platform connects clinical and non-clinical experts with project support, data science and technology partners, and evaluation with patients and families.

2022 – Pre-screening technique developed for diagnosing Spinal Muscular Atrophy

A team from GOSH and the UCL GOS Institute of Child Health (ICH) discovered that ‘blood spot’ testing new-borns could identify children who will go on to develop Spinal Muscular Atrophy meaning these children could be offered life changing treatment options before they start showing symptoms.

2022 – GOSH patient receives world-first treatment for ‘incurable’ T-cell leukaemia

13-year-old Alyssa became the first reported patient in the world to receive base-edited T-cells at GOSH, in collaboration with the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (UCL GOSH ICH) to treat her ‘incurable’ T cell leukaemia.

2022 – Funding boost for research at GOSH

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) announces that GOSH’s Biomedical Research Centre (NIHR GOSH BRC) and Clinical Research Facility (CRF) will receive five years of funding to deliver translational and early stage clinical research respectively.

2023 – The pioneering Clinical Intelligence Unit (CIU) was launched

The CIU was established at GOSH DRIVE to partner with clinical and operational teams to understand their needs, identify inefficiencies and build digital tools that can support their roles.

2023 – GOSH patient first to receive improved kidney transplant

8-year-old Aditi became the first child in the UK and on the NHS to be taken off immunosuppressants just one-month after her kidney transplant after she received her mother’s bone marrow six months before receiving a transplant for severe irreversible kidney failure.

2023 – New study finds reducing oxygen levels for children in intensive care will save lives

A new landmark study across the NHS, led from GOSH, found that reducing oxygen levels for critically ill children on mechanical ventilators in intensive care could save tens of young lives each year.

2024 – New treatment for brain tumour approved after over 20 years of research

The first-ever targeted treatment for brain tumours in children is approved for NHS patients. The research was led by Professor Darren Hargrave, a consultant at GOSH.