Leanne West, chief engineer of pediatric technologies at Georgia Tech and a national leader in pediatric health innovation, has been honored as a 2026 Innovator of the Year in Pediatric Health by the Atlanta Business Chronicle and selected as one of Titan CEO’s 2026 Georgia Titan 100 Honorees. These recognitions celebrate West’s leadership and impact in pediatric health innovation at both the local and national level. In January, West was also named chief research and innovation officer at Shriners Children’s, a role that expands her longstanding commitment to pediatric innovation. 

For more than a decade, West has been instrumental in the partnership between Georgia Tech and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, working through the Pediatric Technology Center (PTC) to translate clinical needs into engineered solutions for children. In this role, she has worked alongside Children’s clinicians, nurses, and researchers to identify unmet needs, form multidisciplinary teams, and guide projects from early concepts through prototyping, validation, funding, and regulatory pathways. The Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta PTC established Atlanta as a nationally recognized hub for pediatric technology innovation enabling clinician-driven research, accelerating translational projects, and fostering a culture in which engineering solutions are shaped directly by real clinical experience. 

In 2019, West began building a relationship with Shriners, working to understand their most pressing clinical needs. She then connected clinicians with researchers at Georgia Tech, Emory University, and Kennesaw State University to foster collaborations focused on real-world clinical challenges. She also supported teams with promising prototypes by helping them navigate national funding opportunities and pathways at the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), accelerating the transition from lab discoveries to patient care.  

Over time, this steady engagement evolved into a strong research partnership. In June 2025, Shriners announced they are joining the robust pediatric innovation ecosystem in Atlanta by establishing the Shriners Children’s Research Institute (SCRI). SCRI will be co-located with Georgia Tech as the anchor tenant at Science Square. This investment will be transformational for the future of pediatric research and innovation in the state of Georgia. 

“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.” 

West’s leadership in pediatric innovation doesn’t stop there. In November 2025, she consolidated three major gatherings into the first International Pediatric Healthcare Innovation Summit, combining the Pediatric Innovation Day, the International Society for Pediatric Innovation’s (iSPI) biennial PEDS2040 event, and the joint meeting of the FDA-funded Pediatric Device Consortia. The Summit highlighted the work of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, bringing 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. 

As president of the International Children’s Advisory Network (iCAN), West continues to elevate the voices of young people with chronic and rare conditions and their caregivers. Under her leadership, iCAN partners with industry, regulators, and the FDA to ensure pediatric patients are included in device and drug development, clinical trials, healthcare education, and regulatory conversations. She also champions opportunities that train and inspire youth and early career professionals to pursue roles across healthcare and life sciences — from clinicians and innovators to public health leaders and patient advocates. 

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 the Safety of Children, and at the FDA’s meeting on the Implementation of the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act and Pediatric Research Equity Act. She continues to contribute nationally through service on the Medical Device Innovation Consortium’s (MDIC) NEST executive committee to advance use of real-world evidence in regulatory submissions, particularly for pediatric devices, and the MDIC Patient Value committee. In addition, she serves on the iSPI executive team, the Patient Focused Medicines Development board, the Pediatric Trials Network steering committee, and as a judge for MedTech Innovator. 

West’s awards and new role reflect the cumulative impact of more than a decade of leadership, partnership-building, and translational work across the worldwide pediatric ecosystem. West and her fellow honorees will be officially recognized at the 2026 Health Care Champion Awards on March 19 and at the Titan 100 Awards on May 7.