Two Children's Hospital of Wisconsin investigators were honored April 23, 2009, with a "Dream Maker" award from the Jeffrey Modell Foundation. Jack Routes, MD, and James Verbsky, MD, PhD, were the recipients of the annual award for their work in severe combined immunodefiency. Drs. Routes and Verbsky led the nation by helping Wisconsin become the first state to screen for the fatal disease. Dr. Routes is the medical director of Allergy/Immunology at Children's Hospital and professor of Pediatrics, (Allergy and Immunology), Medicine, (Microbiology and Molecular Genetics), and section chief of Allergy and Immunology at The Medical College of Wisconsin. Dr. Verbsky is a pediatric rheumatologist at Children's Hospital and an assistant professor of Pediatrics, (Rheumatology) at The Medical College. The Jeffrey Modell Foundation was established by Vicki and Fred Modell in memory of their son Jeffrey, who died at the age of 15 of pneumonia due to an underlying a primary Immunodeficiency disease.