Research Programs
The section of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine has a long history of excellence in clinical and basic research. Given that neonatology fellows will invest a certain portion of their training in research, it is important that the experience be enjoyable, focused on an important subject, guided by superb mentors/investigators and of the quality supported by NIH funding. Exposure to excellent clinical or basic research will provide the fellow with skills necessary to evaluate literature and research, as they apply those results to clinical care, teaching and/or investigation. Neonatology fellows routinely present their research at national meetings, and many have won prestigious awards for their work.
Five NIH funded Neonatal faculty utilize genetically engineered mice to investigate the mechanisms of normal blood cell production during embryonic and fetal development and to identify the signaling pathways that cause dysregulated hematopoesis in animal models or the human disorders: Neurofibromatosis, Fanconi Anemia, Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, and Noonan's syndrome. Two NIH funded Neonatal faculty utilize the chronically catheterized fetal sheep model to understand normal and intrauterine restriction of fetal growth and to identify cellular mechanisms leading to normal or altered protein accretion. Two NIH funded Neonatal faculty employ stable isotope tracer methodologies in human newborn infants to analyze glucose and protein utilization during normal and abnormal growth and disease states.
Randomized clinical trials are largely accomplished through multcenter trials, funded by NICHD, designed to evaluate new interventions or treatments in this patient population. Fellows in training and faculty within the Section have actively participated as investigators or principal investigators of trials within the NICHD Neonatal Research Network.
These research efforts are conducted within the research facilities of the Indiana University School of Medicine. The Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research, containing ~28,000 square feet of basic research laboratories, is located within the Riley Hospital for Children and the adjacent Cancer Research Center. In addition, the mass spectrometry core laboratory, occupying 2000 square feet and located within Riley Hospital, is dedicated primarily to metabolic studies of the fetus and newborn. Within the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at Riley Hospital is a 600 square foot area dedicated to clinical research for performance of indirect calorimetry, stable isotope infusions, and sample collections. This area is supported by the NIH GCRC Neonatal Scatterbed.
Fellows may elect to work with any of the basic research or clinical research investigators in the section of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, or may choose a mentor from outside the section. A wide variety of opportunities are available to fellows in both basic and clinical research within the Department of Pediatrics and the Indiana University School of Medicine. In addition, fellows may pursue formal study of clinical research through a Masters in Clinical Research or a Masters in Public Health.
Indiana University has been funded by the National Institute of Health through a K-30 grant to develop and implement the Clinical Investigator Training Enhancement (CITE) program. The purpose of this program is to prepare health care professionals for a career in clinical research. Following completion of the program, graduates can embark on a career in clinical research with the skills necessary to successfully compete for grant funding, conduct and analyze research findings, and publish their work in scientific journals. By participating in the program, CITE trainees will accomplish two primary objectives:
- Complete a two-year formal clinical research curriculum, at the end of which they will receive a Master of Science in Clinical Research degree.
- Conduct clinical research under the mentorship of a faculty scientist whose discipline or area of clinical investigation corresponds to the research interests and career aims of the CITE enrollee. An Advisory Committee consisting of a primary mentor and other relevant faculty scientists will be established for each enrollee to monitor progress.
The Morris Green Pediatric Scientist Scholarship Program is an interdisciplinary training program that combines unique strengths of the Department of Pediatrics and Indiana University School of Medicine to provide clinical fellows with training in:
- formal instruction in research methods, research ethics and grant preparation
- acquisition of new research skills
- discipline-specific and inter-disciplinary role models and mentors
Two parallel tracks are available that do not follow traditional pediatric subspecialty formats because the research skills that will be required for successful scientists transcend specialty. The Basic Research track will prepare graduates for careers in basic or translational pediatric research with opportunities to concentrate in one of five thematic areas of relevance to pediatrics - blood cell development and genetic blood cell disorders, host defense and inflammation, cancer biology, growth and metabolism, and cardiopulmonary physiology and development. The Child Health Research track will prepare pediatricians for careers in clinical research, health services research and medical informatics. In both tracks, fellows receive instruction in the ethical conduct of research, grant preparation, research design, research methods and biostatistics appropriate for their area of specialization, and scientific writing. Fellows electing the Child Health Research track will obtain a Masters of Science in Clinical Research through Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis.
Clinical fellows in any pediatric subspecialty are eligible to apply for these tracks. Essential elements for acceptance into this program are a previous demonstration of academic achievement and research, commitment to an academic, investigative career, and support of an established mentor. Applications are judged competitively, and accepted fellows receive a stipend supplementation (incentive) during their research time of $12,500 per year, with a minimum time of 1 year and maximum of 2 years in the program. This research time must not be interrupted by clinical service.
