The Center for Prevention of Preterm Birth
This endeavor is unique among children’s hospitals in developing a platform to circumvent the leading causing of infant mortality, preterm birth. To accomplish this goal, Cincinnati Children’s has dedicated substantial institutional resources to maintaining the current areas of accomplishment in lung development and complications of prematurity. Additionally, this year we recruited Louis Muglia, MD.
Number One Neonatology Program
Our work in helping prevent prematurity and improving outcomes for infants born prematurely has made us a leader in the field. Our efforts were recognized this year by US News and World Report, who named us the number one neonatology program in the nation in their 2012 issue of “Best Children’s Hospitals.”
First MRI in a neonatal intensive care unit.
We were first in the world to establish an MRI scanner in a newborn intensive care unit, which we did this year. Previously, infants most in need of this imaging modality were prevented from study because of the risks of transporting them out of the NICU. The novel, safe implementation of this imaging system within the Cincinnati Children’s NICU will be transformative in newborn care.
Expansion of Cincinnati Children’s newborn care services to Dayton
In October of 2012, the Perinatal Institute will offer clinical services for newborns in the Kettering Health Network hospitals in Dayton, Ohio. This will add 5,000 deliveries per year to our service area and enhance opportunities for patient-focused research and quality improvement.
Leading pulmonary research
Jeffrey Whitsett, MD, and colleagues received a National Institutes of Health award to study “Airway Progenitor Cell Proliferation and Differentiation During Lung Repair” as part of a consortium for the study of lung repair and regeneration. This effort focuses on transcriptional mechanisms controlling proliferation and differentiation of airway epithelial cell progenitors. The investigative team plans to generate new antibodies, gene expression data and transgenic models with broad application to the field of pulmonary biology and medicine.
