Scholarship/Research Activities and Training

In addition to clinical training, time will be devoted to developing skills and experience in research and scholarly activity with the goal of preparing the graduate to embark on an academic career.

Incoming fellows will be provided with didactic training in research methods, study design, statistical methods, manuscript preparation, abstract writing, and grantsmanship through our core curriculum, the CHLA Combined Fellowship Curriculum, as well as through workshops and education provided through The Saban Research Institute. Additional training and/or participation in Certificate or Master’s Degree programs offered through University of Southern California (USC) may also be supported to meet the needs of individual fellows.

Fellows will have the opportunity to explore potential research directions at the beginning of fellowship. With the support of our divisional leadership, trainees will identify an area of scholarly interest, a mentorship group, and form a scholarly oversight committee to support the fellow during the first year of fellowship.

Many of the physicians and scientists within the FNI have significant experience mentoring and supporting the scholarly development of fellows and junior faculty. They look forward to furthering the education and development of future academic neonatologists through our fellowship program. Fellows will have access to potential mentors and collaborators throughout CHLA, the Saban Institute, and schools within USC.

CHLA is a member of the Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Consortium (CHNC), where multiple focus groups have been developed to support database driven collaborative research which are open to fellows from CHNC sites, as well as competitive research grants for fellows who are in the second half of their first year.

A significant amount of time during the second and third years of training will be devoted to scholarly activities. Regular Scholarly Oversight Committee (SOC) meetings will be a forum to share work in progress and receive feedback and guidance. Fellows will receive financial support to present work at regional and national meetings, publish, and identify potential opportunities for funding future work. During the second and third years, fellows will be provided with career mentorship and resources around applying and interviewing for future positions in Neonatology.

Current Research Focuses and Publications within the FNI

Selected Research Areas:

Selected Current Multicenter Trial/Collaborative Participation

Selected Publications from members of the FNI: 2023-2024

  • Bachman TE, Iyer NP, Newth CJL, LeMoyne R. Determining an Optimal Oxygen Saturation Target Range Based on Neonatal Maturity: Demonstration of a Decision Tree Analytic. Diagnostics (Basel). 2023 Oct 26;13(21):3312. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics13213312. PMID: 37958208; PMCID: PMC10648394.
  • Gateau K, Schlueter L, Pierce LJ, Thompson B, Gharib A, Durazo-Arvizu RA, Nelson C, Levitt P. (2023) Exploratory study evaluating the relationships between perinatal adversity, oxidative stress, and infant neurodevelopment across the first year of life. PLOS Glob Public Health 3(12): e0001984.
  • Ha JH, Borzage MT, Vanstrum EB, et al. Quantitative noninvasive measurement of cerebrospinal fluid flow in shunted hydrocephalus. Journal of Neurosurgery, Published online October 06, 2023. doi: 10.31171/2023.7.JNS231326.
  • Hicks TD, Cameron J, Wang S, Ashrafi A, Szmuszkovicz J, Iyer N, Bansal M. Assessing the role of tracheostomy placement in bronchopulmonary dysplasia with pulmonary hypertension. J Perinatol. 2024 Feb 5. doi: 10.1038/s41372-024-01881-y. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38316933.
  • Huang J, Friedlich P, Easterlin MC. Does early prostacyclin therapy decrease extracorporeal life support use in infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia? J Perinatol. 2024 Apr;44(4):594-597. doi: 10.1038/s41372-024-01920-8. Epub 2024 Mar 5. PMID: 38443465; PMCID: PMC11003862.
  • Iyer NP, Rotta AT, Essouri S, et al. Association of Extubation Failure Rates with High-Flow Nasal Cannula, Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, and Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure vs Conventional Oxygen Therapy in Infants and Young Children: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis. JAMA PEDIATR. 2023;177(8):774–781. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.1478. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2805373
  • Merkel CA, Brady KM, Votava-Smith JK, Tran NN. (2023). A pilot study: Comparing a novel noninvasive measure of cerebrovascular stability index with an invasive measure of cerebral autoregulation in neonates with congenital heart disease. J Clin Transl Sci. 2023 Jul 10;7(1):e165. doi: 10.1017/cts.2023.581. PMID: 37588677; PMCID: PMC10425865.
  • Miller JL, Baschat AA, Rosner M, Blumenfeld YJ, Moldenhauer JS, Johnson A, Schenone MH, Zaretsky MV, Chmait RH, Gonazalez JM, Miller RS, Moon-Grady AJ, Bendel-Stenzel E, Keiser AM, Avadhari R, Jelin AC, Davis JM, Warren DS, Hanley DF, Watkins JA, Samuels J, Sugarman J, Atkinson MA. Neonatal survival after serial amnioinfusions for bilateral renal agenesis: The renal anhydramnios fetal therapy trial. JAMA. 2023 Dec 5; 330(21):2096-2105. PMID: 38051327
  • Noori S, Ramanathan R, Lakshminrusimha S, Singh Y. Hemodynamic assessment by neonatologist using echocardiography: Primary provider versus consultation model. Pediatr Res. 2024 May 22. doi: 10.1038/s41390-024-03248-7. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38778230.
  • Rajagopalan V, Truong V, Wang S, Lopez J, Rosas V, Borzage M, Votava-Smith JK, Ponrartana S, Panigrahy A, Detterich J, Wood J. Non-invasive in-utero quantification of vascular reactivity in human placenta. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 2024 Apr;63(4):481-488. doi: 10.1002/uog.27512. Epub 2024 Mar 8. PMID: 37820067.