The Section of Neonatology faculty are nationally and internationally recognized researchers with a broad range of research interests fostering programmatic areas of excellence.
Our Neonatology faculty have pioneered many critical developments in neonatal care for critically ill newborns and in many cases were the first in the world to use new therapies including:
- Surfactant replacement for premature babies’ lungs
- Inhaled Nitric Oxide therapy for pulmonary hypertension
- Brain cooling for perinatal brain injury
- Optimal nutritional strategies for low birth weight babies
Focus areas of interest for perinatal/neonatal research include:
- Fetal and Neonatal Nutrition & Metabolism
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn
- Pulmonary Vascular Development
- Worldwide Implementation of Neonatal Resuscitation Program
- The use of stable isotopes and indirect calorimetry to study glucose, non-glucose carbohydrate, and amino acid utilization in the premature infant
- Use of nitric oxide in the term and preterm infant and cardiopulmonary adaptation to altitude
Faculty are also involved in basic research at the molecular, cellular, organ and whole animal levels. Areas of excellence include:
- Research on carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism and on organ blood-flow regulation
- In vivo studies emphasizing chronically catheterized animals take place at the UCSOM Perinatal Research Center. Areas of research interest include pulmonary vascular development as well as placental, cerebral, hepatic, and muscle metabolism in normal, growth-retarded, and hypoxic fetal lambs
- Studies requiring stable isotopic analysis are completed in collaboration with a number of investigators on the UCSOM and Colorado State University campuses
- In vitro studies currently focus on growth-factor regulation and placental development under conditions of placental insufficiency
Perinatal Research Center (PRC)
The Department of Pediatrics Perinatal Research Center (PRC) is the longest standing research and educational program at Anschutz Medical Campus. Faculty who conduct studies at the Center are on the leading edge of research in maternal, placental, and fetal physiology.
The PRC supports the Division of Perinatal Medicine, which is jointly managed by the Departments of Pediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynecology. Other primary participating research and educational programs include the Pediatric Heart Lung Center and the Laboratory for Lung Development.
Faculty Research Interests