Research Training

The Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at McGovern Medical School is involved in various laboratory, translational and clinical research activities in the following areas:

Areas of Ongoing Basic Research

• Surfactant protein biochemistry
• Mechanisms of meconium-induced lung injury

Areas of Ongoing Clinical Research

(including NICHD Multicenter Network of NICUs)

• Management of infants with short bowel (randomized trial)
• Hypothermia for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (randomized trials)
• Surgical management of necrotizing enterocolitis (randomized trial)
• Education methods in the neonatal intensive care unit
• Palliative care for infants
• Phototherapy treatment in the ELBW (randomized trial)
• Early feeding in VLBW (randomized trial)

The primary goal of the research component of the fellowship program is aid in the development of high-quality scholarly activity by the fellow. The program provides the fellow with guided research training and broad exposure to research experiences during the three years of fellowship. The choice of research project must be decided by the fellow with advice and approval from the Fellowship Director and the Division Director. By the end of the first year, the fellow will have developed a research proposal. The two remaining years of fellowship will be used to execute the research proposal. Progress and review of each fellow’s research project is monitored by a Scholarship Oversight Committee at regular intervals through the three years.