Neonatal and Maternal Research Programs Funded

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development has funded two collaborative clinical research programs at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston - the collaborative multicenter neonatal research program and maternal fetal medicine program. Both grants support multi-institutional network research trials focused on clinical questions related to neonatal and maternal medicine. Both are funded for five years at a level of more than a $1 million each.

"We can be especially proud as an institution to have both neonatal and maternal research programs funded as there are only about 14 to 16 similar programs in each of the two networks nationwide, and we are among the very few to have both funded programs in one institution," says Dr. Jon Tyson, director of the Center for Clinical Research and Evidence-Based Medicine and principal investigator of the neonatal research component.

Both programs are designed to look at outcomes of large-scale randomized clinical research trials that are collaboratively coordinated by the national networks. The objective of the two programs is to facilitate evaluation of clinical research strategies by establishing a network of academic centers that, by rigorous patient evaluation using common protocols, can study the required numbers of patients and evaluate patient outcomes in a timely manner.

Dr. Tyson, who is principal investigator of the neonatal research program, notes that the Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics along with Memorial Hermann Children's Hospital were central to the successful refunding of his network grant, which he brought from UT Southwestern in 1998. The neonatal research unit is now refunded solely as a UT-Houston program. A number of research trials are already under way in this ongoing program, including a recently published study involving vitamin A and neonates as well as ongoing research addressing nitric oxide and high-risk infants.

Dr. Larry Gilstrap, chairman of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, is co-principal investigator of the newly funded maternal fetal medicine program. Dr. Susan Ramin, associate professor and Director of the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, serves as principal investigator.

"The neonatal and maternal programs really complement each other. This is a wonderful, collaborative accomplishment for the Medical School. The funding and support the grant provides facilitates our ability to address timely maternal clinical research needs on a national scale," says Dr. Gilstrap.

One of the criteria for the maternal research program funding was to have a clinical obstetrics program that delivers at least 3,000 infants a year.

"In our case, between Memorial Hermann Children's Hospital and LBJ General Hospital, we oversee about 9,000 deliveries a year. Both hospitals and their leadership, along with the strong collaborative effort among our faculty and departments, deserve special mention for our successful funding," he says.

"This is a wonderful accomplishment to have both research programs funded with high priority scores from a peer-reviewed funding agency. Delivering quality care and evaluating outcomes to inform the process of improving patient care for the future is what an academic medical institution such as ours is exceptionally qualified to do. I'm more than pleased that the National Institutes of Health has recognized our capabilities and provided the necessary funding to make both of these research entities a reality at our Medical School," says Dr. Maximilian Buja, dean of the UT-Houston Medical School.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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