Featured Trainee

Charitharth ‘Vivek’ Lal, MD, FAAP
University of Texas Southwestern at Dallas, TX

Vivek is currently a fellow in Neonatal- Perinatal Medicine at the University of Texas at Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX. Vivek was born and raised in the picturesque Andaman and Nicobar Islands off the coast of India and received his medical degree from Government Medical College Nagpur, India. He then moved to the United States and completed his Pediatric residency at the Women and Children Hospital, University of S Alabama. His interest in Neonatology and his research career began during his residency where he studied  cerebellar hemorrhages in the premature infant under the guidance of Dr. Michael Zayek and Dr. Fabian Eyal. This resulted in manuscript authorship and presentations at local and national meeting.

As a neonatal fellow, Vivek has focused on both basic science and clinical research. He is interested in understanding the role of antiangiogenic and proinflammatory protein  EMAP II in the pathogenesis of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia, under the mentorship of Dr. Margaret Schwarz. For this research, he was awarded the 2012 AAP Young Investigator Award and the SoPPe Travel Award at the AAP National Conference and Exhibition, New Orleans. He is involved in clinical and quality improvement projects under the guidance of  Dr. Pablo Sanchez and Dr. Lina Chalak. In addition Vivek is also interested in Neonatal Resuscitation/outreach and has been at invited NRP seminars with Dr. Myra Wyckoff. Following the completion of his fellowship, Vivek plans to remain actively involved in resident and fellow education and aspires to be a successful academic Neonatologist and researcher.

Deepthi Alapati , MD, FAAP

University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Deepthi is currently a fellow in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Born and raised in India, she received her medical degree from Madras Medical College, India and then moved to New York where she completed her pediatric residency and chief residency at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center. Her research career began during her residency training where she focused on neonatal infections and first authored peer-reviewed publications and presented at local and national meetings.

As a neonatal fellow, Deepthi has mainly focused on translational research under the mentorship of Dr. Shu Wu. She is interested in understanding the role of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and its signaling pathways in hyperoxia-induced neonatal lung injury. Her research on “Anti-CTGF Therapy Prevents Hyperoxia-induced Lung Injury in Neonatal Rats” was awarded an IKARIA grant as well as a PAS Travel Award. In addition, she is also involved in clinical research and is evaluating the neuro-developmental outcomes of VLBW infants who received early vs. late ibuprofen for treatment of PDA.

Krithika Lingappan, MD, FAAP
Texas Children’s Hospital Baylor College of Medicine
TECaN Chair-Elect, TECaN representative to the ONTPD,
PAS Travel Grant Awardee 2011

Krithika is a third year fellow at Texas Children’s Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. After obtaining her medical degree from Kilpauk Medical College, India she completed her residency in pediatrics from University of Chicago, Comer Children’s Hospital graduating as the Best Senior Resident in 2009. She currently serves as the District VII Fellow Representative, the representative to the ONTPD, and is the Chair-elect for TECaN, the Trainee and Early Career Neonatologists Group of AAP Section on Perinatal Pediatrics. Krithika's research focuses on Gender based differences in hyperoxic lung injury and the role of the Cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A) system. She was one of the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) Travel grant award recipients for 2011. She is also currently enrolled in the Clinical Scientist training program at Baylor college of Medicine.

Misty Good, MD, FAAP
The Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh

Misty Good completed her pediatric residency d at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria, where she was also Chief Resident. She has accepted a faculty position at The Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, where she will pursue a career in basic science research. Her current research interests include the effect of breast milk on necrotizing enterocolitis. She was awarded the Frederick M. Kenny Memorial Award for her outstanding research presentation at the Midwest Society of Pediatric Research. Her abstract entitled, "Epithelial Growth Factor Attenuates the Severity of Experimental Necrotizing Enterocolitis and Inhibits Toll-Like Receptor 4 Signaling in Enterocytes " was awarded the David G. Nathan Award in Basic Research by a fellow at the PAS 2011 meeting in Denver. In addition to her basic science research, Misty is also the primary investigator for a translational study evaluating infants with and without NEC.

Debra Stern, MD, FAAP
Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles

Debra, who recently finished neonatal-perinatal fellowship at Stony Brook University Medical Center, returned to Academic Life after a 17 year history as a General Pediatrician. Her career took a circuitous route from Northern California to Maui, HI and then to East Hampton, NY before she decided to change gears and pursue that Fellowship that was put on hold with 2 small children to raise. “Now that my kids are adults, it is my chance to continue my education. My perspective of the NICU began in the pre-surfactant, pre-HFOV, pre-NO era as a medical student at UCSF and Resident at Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles. Now is certainly the right time to be in Neonatology.”

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Amit Agrawal , MD, FAAP
Johns Hopkins Hospital

TECaN District III Representative

Neonatology sparked Amit's interest during medical school at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, in North Carolina. He proceeded cross-country to California to complete his Pediatric Residency Program at UCLA Medical Center, where he received the Alice Litman Moss Annual Resident Award and the annual Omolara Olaniyan Fellow Appreciation and Teaching Award for the Department of Pediatrics, for his efforts in resident education and development. With his mentor, Dr. Lawrence Nogee, Amit’s research interests lie in genetic mutations leading to surfactant deficiency and neonatal respiratory disease, with implications in future clinical testing and prenatal counseling for at risk infants.

Olena Predtechenska, MD, FAAP
Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York

Recipient of an award for "Advancing Newborn Medicine -
A Grant Program for Fellows in Neonatology”.

Olena Predtechenska is currently a third year fellow in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York, part of the North Shore-LIJ Health System. Born and raised in Kiev, Ukraine, Olena entered the pediatric arena early and obtained her Doctor of Medicine degree at the Ukrainian National Medical University. She completed her residency in Pediatrics at the State University of New York (SUNY) downstate in Brooklyn. During her residency training, Olena was presented with the award for Highest Score on the In-Service Exam, demonstrating her dedication to medical education.

Olena’s primary research interest is in bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Under the mentorship of Dr. Dennis Davidson and Dr. Kavita Kasat, she is involved in a project investigating the effects of interleukin-10 versus glucocorticoids on proinflammatory cytokine release from endotoxin stimulated macrophages, essential for understanding the resolution of airway inflammation during the development of BPD. The ultimate goal of this research is to develop novel therapy for BPD. During her second year of fellowship, Olena was awarded the "Ikaria Advancing Newborn Medicine - A Grant Program for Fellows in Neonatology” for her research entitled “Anti-Inflammatory Therapy for Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia.”

Julie Gooding, MD, FAAP
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center

TECaN District IV Representative

Julie is a third year fellow at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Her interest in advocacy and the AAP began in residency, where she served as the State of South Carolina's Resident Representative to the AAP. She currently serves as the District IV Fellow Representative as well as the Secretary-Treasury for TECaN, the Trainee and Early Career Neonatologists Group of AAP Section on Perinatal Pediatrics.

Julie's clinical interests include feeding disorders of infants and she is conducting a research project evaluating short term outcomes of infants with dysphagia. In relation to that project, she is evaluating quality improvement measures of cue-based feeding and early identification of feeding difficulties. In addition to research, she has a strong interest in medical education and serves on the Fellowship Education Task Force which works to improve fellowship medical education and she has created and implemented a new board review curriculum at her program.

Binoy Shivanna, MD, DM, FAAP
Texas Children's Hospital

2010 Arnold J Rudolph Award for Outstanding Teaching, Patient Care,
Scientific Inquiry, and Professional Integrity

Born in India, Binoy received his medical degree and Doctor of Medicine in Pediatrics from the University of Mysore, India, and Doctor of Medicine in Neonatology from the University of Mumbai, India. Before moving to the US to gain experience in basic science research, he also completed a Neonatology fellowship in Sydney, Australia. Binoy is currently an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Texas Children's Hospital, where he completed his Neo-Peri Medicine fellowship.

Binoy's research on "Modulation of Hyperoxic Lung Injury in Mice by the Cytochrome P450 1A Inducer: Omeprazole" was awarded the IKARIA grant as well as numerous awards including the Section's Young Investigator Award, 2009 and 2010 Texas Pediatrics Society Fellow Electronic Poster Contest, and Southern Society of Pediatric Research Award. Currently, Binoy is interested in understanding the signaling pathways involved in the inflammatory processes, which contribute to the development of BPD and NCE.

Joann Romano-Keeler - Monroe Carell Jr.
Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt

2010 Marshall Klaus Award Winner

Joann is a second year fellow at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville, TN. Prior to pursuing her medical training, she was an undergraduate at Duke University where she studied classical languages. After college, Joann obtained a Masters in Science in Human Nutrition from Columbia University and worked as a nutritionist for high-risk HIV+ pediatric patients. She left New York City to complete her medical school and pediatric residency at the University of Vermont.

As a neonatal fellow at Vanderbilt, she pursues translational research with Dr Hendrik Weitkamp, who is also a prior Marshall Klaus grant recipient. Specifically, she collects intestinal tissue samples from infants with and without NEC along with matched fecal samples. DNA is subsequently extracted from these samples followed by generation of 16s rDNA clone libraries and 454 deep sequencing. Phylogenetic analysis of sequencing data from NEC patients will provide insight into the diverse microbiome at the site of intestinal injury and allow for comparison with these same patients' stool microbiomes. This project represents strong collaborations with the Departments of Surgery, Pathology and Genomic Medicine. Joann attributes her commitment to research to the encouragement and support she receives from her family, especially her husband, Ray; her daughter, Connie Ann; and her wire fox terrier, Marvin.

Sara DeMauro - The Children's Hospital
of Philadelphia

2009 NRP Young Investigator Award Winner

Sara DeMauro is a third-year fellow in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where she also completed her residency in pediatrics. This summer, she will complete a Master's of Science in Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, with a focus on clinical trials. She has accepted a faculty position at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where she will pursue a career in neonatal clinical trials.

In 2009, Sara received a Young Investigator Award from the AAP Neonatal Resuscitation Program to conduct a study of the long-term effects of delivery room resuscitation on very low birth weight infants. For this project, she was a 2010 Eastern Society for Pediatric Research Young Investigator of the Year Award Finalist. Sara is currently enrolling patients in a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the role of screening echocardiography in the diagnosis and management of patent ductus arteriousus in very low birth weight infants.

Rajani Anand - Stanford University

Anand is currently a second-year fellow in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at Stanford University. Drawn to the field at an early age by his father, who is also a neonatologist, Anand began his training in Pediatrics at the University of California at San Diego. Under the mentorship of Dr. Neil Finer, Anand became interested in both teaching and neonatal resuscitation. There he was named the Outstanding Resident of the Year in 2007 and the Critical Care Resident of the Year in 2008.

Since arriving at Stanford, Anand has been named the Susan and Lynn Packard Orr Fellow in Neonatology and has first-authored a book chapter on neonatal resuscitation in the Pediatric Clinics of North America. He has pursued research in both medical simulation and machine learning for identifying novel physiomarkers of disease in neonates.

His research in the former won him the Neonatal Resuscitation Program’s Young Investigator Award for the study entitled: “Comparison of Umbilical Venous Catheterization and Intraosseous Needle Insertion during Simulated Neonatal Resuscitation.” This study is one of the first to use simulation as a novel research methodology and is aimed at assessing methods of emergent intravenous access using simulated neonatal codes in the delivery room. The findings will be important as there are no scientific, randomized-controlled studies to evaluate these devices for their use in neonatal resuscitation.

In conjunction with Suchi Saria M.Sc, Daphne Koller, Ph.D. from Stanford’s Department of Computer Science and Anna Penn, M.D., Ph.D. from the Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Anand has also began using novel machine learning techniques to identify novel physiomarkers for predicting illness and illness severity in preterm infants. Specifically, this research has led to the creation of a physiologic illness severity score comprised of a few quickly obtainable, simple physiologic patterns that are highly predictive of high morbidity in preterm infants. This work has been submitted for publication.

In the clinical setting, Anand is involved in quality assurance and improvement with Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital’s Delivery Room task force. He is currently coordinating a multicenter trial for infants with hyperammonemia, and has taken a keen interest in resident teaching, both at the bedside and at Stanford’s pediatric simulation center, known as the Center for Advanced Pediatric and Perinatal Education. Anand hopes to pursue a career in Neonatology at an academic center with a focus on teaching and medical simulation.

2010 ACGME David C. Leach, MD Award Recipient

Christopher Young, MD - University of Florida

Chris is currently a second-year fellow in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at the University of Florida. During residency, Chris was involved in many aspects of improving medical education, including his membership on the House Staff Advisory Committee. During fellowship, he has continued his efforts to improve medical education through numerous projects, including developing a fellowship follow-up survey to help evaluate his training program through surveying past graduates. His efforts have not only improved his fellowship program but have also gained attention from the ACGME. Chris was one of only five individuals or groups to be awarded the first-ever David C. Leach, MD award by the ACGME for his efforts in improving medical education. For more information on this award and to see the other winning projects, visit the ACGME Web site.

Aside from his quality improvement efforts, Chris is very active in other aspects of Neonatology. He is an accomplished researcher in the area of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis and infant nutrition. He has first authored peer-reviewed articles, is a co-author on others, and has also authored two book chapters that will be published soon.

Chris is the District X fellow representative to the AAP Section on Perinatal Pediatrics.

Dmitry Dukhovny, MD - Children's Hospital Boston

District I Fellow Representative to the AAP Section on Perinatal Pediatrics

Dr. Dmitry Dukhovny is a third-year Neonatology Fellow at the Harvard Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Training Program and a second-year Pediatric Health Services Research Fellow at Children's Hospital Boston. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, at Berkeley and his Medical Doctorate from Boston University School of Medicine. He completed his residency in Pediatrics at the Boston Combined Residency Program, at Boston Medical Center and Children's Hospital Boston. He is currently pursuing a Masters in Public Health at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Dmitry's research interests include cost-effectiveness analysis of neonatal therapies through economic evaluations of randomized controlled trials and use of decision analysis to model costs and outcomes. He is also developing a clinical prediction rule to determine which hospitalized pregnant women with preterm labor between 30 and 35 weks should be transferred to a Level III center prior to delivery based on the risk for their infant to require tertiary care after birth.

Mitzi Go, MD - Oregon Health and Science University

District VIII Fellow Representative and Gene Lawyer Awardee for Clinical Excellence

Mitzi is currently a second year fellow of Neonatal and Perinatal Medicine at Oregon Health and Science University, and a post-graduate student in their Masters of Clinical Research program. Born and raised in the Philippines, she was actively involved in youth leadership training while obtaining her bachelors degree in Biology at the University of the Philippines, Manila. Mitzi was a volunteer for medical and surgical missions around the country after obtaining her medical degree from the University of Santo Tomas. She served as a third year chief resident prior to completing her Pediatrics residency with the Children's Hospital at Scott and White/Texas A&M University and is a recipient of their Gene Lawyer Award for Clinical Excellence. As a fellow in Neonatology, her research is focused on the effects of nicotine and maternal smoking on the fetus and neonate, as well as on the effects of antenatal steroids on pulmonary function in late preterm infants. She has also recently co-authored a commentary article for the WHO Reproductive Health Library.

Inventor, Entrepreneur, LoveJoy Research Awardee, and Mass. Technology Transfer Center Grant Recipient

Farhad Imam, MD - Children's Hospital, Harvard University

“A Novel Illuminated Catheter for Real-Time Visualization of Placement”

Farhad B Imam, MD, PhD1,2, Daniel S. Chao, MD2 . 1Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA, United States, and 2Lumos Catheter Systems, Inc., San Francisco, CA.

Background: Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters (PICC) are a ubiquitous tool used worldwide to allow patients to more safely and conveniently receive strong medicines, concentrated nutrition and/or long-term intravenous fluids. Over 1.5 million PICCs are placed annually in the United States alone. Demographic trends and product improvements have driven both PICC usage (25% annual growth). Unfortunately, PICC insertion into patients is fraught with risk. Currently, PICC lines are inserted using only external measurement to guide the tip of the PICC to the intended target. Once the tip penetrates the skin, the medical professional must blindly feed the catheter through the patient’s vasculature toward the intended location. In the elderly, neonates and chronically ill, studies reveal a failure rate for proper tip location of up to 85% on first attempt. Errant PICC placement can result in serious consequences including thrombosis, cardiac arrhythmia, misdelivery of medication and damage to major vessels. Of particular concern for neonates, each repositioning of the PICC line requires additional radiation exposure from repeat x-ray imaging. With critical utility of PICCs come several costs: risk of placement, significant resources/skill to place and significant costs associated with malplacement.

Objective: To improve safety and efficiency of catheter insertion: (a) Patients will undergo a safer procedure and be subjected to less radiation. (b) End users (PICC teams, nurses, physicians) will be able to use a safer, more efficient method for PICC placement that is intuitive to use and operable without assistance. (c) Hospital administrators will be able to decrease the cost of PICC placement by improving the efficiency and safety of the placement procedure. The real-time visualization technology is best suited for small individuals, namely, neonates and young pediatric patients with small body habitus and thin skin. We believe this technology will help meet the recent call from the NIH and FDA for the design of medical devices to serve this often overlooked population. In addition, chronically ill and elderly adults are also likely to benefit from this technology given their small body habitus.

Design/Methods: Light-enabled real-time catheter localization promises to improve efficiency, improve safety and decrease costs of PICC placement. Improved efficiency can be measured by two metrics: time to correct placement and percentage of correct placement on first attempt. Improved safety can be measured by capturing the number of complications associated with PICC insertion procedures as a function of number of PICCs placed. Cost savings can be determined by comparing total cost of PICC placement with and without laser enabled localization, either in a retrospective or prospective study.

Results and Conclusions: Intellectual property has been secured and working prototypes have demonstrated proof of principle in cadaver and animal studies that approximate premature and term neonates. Project development was funded by grants from Children’s Hospital Boston (CHB), the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center, and the CHB Intellectual Property Office (IPO). Advancement to a definitive prototype will be accomplished in collaboration with established catheter and fiber optic engineering firms. Further testing of the transilluminating catheter is necessary to meet minimum FDA 510(k) requirements, likely in the following categories: (a) coagulation studies, (b) heat generation and thermal damage of adjacent tissue, (c) blood lysis and/or other effects on circulating blood cells. In addition, fracture/puncture studies will be performed on the transilluminating catheter to ensure safety and integrity of the fiber optic component. Lumos Catheter Sytems, Inc., has been established and has negotiated an option to exclusive licensing of the intellectual property through the CHB IPO.

2009 David W. smith Pediatric Trainee Research Awardee

Bonnie Tam, MD - University of Southern California
Mentor: Phillipe Friedlich, MD, MS, MBA

“Short-term exposure of acetazolamide in the pharmacologic treatment of chronic metabolic alkalosis in neonates and infants.”

Critically ill neonates may develop metabolic alkalosis due to chronic carbon dioxide retention and/or diuretic treatment. Acetazolamide, a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor, can correct the metabolic alkalosis by facilitating renal excretion of retained bicarbonate. This project evaluates the effects on electrolyte homeostasis and acid-base balance of acetazolamide administered to ameliorate chronic metabolic alkalosis associated with non-carbonic anhydrase inhibitor diuretic therapy in neonates with chronic respiratory insufficiency. In this population, our data showed a decrease in metabolic alkalosis with a 3% incidence of “overshoot” acidosis 24 hours after starting acetazolamide administration.

Bonnie Tam, MD is a 3rd year Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine fellow at Los Angeles County – University of Southern California. Recently at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, Bonnie completed a study on the tolerability of oseltamivir in the treatment and prophylaxis of neonates in a level-III neonatal intensive care unit against pandemic H1N1 influenza. In another study, she is evaluating real-time quantitative monitoring of tissue ischemia that may aid in early identification of infants at risk for developing cardiovascular collapse. This involves investigating microvascular hemoglobin oxygen saturation (StO2) as a direct assessment of mucosal tissue perfusion measured by visible light spectroscopy and its relationship with systemic blood flow and vascular resistance as assessed by functional echocardiography.

Prior to fellowship, Bonnie completed her pediatric residency at Kaiser Permanente, Los Angeles after receiving her MD at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.