Multicenter Network of Neonatal Intensive Care Units

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The PI is Jon Tyson, MD, MPH, is the Michelle Bain Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Public Health, Director of the Center for Population Health and Evidence-Based Medicine, and a Professor of Pediatrics, Obstetrics, and Epidemiology at UT Houston. Th Co-PI is Kathleen Kennedy, MD who is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and the Director of the Perinatal Epidemiology Program UT Houston was added to the Network in 1998 when the PI and Co-PI moved from UT Southwestern. UT Houston provides: A. A large and growing patient population. A total of 9,000 total births and 350 VLBW infants are projected this year for our 2 teaching hospitals: Memorial Hermann Hospital (a private hospital with an expanding referral base including 9 hospitals in the Memorial Hermann system [3 staffed by our Ob. Faculty]) and Lyndon Baines Johnson Hospital (a large county hospital with an increasing population). UT Houston's enrollment in the Glutamine Trial exceeds that for all but 2 of the other 13 Network centers. B. Strong, and highly supportive leadership at UT Houston. The Dean (Max Buja, MD) recruited Dr. Tyson to promote clinical research. The Ob. Chairman (Larry Gilstrap) is a perinatal investigator and Network consultant. The Pediatrics Chairman (John Sparks, MD) is a neonatologist and Network advocate. The Neonatology Director (Fernando Moya, MD) is Hermann Physician of the Year and skilled in conducting clinical research, eliciting hospital support, and augmenting enthusiasm for Network studies. C. An experienced and highly committed PI and Co-PI. Dr Tyson has been a PI for 13 years; Dr. Kennedy, Co-PI for 9 years and acting PI for 1 year. In the past 4 years, they have been an author on 16 Network publications, 3 as 1st author; 3 as 2nd author, and 1 as 3rd author. (4 of these were published in New England Journal or JAMA.) In moving to Houston, Dr. Tyson petitioned NICHD to include both UT Southwestern and UT Houston (rather than UT Houston only) in the Network and has served as PI for both. He has helped the Co-PI at UT Southwestern to apply as PI there for the next funding cycle. Dr. Tyson has involved multiple other faculty and fellows in the Network including Robert Lasky, PhD a developmental psychologist with expertise in neural processing; Terri Major-Kincade, MD,MPH, 1st recipient of the Network Specialized Clinical Investigator Development Award; and Martin Blakely, MD a pediatric surgeon whose K23 proposal (Dr. Tyson as mentor) is focused on Network studies. D. Methodological and multidisciplinary expertise. The Network can further advance the methods of clinical research and enrich the evaluation of important neonatal issues. Dr. Tyson is an epidemiologist and neonatologist, the PI for the NIH-funded Clinical Research Curriculum, and Director of the Master's Degree Program in Clinical Research to start here. The Center for Population Health and Evidence- Based Medicine that he directs includes 9 faculty with expertise in clinical or population-based epidemiology, biostatistics, developmental psychology, health care economics, and/or bioethics; 3 of these faculty are now involved in Network studies. John C. Sinclair, MD, an eminent neonatologist, clinical epidemiologist, and Network advisor, will join the Center Jan. 2001.