The Incubator

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Incubator Podcast, Dr. Guilherme Sant’Anna, Professor of Pediatrics at McGill University, joins Ben and Daphna to discuss his team’s work on implementing an early bubble CPAP protocol in the delivery room. Although CPAP has long been considered standard practice for preterm infants, Dr. Sant’Anna explains why intubation rates remain high in the most immature...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Incubator Podcast, we welcome Dr. Cindy McEvoy, Professor of Pediatrics and Director of Neonatal Research at OHSU, to discuss her work on the use of extended CPAP in preterm infants. CPAP has long been a cornerstone of neonatal care, but how long should stable infants remain on support? Dr. McEvoy shares findings from two randomized controlled trials that ex...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Incubator Podcast, we sit down with Dr. David Askenazi, Dr. Heidi Steflik, and Dr. Kimmy Vuong to explore the latest research and practice shifts in neonatal nephrology. The discussion begins with the often-overlooked role of the kidney in the NICU and why kidney health has direct implications for outcomes far beyond discharge. The group reviews three recent...

Send us Fan Mail Association of patent ductus arteriosus treatment in extremely low gestational age neonates with two year kidney outcomes: a secondary analysis of the preterm erythropoietin neuroprotection trial (PENUT). Condit PE, Guillet R, Kaluarachchi D, Griffin RL, Menon S, Askenazi DJ, Harer MW.BMC Nephrol. 2025 Mar 19;26(1):138. doi: 10.1186/s12882-025-04065-8.PMID: 40108500 Free PMC artic...

Send us Fan Mail Kidney Health Monitoring in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Graduates: A Modified Delphi Consensus Statement. Starr MC, Harer MW, Steflik HJ, Gorga S, Ambalavanan N, Beck TM, Chaudhry PM, Chmielewski JL, Defreitas MJ, Fuhrman DY, Hanna M, Joseph C, Kwiatkowski DM, Krawczeski CD, Liberio BM, Menon S, Mohamed TH, Rumpel JA, Sanderson KR, Schuh MP, Segar JL, Slagle CL, Soranno DE, Vuong...

Send us Fan Mail Reducing NICU ventilator days by preventing fluid overload with the CAN-U-P-LOTS standardized bundle. Askenazi DJ, Gordon L, Griffin R, Collins M, Black A, Ambalavanan N, Webb T, Mathis M, Short K, Umberger A, Travers C.Pediatr Res. 2025 Jul 11. doi: 10.1038/s41390-025-04078-x. Online ahead of print. PMID: 40646283 Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, commen...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr Tim Van Hasselt, who is now a NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer and Neonatal Subspeciality Registrar (fellow-equivalent) at the University of Leicester, UK..  Tim describes his training in the UK, his pathway to doing his PhD in investigating the impact of preterm birth on readmissions to the PICU. We talk about how he went abo...

Send us Fan Mail This week on Journal Club, we review five important studies with direct implications for your work in the NICU. First, we examine the newly released third-generation Fenton growth charts—how do they differ from previous versions, and what do they reveal about how we may have underestimated early growth trajectories in preterm infants? Next, we evaluate the association between reti...

Send us Fan Mail Whole-Body Hypothermia for Neonatal Encephalopathy in Preterm Infants 33 to 35 Weeks' Gestation: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Faix RG, Laptook AR, Shankaran S, Eggleston B, Chowdhury D, Heyne RJ, Das A, Pedroza C, Tyson JE, Wusthoff C, Bonifacio SL, Sánchez PJ, Yoder BA, Laughon MM, Vasil DM, Van Meurs KP, Crawford MM, Higgins RD, Poindexter BB, Colaizy TT, Hamrick SEG, Chala...

Send us Fan Mail Fenton Third-Generation Growth Charts of Preterm Infants Without Abnormal Fetal Growth: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Fenton TR, Elmrayed S, Alshaikh BN.Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. 2025 Jun 19. doi: 10.1111/ppe.70035. Online ahead of print. PMID: 40534585 Review. Birth weight and head circumference for 22-29 weeks gestation neonates from an international cohort. Fenton TR...

Send us Fan Mail Retinopathy of Prematurity and Risk of Structural Brain Abnormalities on Magnetic Resonance Imaging at Term Among Infants Born at Less Than or Equal to 32 Weeks of Gestation. Roy S, Peterson L, Kline-Fath B, Parikh NA; Cincinnati Infant Neurodevelopment Early Prediction Study (CINEPS) Investigators. J Pediatr. 2025 Jun 27;286:114711. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2025.114711. Online ahead...

Send us Fan Mail Deferred Cord Clamping With High Oxygen in Extremely Preterm Infants: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Katheria AC, Ines F, Lee HC, Sollinger C, Vali P, Morales A, Sanjay S, Dorner R, Koo J, Gollin Y, Das A, Poeltler D, Steinhorn R, Finer N, Lakshminrusimha S.JAMA Pediatr. 2025 Jul 21:e252128. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.2128. Online ahead of print. PMID: 40690234 Support the sho...

Send us Fan Mail Early Neurodevelopment of Extremely Preterm Infants Administered Autologous Cord Blood Cell Therapy: Secondary Analysis of a Nonrandomized Clinical Trial. Zhou L, Razak A, McDonald CA, Yawno T, McHugh DT, Whiteley G, Connelly K, Sackett V, Miller SL, Jenkin G, Novak I, Hunt RW, Malhotra A.JAMA Netw Open. 2025 Jul 1;8(7):e2521158. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.21158.PMID: 40608...

Send us Fan Mail Diaphragm Position on Chest Radiograph to Estimate Lung Volume in Neonates. Dahm SI, Sett A, Gunn EF, Ramanauskas F, Hall R, Stewart D, Koeppenkastrop S, McKenna K, Gardiner RE, Rao P, Tingay DG.JAMA Pediatr. 2025 Jul 21:e252108. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.2108. Online ahead of print. PMID: 40690243 Free PMC article. Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions...

Send us Fan Mail Impact of Sedation on Ventilator-Induced Diaphragmatic Dysfunction in Extremely Preterm Infants. Hoshino Y, Arai J, Hirono K, Maruo K, Miura-Fuchino R, Yukitake Y, Kajikawa D, Kamakura T, Hinata A, Okada Y, Sato Y.Pediatr Pulmonol. 2025 May;60(5):e71126. doi: 10.1002/ppul.71126.PMID: 40365938 Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to o...

Send us Fan Mail Picture this: You’re caring for a 22-week infant, uncertain whether survival is even possible—and yet you remember that someone like Dr. Ed Bell has been quietly tracking cases just like this for decades. In this episode of The Incubator Podcast , we welcome Dr. Edward Bell, Professor of Pediatrics and Associate Vice Chair for Faculty Development in Neonatology at the University o...

Send us Fan Mail In this Tech Tuesday episode, Dr. Donna Brezinski, founder and CEO of Little Sparrows Technologies, joins the show to talk about the BiliHut — a portable, high-intensity phototherapy device designed to treat neonatal jaundice with both clinical effectiveness and practical usability in mind. A neonatologist by training, Dr. Brezinski explains how her clinical experiences led to the...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Garabet Yeretssian, PhD, Senior Program Manager at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), to discuss how collaborative infrastructure and emerging technologies are reshaping research into necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Garabet shares how his background in GI inflammation and rare diseases led him to focus on cross-disciplinary research suppor...

Send us Fan Mail In this special collaboration with the NEC Society, Dr. Mark Underwood joins the podcast to discuss the evolving science and clinical approach to necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). A long-time leader in neonatal nutrition and NEC prevention, Dr. Underwood shares his perspective on why prevention remains the most effective lever in tackling this devastating disease — from the irrepla...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Incubator Podcast, Daphna is joined by Dr. Pia Wintermark and Dr. Eleanor Molloy for a deep dive into the most impactful neonatal neurology studies of the past year. The discussion begins with a critical look at therapeutic hypothermia for mild hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and preterm infants, highlighting recent pilot trials that challenge the prac...

Send us Fan Mail In this week’s Journal Club, Ben and Daphna dive into several impactful neonatal studies shaping today’s clinical decisions. The discussion opens with the MOCA Trial, exploring whether extending caffeine therapy in moderately preterm infants reduces hospital stays and improves outcomes. Despite reducing apnea episodes, the study highlights that extending caffeine treatment does no...

Send us Fan Mail Patient-Specific In Vivo Gene Editing to Treat a Rare Genetic Disease. Musunuru K, Grandinette SA, Wang X, Hudson TR, Briseno K, Berry AM, Hacker JL, Hsu A, Silverstein RA, Hille LT, Ogul AN, Robinson-Garvin NA, Small JC, McCague S, Burke SM, Wright CM, Bick S, Indurthi V, Sharma S, Jepperson M, Vakulskas CA, Collingwood M, Keogh K, Jacobi A, Sturgeon M, Brommel C, Schmaljohn E, K...

Send us Fan Mail School outcomes after HIE: a population-based cohort study. Rees P, Dronavalli M, Carter B, Bajuk B, Burns L, Dickson M, Eastwood J, Hossain S, Lawler K, Lee E, Munasinghe S, Page A, Uebel H, Dicair L, Green C, Gale C, Oei JL.Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2025 Jun 8:fetalneonatal-2024-328346. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2024-328346. Online ahead of print. PMID: 40484626 Support...

Send us Fan Mail Early full enteral nutrition with fortified milk in very preterm infants: a randomized clinical trial. Salas AA, Gunawan E, Jeffcoat S, Nguyen K.Am J Clin Nutr. 2025 May;121(5):1117-1123. doi: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2025.02.019. Epub 2025 Feb 21.PMID: 39986385 Clinical Trial. Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@g...

Send us Fan Mail Association of a Count of Inpatient Morbidities with 2-Year Outcomes among Infants Born Extremely Preterm. Dorner RA, Li L, DeMauro SB, Schmidt B, Zangeneh SZ, Vaucher Y, Wyckoff MH, Hintz S, Carlo WA, Gustafson KE, Das A, Katheria A; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. J Pediatr. 2025 Mar;278:114428. doi: 10.1...