The Incubator

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna sit down with Dr. Whitney Thompson and Dr. Theresa Grover to discuss the CHNC Mentored Fellow Research Award, a unique program supporting neonatal fellows in mastering large data registries. Dr. Grover explains the comprehensive support—from data analysis to mentorship—that equips fellows for impactful research. Dr. Thompson shares her experience studying neonatal o...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna speak with Dr. Heather Tubbs Cooley about her research on nurse workload and its impact on neonatal care in the NICU. Dr. Tubbs Cooley highlights how nurse staffing ratios and subjective workload affect critical care tasks, from endotracheal tube surveillance to parent engagement and discharge teaching. This conversation sheds light on the nuanced realities of nurse...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna welcome back Dr. Srirupa Gopal, who returns to The Incubator podcast with exciting updates. Now an Assistant Professor of Neonatology at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, Dr. Gopal shares insights from her CHNC workshop on hemodynamic-based strategies in neonatal care and her perspective on evolving medication approaches. Additionally, Dr. Gopal intro...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna sit down with Monica Jones, Senior Family Consultant at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and NICU parent, to discuss the critical role of family voices in neonatal care. Monica shares insights from her work with CHNC, including a universal tool to address health disparities and support NICU families. She emphasizes the importance of personalized resource...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna speak with Dr. Mehul Raval, Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at Lurie Children’s Hospital, about his work on enhancing neonatal surgical recovery. Dr. Raval shares insights from his presentation on implementing enhanced recovery protocols, emphasizing a holistic approach to surgery—covering preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative phases. From minimizing o...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna speak with Dr. Rachel Rochelle Gomes and Dr. Alyssa Blumenfeld, who share their work in neurodevelopmental outcomes for NICU graduates. Dr. Rochelle Gomes discusses her passion for supporting families with special needs children, while Dr. Blumenfeld outlines her QI project to lower the age of autism diagnosis in NICU follow-up clinics. Together, they emphasize the...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna speak with Dr. Melissa House, Chavis Patterson, and Kathleen Stanton about creating a “psychologically-minded” NICU, where mental health support is essential for families, staff, and patients alike. They discuss the upcoming CHNC workshop, "Combating Distress, Dissatisfaction, and Discord," which introduces trauma-informed care, caregiver support, and the...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna are joined by Dr. Sarah Swenson, Lisa Boyars, and Elizabeth Fisher, who share insights on addressing perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) in the NICU. They discuss their CHNC workshop, "Nuts and Bolts of Screening and Brief Intervention for PMADs," which guides NICUs in implementing effective screening and intervention programs. Learn about the ess...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna talk with Dr. Suzanne Withbourne and her son, Cameron Jobson, about their innovative project, NICUrounds.com, designed to streamline NICU guideline management. Together, they’ve created a customizable website that helps NICU teams track patient-specific interventions based on gestational age and other factors. They share insights on reducing guideline lapses, the pr...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna welcome back Dr. LeeAnn Pavlek, joined by Dr. Ulana Pogribna, to discuss the impactful work of the Small Baby Focus Group. From establishing dedicated small baby units to creating guidelines for extremely preterm infants, they share insights into developing a cohesive care team for these fragile patients. They explore essential components like family-centered care,...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ben and Daphna welcome the CHNC team—Anthony Piazza, Eugenia Pallotto, and Beverly Brozanski—to discuss quality improvement (QI) priorities in neonatal care. They delve into how QI initiatives at CHNC set project priorities and leverage data to support patient outcomes across diverse NICUs. From the challenges of Project Home, aimed at increasing breastfeeding at...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna welcome Dr. Briana Bertoni to discuss the CIQI Fellowship, a unique program for advancing quality improvement in neonatal care. Dr. Bertoni explains how the fellowship equips participants with hands-on experience in project development and implementation across diverse NICUs. From defining project metrics to learning the intricacies of nationwide QI initiatives, Dr....

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna chat with Dr. Monti Sharma from Children’s Nebraska, who shares his expertise on neonatal interventional bronchoscopy and the evolving role of pulmonology in the NICU. Dr. Sharma explains how advances in portable, flexible bronchoscopy equipment are allowing safer, bedside airway evaluations, potentially reducing the need for tracheostomies in certain infants with B...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna dive into neonatal point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) with Dr. Sharada Gowda and Dr. Karena Lawrence, leaders of the CHNC POCUS Focus Group. They discuss the rapid expansion of POCUS in neonatology, highlighting the collaborative efforts to build standards for data collection, quality assurance, and program development. From hemodynamic assessment to creating a founda...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna speak with Dr. Aaron Hamvas from Lurie Children’s Hospital about his research on bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and its potential genetic factors. Dr. Hamvas discusses the complexities of BPD, including the role genetics might play in predisposing infants to the condition. He introduces the “Leopard Project,” a new NIH-funded study using AI and novel genomics tech...

Send us Fan Mail Join Ben and Daphna as they kick off 48 hours of live coverage from the Children's Hospital Neonatal Consortium (CHNC) symposium in Denver! With a focus on collaboration and innovation, CHNC brings together neonatal professionals to brainstorm, exchange high-quality data, and spark impactful projects. From updates on the Children’s Hospital Neonatal Database (CHND) to convers...

Send us Fan Mail In this special episode, Ben and Daphna speak with Christine Stoops and Kara Short, who share insights from their CHNC pre-symposium workshop on renal care in the NICU. Christine and Kara discuss the evolving field of kidney support therapy, highlighting the importance of a shared language between neonatologists and nephrologists. From real-life case scenarios to advancements in r...

Send us Fan Mail Ben and Daphna sit down with Sofia Perazzo and Jenny Rumpel to explore the advancements in kidney care at the CHNC. Sofia and Jenny highlight their work on renal replacement therapy (RRT) and NIRS, discussing new FDA-approved technologies and the push to standardize kidney monitoring in neonates. This conversation emphasizes the essential collaboration between neonatologists and n...

Send us Fan Mail In part two of their conversation, Ben and Daphna delve deeper with Sofia Perazzo and Jenny Rumpel on the findings from the “Advance” study on neonatal kidney care. They discuss disparities in acute kidney injury (AKI) across ethnic groups, the need for standardized diagnostics, and the importance of early AKI recognition in the NICU. Sofia and Jenny emphasize how data integration...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Incubator , hosts Ben and Daphna are joined by Dr. Shetal Shah and Stephanie Glier, Director of Federal Advocacy for the American Academy of Pediatrics, to discuss the critical issue of continuous Medicaid coverage for children. The conversation dives deep into how Medicaid and CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) support approximately 50% of all...

Send us Fan Mail In the latest episode of the Journal Club on The Incubator Podcast, Ben and Daphna dive into a fascinating lineup of articles that are sure to spark your interest. Kicking things off, they explore the concept of teleneonatology and its potential to enhance neonatal resuscitation in resource-limited settings. Ben discusses a randomized simulation trial led by Sam Gentle, which comp...

Send us Fan Mail Fetal haemoglobin and oxygen requirement in preterm infants: an observational study. Ulinder T, Hellström W, Gadsbøll C, Nilsson L, Gebka M, Robertz G, Bruschettini M, Hellstrom A, Ley D.Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2024 Sep 25:fetalneonatal-2024-327411. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2024-327411. Online ahead of print. PMID: 39322316 Support the show As always, feel free to send...

Send us Fan Mail Teleneonatal or routine resuscitation in extremely preterm infants: a randomized simulation trial. Gentle SJ, Trulove SG, Rockwell N, Rutledge C, Gaither S, Norwood C, Wallace E, Carlo WA, Tofil NM.Pediatr Res. 2024 Sep 28. doi: 10.1038/s41390-024-03545-1. Online ahead of print. PMID: 39341942 Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to...

Send us Fan Mail Neurodevelopmental disorders in children born to mothers involved in maternal motor vehicle crashes. Chang YH, Chien YW, Chang CH, Chen PL, Lu TH, Yen CF, Chiou HY, Tsai KS, Li CY.Pediatr Res. 2024 Sep 30. doi: 10.1038/s41390-024-03608-3. Online ahead of print. PMID: 39349820 Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupod...

Send us Fan Mail A pilot study of a virtual reality-based simulation platform for Neonatal Resuscitation Program training. Trinh G, McAdams RM.J Perinatol. 2024 Oct 14. doi: 10.1038/s41372-024-02145-5. Online ahead of print. PMID: 39402131 Support the show As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through...