Massachusetts General Hospital | MassGeneral Hospital for Children

Feature article

Master’s Program in Clinical and Translational Investigation at Harvard Medical School Physician-scientists are able to see the full picture: With firsthand exposure to patients, they understand the human side of disease. And with skilled laboratory training, they have the necessary tools to develop therapies to manage disease. Read more.

Research programs of faculty

Cardiovascular safety of dexmedetomidine infusions without a loading dose in the pediatric intensive care unit Brian Cummings, MD Finding the ideal sedation regimen in children undergoing mechanical ventilation is challenging. On the one hand, the less sedation you receive, the less likelihood you are to obtain hospital acquired infections, and the earlier you are likely to be free from mechanical ventilation. At the same time, young children will not tolerate a tube in their throat and will quickly try to remove the offending agent. One of the goals of our work in the Pediatric Intensive Care (PICU) is to find the right balance of sedation with the least amount of side effects. Read more.

Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Premature Infants Katherine Gregory, RN, PhD Premature birth remains one of the most challenging problems in pediatrics. The implementation of sophisticated technologies and neonatal specific interventions have contributed to an increase in survival among very low-birth-weight-infants from 15% to 75% over the past decade. However, with these gains in survival, morbidity related to immaturity of gastrointestinal function has increased significantly. Infants who previously would have succumbed to complications associated with prematurity and low birth weight are surviving, but often with impaired growth and neurodevelopment as a result of gastrointestinal complications such as necrotizing enterocolitis(NEC). Read more.

Research of Cassandra Michelle Kelleher, MD Cassandra Michelle Kelleher, MD Dr. Kelleher's laboratory has created a mouse lung culture model to study how alveoli form and is using the model to identify therapies that may help newborns with lung diseases. Read more.

Funding received by MGHfC faculty and fellows

Updates since August 2012. Learn more (pdf).

Representation of MGHfC at national/international meetings and invited talks

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Highlights

Reaction from the winner of the Clinical Effectiveness Award, 2012

Peter P. Moschovis, MD, MPH, a research fellow in pulmonary critical care at MassGeneral Hospital for Children, won the 2012 Clinical Effectiveness Award from the Research Council. Read more.

Reaction from the winner of the Pilot Feasibility Award, 2011

Jamie Micco, PhD, of the Department of Psychiatry, received the Research Pilot and Feasibility Award from the Research Council in July, 2011, and used it to support a study of the development of cognitive biases in young children (ages 4-7) of parents with a history of anxiety disorders. Read more.