elgan

ECHO Researchers Showcased Child Health Research at Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting

Posted on by Jodi Snare

Updated May 10, 2022

ECHO researchers Michael O’Shea, MD, MPH of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Elisabeth McGowan, MD of the Woman & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island showcased ECHO research at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) Annual Meeting in Denver, CO. The 5-day PAS Meeting featured presentations, posters, and exhibitions from physicians and researchers sharing the latest advancements in pediatric health. In addition to the in-person events, PAS registrants had access to on-demand, pre-recorded presentations and a bank of e-posters.

ECHO-related Sessions:

Michael O’Shea, MD, MPH

ECHO Program Cohorts of Individuals Born Preterm: Five Year Progress Report
Sunday, April 24, 2022, 10-11:30 AM MT (12-1:30 PM ET)

Dr. O’Shea led a session highlighting the research findings coming out of three ECHO cohorts that have enrolled preterm infants—including the Developmental Impact of NICU Exposure (DINE), Neonatal Neurobehavior and Outcomes in Very Preterm Infants (NOVI), and Extremely Low Gestational Age Newborn (ELGAN) cohorts. The session reviewed some of the key findings that have come out of the wealth of child health data these cohorts have collected over the past 5 years. Dr. O’Shea was joined by Dr. McGowan along with ECHO investigators Judy Aschner, MD, Todd Everson, PhD, Rebecca Fry, PhD, Carmen Marsit, PhD, and Annemarie Stroustrup, MD, MPH.

 

 

Elisabeth McGowan, MD

Evaluating Prenatal and Perinatal Factors Associated with Neurobehavior in Preterm and Full-term Infants
Sunday, April 24, 2022, 9-9:15 AM MT (11-11:15 AM ET)

Dr. McGowan presented on the results of collaborative ECHO research investigating the link between pre- and perinatal factors and infant neurobehavioral outcomes (e.g., reflexes, behavior, signs of stress).

Healthcare Utilization during COVID-19 Pandemic among Children Born Preterm
Sunday, April 24, 2022, 3:30-6 PM MT (5:30-8 PM ET)

Dr. McGowan also presented a poster on collaborative, ECHO-wide research analyzing how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the healthcare resources utilized by preterm infants.

O’Shea/Fry: Early Life Origins of Health Among Individuals Born Extremely Preterm

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Early Life Origins of Health Among Individuals Born Extremely Preterm

ECHO Discovery Summary

Preterm Birth and Long-Term Health Outcomes

ECHO Researchers Dr. Michael O’Shea, MD, MPH of the UNC Chapel Hill Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine and Dr. Rebecca Fry, PhD of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health gave a presentation about the Extremely Low Gestational Age Newborn (ELGAN) study. Dr. O’Shea and Dr. Fry presented the objectives of the ELGAN study and its findings in their presentation on ‘Early Life Origins of Health Among Individuals Born Extremely Preterm’.

The ELGAN Cohort focuses on researching mechanisms that could link preterm birth to long-term health outcomes, such as chronic health and developmental disorders. Through the ECHO Program, ELGAN has been able to expand to obesity, asthma, positive health (well-being, life satisfaction, global health), blood pressure, and renal (kidney) outcome areas. Dr. O’Shea provided an overview of the study, which has followed more than 1,000 babies born at least 3 months early, between 2002 and 2004, at 14 different hospitals in five states. The ELGAN study confirmed strong relationships between neonatal inflammation and neurodevelopmental outcomes, an area of ECHO research. Researchers have previously established that neonatal inflammation is associated with a broad suite of children’s health outcomes.

Another goal of ELGAN is to research perinatal influences on child health. One of the organs that researchers focused on was the placenta, which is important for the developing fetus. Dr. Fry emphasized that data from the study indicates placental weight is linked to both prenatal exposures and later life adverse health outcomes. This suggests the possibility that placenta epigenetics links early life exposures and later life outcome.

ELGAN is now studying the cohort’s teenagers’ health and well-being, including reasoning skills, behavior, emotions, sleep patterns, and overall quality of life. A key conclusion that both presenters highlighted is that similar studies are needed for diverse socioeconomic contexts and more recent birth cohorts. This will help lead to more indicative data for further findings in this area of neonatal and perinatal research. You can learn more about the ELGAN study and its research by watching the presentation.

Speakers:

Michael O’Shea, MD, MPH

Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Speaker Bio: Michael O’Shea, MD, MPH, received his undergraduate, medical school, and masters degrees, as well as residency training in internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of North Carolina. He completed a fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at Duke University.

 

Rebecca Fry, PhD

UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health

Speaker Bio: 

Dr. Rebecca Fry is the Carol Remmer Angle Distinguished Professor of Children’s Environmental Health at UNC-Chapel Hill. Dr. Fry is the Associate Chair in Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, the Director of the UNC Superfund Research Program, and founding Director of the Institute for Environmental Health Solutions. Dr. Fry is trained in molecular biology with a MS, and PHD from Tulane University and post-doctoral training at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Date: Wednesday, February 10 , 1 to 2pm

Slides