In this Issue:

• Update from Executive Director Ann Anderson Berry, MD, PhD
• NIH Postpones Adoption of Common Forms for Biosketches and Other Support 
• Russell McCulloh, MD, Leads Participation in National Pediatric Long COVID Study
• Register for the Pediatric Academic Workshop
• Children’s NICU Partners in NIH-Supported Study of Hospital-to-Home Transition for Infants with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia
• Pooneh Bagher, PhD, and Jason Cook, MD, PhD, Receive $50k MD/PhD CHRI Pilot Grant
• Save the Date - CHRI Scientific Conference Friday, Nov. 14
• Disseminating Discoveries - February Publications
• Funding Opportunities
• Welcome to New CHRI Members Who Joined In February
• IDeA CTR - Grant Writing Workshops - April 16 & April 23

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has postponed proposed changes [grants.nih.gov] to the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support documents for grant applications and progress reports. Last year, NIH issued guidance instructing applicants and awardees to be ready for several changes concerning these document (referred to here as “Biosketch” and “Other Support”), starting May 25, 2025.

The proposed changes include:

• Adoption of Common Form formats for both types of documents, improving harmonization with other agencies.
• Mandatory use of the online tool SciENcv (Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae) to generate both types of documents.
• Mandatory inclusion of a personal ORCID [info.orcid.org] (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) in every Biosketch and Other Support document.

According to the postponement notice, “NIH will issue future Guide Notices outlining the new effective date and additional implementation details as they are finalized.”

When they eventually go into effect, these changes will be felt by anyone who is required to complete NIH Biosketches and Other Support documents. The Child Health Research Institute (CHRI) grants team will monitor this closely and help investigators be prepared to submit compliant documents. Please commence now in updating your ORCID profile with current biosketch information. For help getting oriented, reach out to Matt Sandbulte, CHRI Grants/Scientific Writer. 

Data from University College London and Dartmouth College indicates that one in seven individuals experience symptoms lasting more than four weeks post-infection of COVID-19. These symptoms include respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and neuro-cognitive issues that often impact the patient’s quality of life.

In Nebraska, Russell McCulloh, MD, professor of pediatrics and associate vice chancellor for clinical research at UNMC, serves as the principal investigator for the pediatric portion of Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER), a study primarily focused on identifying the causes, progression, presentation and outcomes of post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2 infection, often referred to as long COVID. It is the only nationally-funded project dedicated to comprehensively studying these aspects and serves as the sole platform for testing treatments for long COVID.

Dr. McCulloh, along with Megan Morse, PhD, psychologist and clinical assistant professor at the Munroe-Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation (UNMC); Aleisha Nabower, MD, hospitalist at Children’s Nebraska and associate professor in the Division of Hospital Medicine (UNMC); Alice Sato, MD, PhD, Infectious Diseases medical director at Children’s Nebraska and associate professor in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases (UNMC); and Drew Thodeson, MD, neurologist at Children’s Nebraska and assistant professor in the Division of Pediatric Neurology (UNMC), leads the pediatric component of RECOVER in Nebraska. Kierstin L. Niemeyer, lead clinical coordinator, the Child Health Research Institute, oversees the clinical management of the study with the support of clinical study coordinator Laura Fischer.

Within RECOVER, the pediatric Nebraska team led by Dr. McCulloh aimed to enroll 115 children who contracted COVID-19, developed long COVID or remained uninfected. The longitudinal observational study consists of three phases:

Part 1: Initial blood work and surveys.

Part 2: Follow-up surveys, lab work, electrocardiogram and breathing tests conducted over five years, with visits scheduled every six to 12 months.

Part 3: A subset of participants from Part 2 undergo two annual visits for more intensive testing. This includes MRI scans of the heart and brain, exercise stress tests, spirometry, microbiome analysis through stool and respiratory samples, blood tests and additional surveys. This phase particularly focuses on children who experienced long COVID.

Dr. McCulloh believes understanding the underlying causes of long COVID in children and discovering ways to prevent it is vital for the care of pediatric patients. “Early intervention in children is critical because it can shape their physical and developmental trajectory with lasting impacts on their health,” he said.

Nebraska remains one of the few locations in the country conducting long COVID research in children and serves as a regional referral center for young patients nationwide. The study has successfully completed enrollment for the first phase and is regarded as one of the leading sites nationally in terms of recruitment success. Dr. McCulloh takes pride in the work of his team to recruit for the study among a wide range of populations. “Obviously, the value of a study really depends on the range of participants in it,” he said. “We’d like to generate effective conclusions for the widest range of children.”

Dr. McCulloh also emphasized that researchers at UNMC have contributed to the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C), a data-driven research project that uses electronic medical records to investigate the association between COVID-19 severity and post-infection symptoms. He credits his peers, his community and federal funding as being instrumental to their participation in RECOVER and N3C. “Our teams at UNMC have more than 25 individuals who see this work not as a detached intellectual exercise but as a meaningful way to empower our community to improve their lives and the lives of others,” Dr. McCulloh said.

Recalling the feeling of powerlessness that he and others felt during the outbreak of COVID-19, Dr. McCulloh believes that participation in science gives him and the study participants a slightly restored sense of control by being part of the effort to reduce COVID-19’s impact. “We must recognize that we — researchers and community members alike — are the ones we’ve been waiting for,” he said. “Life-changing research doesn’t take place in isolation but is driven by local people who seek to be part of the solution, even if the benefits primarily serve future generations.”

Efforts such as RECOVER are made possible through the investment of the National Institutes of Health and the faith of the public in funding research. Dr. McCulloh does not take the trust placed in his team's work for granted. "It's important to acknowledge that countless federally-funded breakthroughs in medicine happened because of a belief in the value of science," Dr. McCulloh said. "We feel that the answers provided by RECOVER will further demonstrate the value of public support of research."

Register to attend the Pediatric Academic Workshop (PAWs) on April 11 at Children's Nebraska, hosted by the UNMC Department of Pediatrics and Child Health Research Institute. The event will present strategies and new tools for communicating your research and scholarly activity with diverse audiences, including lay public, foundations and social media networks.

Scheduled content includes:

• Social Media (Sharing Scholarly Work and Advocacy) - Marley Doyle, MD, Associate Professor, Psychiatry, UNMC; Director, Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska 
• Maximizing Media & PR Opportunities - Sarah Weller, MHA, APR, Director of Strategic Communications, Children's Nebraska 
• Creating Effective Research Communication Visuals - Chuck Koster, Content Strategist, Child Health Research Institute (CHRI) and UNMC Department of Pediatrics, Children's Nebraska 
• Talking to Donors and Foundations - Brian Anderson, Senior Director of Development, College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Foundation
• Writing Lay Summaries - Don Coulter, MD, Director, Pediatric Cancer Research Group, CHRI, and Professor, Department of Pediatrics, UNMC
• Dealing with Misinformation - Teri Hartman, MLS, Professor, Education and Research Services Librarian, UNMC 
• Narrative Medicine – A Writing Workshop, Wendy Hind, JD, PhD
• Neurographica and Finding Your Voice - Social Hour & Art Activity facilitated by Andria Powers, MD, Associate Professor, Radiology, UNMC *

*Join us for a creative hands-on session exploring Neurographic art, a mindful and accessible abstract artmaking process that relies on lines and organic shapes to generate beauty, combat stress, and break through barriers to expression. No prior art experience is needed, and all materials are provided. Projects will be completed in the time allotted in a supportive and fun environment

Children’s Nebraska is participating in a new NIH-funded study aimed at maximizing continuity and personalization of care for premature infants treated for bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), particularly in the months and years after their stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Monti Sharma, MD, assistant professor of Neonatology and Pediatric Pulmonology, and neonatologist and pulmonologist at Children’s Nebraska, is the site principal investigator at Children’s.

After infants with BPD leave the NICU, the nature of their transition to home and into specialty care can dramatically affect health outcomes. More than half develop post-prematurity respiratory disease after NICU discharge, but the factors that predict a prolonged and worsened symptom trajectory are not well understood. Parents of these patients often navigate many scheduled and unscheduled healthcare visits and must obtain and use specialized equipment for their child’s in-home care. Families who live far from pediatric specialists face extra hurdles maintaining long-term engagement with pulmonology specialists.

To date, there have been no large-scale, systematic studies to establish predictors of long-term respiratory complications or document the barriers to care after the transition to home. Through the NIH study, Dr. Sharma and colleagues at 10 to 12 hospitals will be the first to enroll a large, diverse cohort from across the United States. All of the sites have experience collaborating as part of the Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Consortium and the Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Collaborative, both of which have been crucial for this partnership. Over the five-year project period, the Omaha site plans to enroll about 80 patients as part of the national study’s goal to recruit 750 participants. The study is led by Joanne Lagatta, MD, professor of pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, who was the attending neonatologist and a mentor to Dr. Sharma during his residency training. The work is funded by an R01 research grant awarded by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.

One aim of the study is to determine how disease characteristics during the NICU stay predict changes in respiratory symptoms over time, using a BPD-specific respiratory symptom measure recently developed by the team. The second aim is to learn how barriers to care after discharge from the NICU affect the likelihood of more severe respiratory outcomes. Parents will report their infants’ respiratory health and barriers that interfere with provision of recommended care through periodic phone surveys and a mobile phone app.

Dr. Sharma said Children’s Nebraska’s strength as a partner for the larger consortium include its regional network that extends specialty care in pediatric pulmonology to families who live across Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota. Telehealth and remote monitoring are already well-established features of the care model, meaning patients and parents stay in regular contact with their Children’s providers. 

“I hope we provide people in our field with an objective scoring system that helps track respiratory illness severity in these patients and classify neonatal lung disease cases with different expected outcomes,” Dr. Sharma said. “The earlier you know about these things the earlier you can intervene and improve the outcomes later in life. I hope it provides insight to neonatologists to help understand what happens to the patients when they leave the hospital and vice-versa for the pulmonologists who provide ongoing care. I see it as on opportunity for un-siloing these specialties.”

Pooneh Bagher, PhD, associate professor, UNMC Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, and Jason Cook, MD, PhD, assistant professor, UNMC Department of Surgery, Division of Vascular Surgery, were awarded a $50k pilot grant for their project, "Examination of Vascular Function in a Mouse Model of Marfan Syndrome." Drs. Bagher and Cook were the successful applicants in CHRI’s MD/PhD collaboration grant opportunity, in conjunction with the 2024 CHRI Scientific Conference.

Marfan syndrome is a genetic condition that impacts connective tissue, which helps connect one cell to another. When this connective tissue is altered in patients, large blood vessels, like the aorta, that help carry blood across the body start to weaken which can cause them to bulge or expand. If this bulging isn't fixed, the vessel can burst, which can lead to life-long injury or death. The aorta does more than just deliver blood, it also can increase and decrease its size to help increase and decrease how much blood it delivers. Drs. Bagher and Cook's research examines how the aorta functions in increasing and decreasing its diameter, and how that may be different in Marfan. They hope to identify ways in which the aorta does its job incorrectly in Marfan and to develop a way to treat it.

Congratulations to Pooneh Bagher, PhD, associate professor, UNMC Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, for being selected for the UNMC Outstanding Faculty Mentor of Junior Faculty. Dr. Bagher will be recognized at the annual faculty meeting on Wednesday, April 16, at 3 p.m. in the Durham Research Center auditorium.

The UNMC International Student Association (ISA) invites everyone to attend the Holi, 'The Festival of Colors', on April 5 , Saturday, from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the UNMC Green space: Ruth and Bill Scott Student Plaza. This event will feature traditional music, dance, delicious food and colorful activities like the throwing of colored powders. The dress code for the event is a plain white T-shirt.

Evaluating Young Children With Fractures for Child Abuse: Clinical Report. Haney S*, Scherl S, DiMeglio L, Perez-Rossello J, Servaes S, Merchant N, Wintergerst KA, Lynch JL, Mastrandrea LD, Barker JM, Bethin KE, Ebo C, Jelley DH, Marshall BA. Pediatrics. 2025;155(2).

* Division of Child Abuse Pediatrics

Exploring the Joint Association Between Agrichemical Mixtures and Pediatric Cancer. Taiba J, Beseler C, Zahid M, Bartelt-Hunt S*, Kolok A^†, Rogan E^‡. GeoHealth. 2025;9(2).

* Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNL

^† Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences, University of Idaho

^‡ Department of Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health, UNMC

A generalized objective CT-based method for quantifying articular fracture severity. Dibbern KN*, Kern AM, Anderson DD. Journal of Biomechanics. 2025;180.

* Division of Pediatric Sports Medicine

Incidence and Characteristics of Pediatric Eosinophilic Esophagitis: A Midwestern State Analysis. Zamora-Sifuentes JL, Rorie A, Kunnath S, Pauley R, Huang Pacheco A*, Hopp R^†. Children. 2025;12(2).

* Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology

^† Division of Pediatric Pulmonology, Allergy & Sleep Medicine

Postnatal Growth Assessment of the Very-Low-Birth-Weight Preterm Infant. McNelis K, Thoene M*, Huff KA, Fu TT, Alja’nini Z, Viswanathan S. Children. 2025;12(2).

* Division of Neonatology

Rurality and pediatric cancer survival in the United States: An analysis of SEER data from 2000 to 2021. Hymel E*, Li H, Cochran GL, Ratnapradipa KL, Napit K*, Kabayundo J*, Coulter DW^†, Allison J^†, Peters ES, Watanabe-Galloway S*. Cancer Epidemiology. 2025;94.

* Department of Epidemiology

^† Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology

Teaching Reciprocal Tacting to Children With Autism. Koldas M, Connolly S, de Oliveira JSC, Trapp W, Shillingsburg MA*. Behavioral Interventions. 2025;40(1).

* Integrated Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders (iCASD), Munroe‐Meyer Institute

Variables Influencing Physical Activity for Children With Developmental Disabilities Who Exhibit Problem Behavior. Livingston CP*, Schneider DE, Melanson IJ, Martinez SE, Anderson H, Bryan SJ. Behavioral Interventions. 2025;40(1).

* Severe Behavior Department, Munroe‐Meyer Institute

• Isaac Adediji, Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Wendi Jensen, Research and Grants Development Specialist, UNMC College of Public Health
• Svetlana Romanova, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, UNMC Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Heather Wadams, MD, Assistant Professor, UNMC Division of Pediatric Endocrinology
• Shirley Wiggins, PhD, Nurse Scientist, Children's Nebraska