In this Issue:

• Aditya Bade, PhD, Studies Impact of Maternal HIV-1 Medication on Infants
• Pediatric Academic Workshop: Getting Started on Your Research Pathway
• Register for the University of Nebraska Collaborative Initiative
• Submit Your Abstract for the CHRI Scientific Conference by Midnight Oct. 7
• Faculty Development Offering Workshops on Scholarly Publishing
• CHRI Scholar Christopher Cummings, MD, PhD, Selected for NIH Rare Disease Program
• CHRI Priorities & Activities: Update from Executive Director Ann Anderson Berry, MD, PhD
• The Ethical Practice of Research Journal Club Returns in October
• Meet at CHRI Member: Adil Shah, MD 
• Dissemination Discoveries
• Funding Opportunities

Global health programs to improve access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) for pregnant women living with human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) have had dramatic impacts on preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1. However, infants born to pregnant women living with HIV-1 tend to experience more developmental and health complications, even if they remain HIV-1 negative. CHRI member Aditya Bade, PhD, assistant professor of the Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, is building a research program that aims to uncover how fetal exposure to certain antiretroviral drugs can impair neurodevelopment. “My goal is to learn biological mechanisms and develop new strategies that make the therapies safer, while maintaining their effectiveness against the virus,” Dr. Bade said.

Since 2017, more than 100 resource-limited countries have updated the recommended guidelines for treatment of HIV-1 to include dolutegravir (DTG)-based generic regimen. DTG is a member of the integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) class of drugs. Advantages of DTG include high potency, high barrier to drug resistance, limited drug-drug interactions and once-daily dosing. However, data from clinical studies suggests possible links between in utero DTG exposure and developmental neuro-abnormalities. Unfortunately, pregnant women are underrepresented in clinical trials and neurodevelopmental outcomes can be slow to emerge by epidemiology, so the risks remain ambiguous.

To determine a link between the medication and the developmental neurological issues, Dr. Bade’s laboratory conducted studies examining the effects of DTG administered to pregnant mice. They discovered that DTG reached detectable levels in the fetal brain. His lab also uncovered clues to a possible mechanism for impaired neurodevelopment when they found that DTG inhibits the activity of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) proteins.

The visibility of Dr. Bade’s unique investigations was elevated this May when he was awarded a five-year R01 grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development.

The grant will support deeper study into how the in utero DTG-driven MMP inhibition affects development of neurons in both fetal and neonatal mice pups. The grant also funds experiments looking further downstream to possible impacts on neurobehavior. These outcomes will be tracked as mice mature through stages that parallel adolescence to young adulthood. Additionally, Dr. Bade’s team will explore delivering DTG in the form of long-acting nano-formulations to lower the drug-associated toxicity. Last year, he and colleagues published the initial pre-clinical work on this question in Frontiers in Pharmacology, with promising evidence that nano-formulations sharply reduce the amount of DTG reaching the embryo brain while maintaining therapeutic concentrations of drug in the mother’s plasma. 

Although Dr. Bade’s research is preclinical in nature, he is intentional about engaging researchers who look at the same problems through a clinical lens. One close collaborator is Adam Cassidy, PhD, LP, a Mayo Clinic pediatric neuropsychologist who studies cognitive and expressive language outcomes of Botswanan children who were exposed to DTG in utero. “In this type of scientific collaboration, we have the opportunity to cross-validate neurodevelopmental findings of clinical and pre-clinical studies, identify novel mechanisms for noted neurodevelopmental deficits, and thus, increase the overall translational impact of our works,” Dr. Bade explained.

As an early career faculty member, it’s not uncommon to have numerous questions about getting your research program started. In December, the Child Health Research Institute and UNMC Department of Pediatrics are hosting a Pediatric Academic Workshop. The workshop is designed to help new and emerging researchers find their footing on their research journey and to empower mid-career researchers to strengthen skills and discover new avenues and collaborators for research and scholarly activity.

Subjects discussed will include:

• Converting your everyday work to publishable research or Quality Improvement
• Understanding implementation science
• Working successfully with the Institutional Review Board (IRB)
• Hands on practice with IRB forms

Make your reservation today! The Pediatric Academic Workshop will run for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Children's Nebraska.

Please reach out to chri@unmc.edu with any questions.

Seed grant funding will be competitively awarded to multi-campus collaborations with the expectation that the work will lead to future federal funding. Awards, up to $100,000, will be for one year. Funding levels will be proportional to the potential award amounts available from the targeted federal funding opportunity. An RFA will be released soon.

“Get Published,” a seven-part workshop series hosted by UNMC Faculty Development, the McGoogan Health Sciences Library and the Interprofessional Academy of Educators, aims to advance faculty’s scholarly productivity throughout the 2024-25 academic year.

Speakers in this series will provide best practices for the research and writing process, illuminate creative strategies to publish more, better and faster, and enhance the impact of published work. 

The “Get Published” series continues on Oct. 24, with a workshop from McGoogan Health Sciences Library staff about how faculty can accelerate their research and writing processes with support and efficiencies from the library.

Subsequent sessions are:

• “Accelerate Your Research with a Librarian,” Oct. 24
• “Owning, Promoting, and Tracking, Oh My!,” Dec. 5
• “Titles & Abstracts: The Real First Impression,” Jan. 9
• “No Excuses. Cross the Finish Line!,” Feb. 20
• “Turn Ideas into Scholarship,” Feb. 27
• “Never Write Alone: Collaborative Authoring,” March 5

Faculty can register for sessions at this link.

CHRI Scholar, Christopher Cummings, MD, PhD, has been accepted into NIH's Rare Disease Clinical Research Training Program (RDCRTP). The year-long program offers instruction in the areas of networking in the global rare disease research community, achieving research success, gaining exposure to patient and family groups, working with small populations and increasing diversity in rare disease patient participation and in the rare disease workforce. Dr. Cummings will participate in the RDCRTP program virtually and at in-person events hosted by Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Meet at CHRI Member:

Adil Shah, MD

Assistant Professor, UNMC Department of Surgery,

Division of Pediatric Surgery

What is your primary area of research?

My research primarily revolves around improving pediatric surgical outcomes, with a strong emphasis on health services research, global surgery and healthcare cost-effectiveness. This includes evaluating surgical interventions and their long-term impacts on children, particularly in terms of safety, efficacy and patient quality of life. Another key focus is quality improvement and patient safety within pediatric surgery, especially in high-stakes scenarios like emergency and acute care surgery. My aim is to identify disparities in healthcare delivery, both in the U.S. and globally, and to develop evidence-based strategies that improve surgical outcomes for pediatric populations across diverse healthcare settings.

Please share information on a current research project.

One of my ongoing projects focuses on pediatric bariatric surgery, specifically comparing outcomes of weight-loss surgery in preteens versus adolescents. Using the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP) database, this project seeks to identify how age-related physiological differences affect surgical outcomes. By examining both short- and long-term results, such as complication rates, recovery and sustained weight loss, we hope to optimize surgical protocols and personalize care for pediatric patients undergoing bariatric surgery. This project not only addresses the growing challenge of childhood obesity but also provides insight into the broader implications of performing complex surgeries on younger patients, ultimately aiming to improve patient care and resource allocation in pediatric surgery.

Are you looking for a particular type of researcher to collaborate with?

Yes, I am actively seeking collaboration with researchers from various disciplines who can complement and expand our group’s ongoing endeavors. Specifically, I am interested in partnering with individuals who have expertise in deep learning models to predict outcomes, generative artificial intelligence that can be used for patient and surgical education, health services research, epidemiology and healthcare economics. Given the global dimension of my research interests, I would also welcome collaborations with global health experts, particularly those focused on improving surgical care in low- and middle-income countries. Additionally, I am eager to collaborate with researchers proficient in clinical trials and outcomes research to explore interventions that can improve care for children requiring complex surgeries. By fostering interdisciplinary collaborations, I aim to develop innovative approaches to address healthcare disparities, optimize surgical practices and enhance patient safety and outcomes across various healthcare systems.

Effect of early clinical management on metabolic acidemia in neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Thuo E, Lyden ER, Peeples ES*. Journal of Perinatology. 2024;44(8):1172-7.

* Division of Neonatology

Machine Learning-Enabled Fully Automated Assessment of Left Ventricular Volume, Ejection Fraction and Strain: Experience in Pediatric and Young Adult Echocardiography. Li L*, Homer P, Craft M*, Kutty S, Putschoegl A, Marshall A^†, Danford D, Yetman A*. Pediatric Cardiology. 2024;45(6):1183-91.

* Division of Pediatric Cardiology

^† Division of Pediatric Critical Care

Mental Health, Climate Change, and Bodily Autonomy: An Analysis of Adolescent Health Policy in the Post-Pandemic Climate. McNamara M, Barondeau J*, Brown J. Pediatric Clinics of North America. 2024;71(4):729-44.

* Division of Adolescent Medicine

Outcomes in Infants with Supraventricular Tachycardia: Risk Factors for Readmission, Recurrence and Ablation. Vari D*, Kurek N, Zang H, Anderson JB, Spar DS, Czosek RJ. Pediatric Cardiology. 2024;45(6):1211-20.

* Division of Pediatric Cardiology

Peptide-based therapeutics: challenges and solutions. Pereira AJ, de Campos LJ, Xing H, Conda-Sheridan M*. Medicinal Chemistry Research. 2024;33(8):1275-80.

* Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Protecting and healing the newborn brain through non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic measures. Peeples ES*, Kolnik SE. Seminars in Perinatology. 2024;48(5).

* Division of Neonatology

The VCR office is seeking applications for an internal competition to award a grant from the Otis Glebe Medical Research Foundation focused on translational research.

Purpose: This funding supports projects that translate lab findings to clinical practice and apply research to the community to enhance best practices.

Eligibility: All UNMC faculty (prior winners are ineligible for 3 years)

Award: A single grant award of up to $90,000.

Deadline: Submit in NuRamp by October 30th, 2024

• NOTE: Application will become available in NuRamp Sept 30th.

Interested in Applying? View the full RFA for more information:

UNMC’s Sponsored Programs Administration has announced that the Grant/ Contract Page has moved to RSS and will no longer be supported in ADIS.

• This page contains dashboards and tools for various things, such as effort reporting, internal forms, and other support documents.

These items can now be found in RSS under the “SPA/UNEHEALTH” tab along the headers at the top of the page (see image below).

You will still be able to access the links in ADIS through Monday, September 30th. Starting October 1st, you will only be able to access these links directly within the RSS application.

Questions? Email spadmin@unmc.edu or call 402-559-7456.