Neonatal baby

Thrasher to fund Children’s project

Neonatal baby

The Thrasher Research Fund will fund a Children’s National Health System project, “Defining a new parameter for post-hemorrhagic ventricular dilation in premature infants,” as part of its Early Career Award Program, an initiative designed to support the successful training and mentoring of the next generation of pediatric researchers.

The proposal was submitted by Rawad Obeid, M.D., a neonatal neurology clinical research fellow at Children’s National who will serve as the project’s principal investigator. The competition for one-year Thrasher Research Fund awards is highly competitive with just two dozen granted across the nation. Research clinicians at Children’s National received two awards this funding cycle, with another awarded to support a neurologic outcomes study about Zika-affected pregnancies led by Fetal-Neonatal Neurologist Sarah B. Mulkey, M.D., Ph.D.

“Preterm infants born earlier than the 29th gestational week are at high risk for developing cerebral palsy and other brain injuries,” Dr. Obeid says. “Infants with intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) followed by hydrocephalus (post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus) face the highest risks of such brain injuries.”

Dr. Obeid hypothesizes that measuring distinct frontal and temporal horn ratio trajectories in extremely premature infants with and without IVH will help to definitively characterize post-hemorrhagic ventricular dilation (PHVD). Right now, experts disagree about the degree of PHVD that should trigger treatment to avoid life-long impairment.

He will be mentored by Anna A. Penn, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Translational Research for Hospital-Based Services & Board of Visitors Cerebral Palsy Prevention Program; Taeun Chang, M.D., Director of the Neonatal Neurology Program within the Division of Neurophysiology, Epilepsy & Critical Care; and Dorothy Bulas, M.D., F.A.C.R., F.A.I.U.M., F.S.R.U., Vice Chief of Academic Affairs.

In the award nomination letter, Dr. Penn noted that in “clinical settings and in the laboratory, I have supervised many trainees, but a trainee like Dr. Obeid is rare. He has pursued his research interests with great commitment. Before coming to Children’s National, he already had multiple job offers, but chose further training to enhance his research skills. While I have worked with many accomplished students, residents and fellows, Dr. Obeid stands out not only for his strong clinical skills, but also for his eagerness to learn and his dedication to both his patients and his research.”