Public Health News Archives

Caring for the whole child: Child Life and Integrative Care Services at Children’s National

July 2, 2025

Child Life Specialist Lanie Berk reads to Jack in the Children’s National Family Resource Center.

Imagine a kaleidoscope of play, education and creative therapies that engage patients and their families to promote healing and decrease pain, fear, trauma and grief. These programs, backed by science, create nurturing environments and experiences that reduce the need for pain medication, shorten hospital stays and improve health outcomes. They allow Children’s National Hospital to care for the whole child — body, mind and spirit.

“Our dedicated Child Life and Integrative Care Services team plays a critical role in supporting families through their medical journeys,” says Director BobbiJo Pansier, MPH, CCLS, CTRS. “Our programs offer opportunities for growth, expression and healing that complement traditional treatments. These interventions bring understanding, comfort and laughter and are life-changing.”

“I see the impact of this care every day,” says Pansier. “Not long ago, a patient who had spent her entire life at Children’s National graduated to another facility. She had never been in a vehicle or experienced the world outside our main campus. Multiple teams came together to ensure her transition would be free of trauma. Her medical care providers, along with a music therapist and Child Life specialists, assisted the transport team. Our team made introductions to staff at the new facility. The patient waved goodbye with a smile.”

Healing Jack’s heart and his family

Jack after his heart transplant surgery.

Nine-month-old Jack, awaiting a heart transplant, was in too much pain to sleep. His heart condition had caused serious, painful gastrointestinal problems. His mom, Rachel, had been up all night trying to soothe him.

Lanie Berk, MS, CCLS, a certified Child Life specialist, offered a familiar, friendly face. She held Jack close. She sang to him and read his favorite books.

“There are so many negative touch experiences in a hospital — needles, countless procedures and tubes hooked up to a child,” says Berk. “It’s so important to give positive stimuli in the form of touch that nurtures and heals.”

Jack fell asleep in Berk’s arms, giving Rachel a much-needed break. “It’s a privilege to be part of their story,” says Berk, who Rachel reports is pretty much her son’s favorite person in the hospital. “For a mom to trust me to hold her baby so she can leave for a little while is a huge honor.”

Spending nearly a year in the hospital

Jack was in heart failure when he arrived at Children’s National by emergency helicopter transport in February 2024. He was 4 months old. Our cardiologists diagnosed him with dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition that causes the heart’s chambers to thin, stretch and weaken. On Valentine’s Day, Jack’s family learned he would need a heart transplant to survive. “We were shocked and overwhelmed,” Rachel says. She and her husband Brandon began alternating care for their baby in the hospital and their 2-year-old son Nolan at home.

In April, surgeons installed a ventricular assist device to help Jack’s body pump blood while he waited for an organ donor. But there were complications. His stomach swelled, and he had two strokes. “We quickly learned that Children’s National is an exceptional place with exceptional people,” Rachel says. “There were moments when we fully wanted to panic. Instead, we learned to breathe deeply and trust the care and our team.”

That trust and human connection, along with clear, thorough communication, helped make the hard times easier, Rachel says. Throughout the family’s long stay in the hospital, they received healing support from members of our Child Life and Integrative Care Services team.

The team created a custom book for Nolan, to help explain his baby brother Jack’s condition.

Making the journey easier

The team created a custom book for Nolan, to help explain his baby brother Jack’s condition

Berk kept the mood light during Jack’s medical procedures — for instance, his first round of vaccines. That day, she played music, sang and danced to keep him smiling. Knowing that socializing could help Jack’s parents feel more comfortable and at home, Berk started a monthly dinner tradition in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (ICU) waiting room to help families connect.

She also helped Jack’s parents explain the situation to his brother, Nolan. She created books for Rachel and Brandon to read with him at home. The first one explained Jack’s illness and why he needed a new heart. The second prepared Nolan for a trip to the hospital after his brother’s transplant and included details about the devices supporting Jack and his scar. These books helped Nolan understand and feel a part of the journey.

Finding positive ways to pass the time

“This experience makes you feel isolated in so many ways,” Rachel says. The Panda Cares Center of Hope, our Family Resource Center, provided a place for her to relax and connect with parents facing similar challenges. “Reading was the perfect way to distract myself while Jack was sleeping or having a procedure.”

Rachel inspired Berk and Allie Slocum, our patient family library and resource center coordinator, to start a monthly caregiver reading group for Cardiac ICU families. “The group has three important functions,” Berk says. “It encourages parents to be involved with their child’s care, enables them to meet each other, and it helps families connect with their babies through reading, which is great for a baby’s development.”

Creating art

Jack’s parents enjoyed a parent support group with art therapist Katherine Pedrick. Brandon made paper cherry blossom branches, and Rachel made a vase. They painted comfort boxes filled with words of encouragement. Art therapy gave them an outlet within the hospital and helped them connect with other families in the Cardiac ICU. “It’s comforting to know you’re not alone and there are others who understand what you’re going through and will listen and offer guidance,” Brandon says.

Appreciating volunteers

Music therapy activities, such as playing with a quacking toy duck and a baby rattle, helped delight and stimulate Jack while he was in the hospital.

Children’s National volunteers read to baby Jack on a regular basis. “One particular volunteer came often and really connected with him,” Rachel says. “By the end of her visits, he would be asleep in her arms. The volunteer visits allowed me to take a walk or get something to eat. It meant a lot.” Other volunteers visited Jack to play with developmentally appropriate toys and games.

Engaging in special events and activities

Rachel enjoyed events at Seacrest Studios, especially in-person appearances by American singer-songwriters Andy Grammer and Phillip Phillips.

The Bunny Mellon Healing Garden served as an oasis Jack’s parents visited often, including with Jack, to breathe fresh air, read, walk and enjoy a change of scenery. “Sunlight can do wonders,” Brandon says. “On the night before Jack’s heart transplant, we sat outside enjoying a perfect summer night underneath a star-filled sky. It was calm and peaceful and just what we needed.”

Rachel says her son always had a great smile; but at the start of his hospitalization, it was subtle, and sometimes he could lift only one cheek. One week post-transplant, Jack’s smile was even. Now, his mom reports that he has a roaring belly laugh. This summer, he is working to sit up and enjoys stroller rides.

“Our team at the hospital taught me to be a little more spontaneous and celebrate the good moments,” Rachel says. “I’m more likely to go outside and play with the boys now, even if there are chores to do. I’m more about thriving in the moment. Children’s National gave Jack the ability to live a life. We’re here to enjoy every minute of it.”

Children’s National selects Epic as partner for electronic health record modernization

June 24, 2025

Children’s National Hospital announced that it will be partnering with Epic, the nation’s leading electronic health record (EHR) provider, on a comprehensive transition to a new integrated health record system. The full implementation of Epic’s platform, planned to be completed in mid-2027, will better enable the delivery of patient-centered and coordinated care.

“Moving to Epic is an important step forward in Children’s National’s journey to becoming a truly integrated healthcare delivery system,” said Michelle Riley-Brown, MHA, FACHE, president and CEO of Children’s National. “It will enhance the tools available to patients and their families to access and monitor their care and improve how we share information across teams in order to deliver more connected, compassionate and convenient health services.”

Patient families will benefit from access to Epic’s MyChart app, a comprehensive patient portal and mobile app that has all a child’s health information in one place, even if care was received at multiple healthcare organizations. Through MyChart, families will be able to securely and seamlessly view medical records, manage appointments, review billing information, communicate with care teams and access telehealth services such as video visits and remote patient monitoring. Today, over 195 million people use MyChart, including families and caregivers for over 2 million patients aged 2 or under. Epic organizations securely exchange over 24 million patient records with other hospitals and health systems every day.

Epic’s robust system will also improve collaboration and continuity of care for providers throughout the Children’s National health system. The platform also includes advanced clinical decision support tools, helping clinicians make informed, timely decisions that enhance patient safety.

“After evaluating various options to modernize our care delivery systems, we are excited to embark on a comprehensive transformation journey with Epic,” stated Matt MacVey, MBA, MS, FACHE, executive vice president and chief digital and information officer at Children’s National. “The two-year effort aims to improve access to critical clinical information, automate routine workflows and create a seamless digital experience that empowers families throughout their care journey.”

The future of sickle cell disease treatment through gene therapy

June 3, 2025

In a new review article published in The CRISPR Journal, researchers from Children’s National Hospital discuss the progress of gene therapies for sickle cell disease – from preclinical studies to clinical trials and FDA approval – along with the many challenges of these treatments.

Over the past few years, the advances of gene therapy for sickle cell disease (SCD) offer a potential cure for a condition previously managed only through symptom relief and limited treatments. SCD is a hereditary blood disorder caused by a mutation in the beta globin gene leading to painful symptoms and complications.

In a new review article published in The CRISPR Journal, researchers from Children’s National Hospital discuss the progress of gene therapies for SCD – from preclinical studies to clinical trials and FDA approval – along with the many challenges of these treatments.

“We are hoping to bring attention to the past, present and future of this topic,” says Henna Butt, MD, pediatric hematology oncology fellow at Children’s National and one of the review authors. “It is exciting to see the technology move forward and see how far we have come in a disease where so little progress has been made historically.”

The hold up in the field

Gene therapy for SCD remains a time- and resource-intensive process, often taking several months from the initial patient consultation to treatment.

“Progress in SCD gene therapy has been slowed by high costs, limited accessibility and safety concerns, such as off-target effects,” says Dr. Butt. “Additionally, long-term efficacy data is still needed to confirm the durability of these treatments. Regulatory hurdles and ethical considerations also contribute to the delays.”

Moving the field forward

“By using cutting-edge techniques like CRISPR and base editing to directly correct the genetic mutation responsible for SCD, these therapies have the potential to offer long-term or even permanent relief,” says Dr. Butt. “Success in this area could revolutionize treatment options, improve patient outcomes and reduce the global burden of SCD — especially as therapies become more accessible and affordable.”

“Advancing gene therapy for sickle cell disease requires not just scientific innovation, but also the clinical expertise and systems to deliver it safely and effectively,” says David Jacobsohn, MD, SCM, MBAD, chief of Bone and Marrow Transplantation at Children’s National. “As access expands, we must ensure these therapies reach the patients who need them most.”

The patient benefit

Gene therapy offers a potential cure for SCD, reducing the need for ongoing treatments and significantly improving quality of life. It can lower the risk of complications and infections, and over time, reduce healthcare costs – especially for patients with limited access to traditional care. Raising awareness of current challenges can help drive advocacy for affordability and access.

Children’s National leads the way

Children’s National was the first hospital in the world to collect stem cells for the LYFGENIA™ treatment and one of the few pediatric hospitals in the country that offers both FDA-approved sickle cell disease gene therapies – CASGEVY™ (exagamglogene autotemcel) and LYFGENIA™ (lovotibeglogene autotemcel).

Additional authors from Children’s National include: Mamatha Mandava, MD, and David Jacobsohn, MD, SCM, MBA

Read the full review published in The CRISPR Journal.

New tool helps doctors know when kids with pneumonia need hospital care

May 15, 2025

A new international study led by Children’s National Hospital and Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago introduces a validated tool to predict pneumonia severity in children, helping emergency clinicians make faster, evidence-based decisions about hospitalization and intensive care.

Pneumonia is one of the most common infections in children. In the U.S., it’s a leading reason why kids are admitted to the hospital. But for emergency doctors, it’s not always easy to know which cases are serious — and which children will get better at home.

Now, a new study led by doctors at Children’s National Hospital and Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago has created a tool to help. It’s based on research from over 2,200 children treated at emergency departments in 14 countries.

The tool is simple: it uses symptoms that doctors already look for — like how fast a child is breathing, whether they’re getting enough oxygen, and if they’re drinking fluids — to score how serious their pneumonia might be. The score helps doctors decide whether a child needs to stay in the hospital, go to intensive care or can safely recover at home.

What the study found

The research team looked at children ages 3 months to 13 years who came to emergency departments with community-acquired pneumonia — a kind of pneumonia picked up outside of a hospital. Most had mild cases. But about 1 in 20 developed severe symptoms, like needing breathing support or admission to intensive care.

The team found that certain symptoms (like fast breathing or heart rate, chest retractions (a sign of struggling to breathe), low oxygen levels, refusing to drink and already being on antibiotics before coming to the hospital) were linked to a higher risk of serious illness. On the other hand, children who had a runny nose or congestion were more likely to have mild illness.

Using this data, the team created a point-based score. For example, if a child had low oxygen levels, they’d get 3 to 6 points depending on how low it was. Chest retractions added 3 points. Having a runny nose subtracted a point. The higher the total score, the greater the risk of moderate or severe pneumonia.

How it helps

The model was tested and found to be highly accurate. It performed better than doctors’ judgment alone in earlier studies — especially in spotting the children most at risk. The scorecard gives emergency doctors a fast, evidence-based way to support the decisions they make under pressure.

“Emergency departments around the world see thousands of children with pneumonia every day, but until now, we haven’t had a reliable way to predict who’s truly at risk of getting sicker,” said co-PI and senior author Nathan Kuppermann, MD, MPH, executive vice president, chief academic officer and director of the Children’s National Research Institute. “This model gives clinicians a practical tool, rooted in data, to guide that decision and ultimately improve care and outcomes.”

What’s next

While the tool is ready to be used in hospitals now, the team plans to test it in more locations and study how it affects real-world decisions. They also hope to add biomarkers — lab tests that could improve the score’s accuracy even more.

For now, the study offers something simple and powerful: a better way to know when a child’s pneumonia might become serious — and when it won’t.

The study was published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health and is part of a larger effort by the Pediatric Emergency Research Network (PERN), which connects emergency departments in dozens of countries.

REI Week 2025 empowers the future in pediatric research and innovation

April 22, 2025

Children’s National Hospital hosted its fifteenth annual Research, Education and Innovation Week from March 31–April 4, 2025, bringing together clinicians, scientists, educators and innovators from across the institution to celebrate discovery and collaboration. This year’s theme, “Empowering the Future in Pediatric Research and Innovation with Equity, Technology and a Global Reach,” served as a call to action for advancing science that improves child health both locally and around the world.

Each day of the week-long event featured thought-provoking lectures — now available to watch — dynamic panel discussions, interactive workshops and vibrant poster sessions, all highlighting the diverse and interdisciplinary work taking place across Children’s National.

Centering the patient and the planet

REI Week began on Monday with a powerful keynote lecture from Lynn R. Goldman, MD, MS, MPH, Michael and Lori Milken dean of the Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University. In her talk, “Children: Uniquely vulnerable to climate-related threats,” Dr. Goldman underscored the urgent need to protect children from the environmental hazards of a changing climate and to integrate climate science into pediatric care and advocacy.

At mid-morning, Mary-Anne “Annie” Hartley, MD, PhD, MPH, director of the LiGHT Laboratory at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, introduced the “MOOVE” platform — Massive Open Online Validation and Evaluation of clinical LLMs. Her talk demonstrated how artificial intelligence, when rigorously validated, has the potential to transform clinical decision-making and global health equity.

Monday’s final keynote, “Zinc and childhood diarrhea,” was presented by Christopher Duggan, MD, MPH, director of the Division of Nutrition at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Duggan highlighted the global health impact of zinc supplementation in reducing childhood mortality — a reminder that simple, evidence-based interventions can save millions of lives.

In that first day, the first poster session of the week showcased projects in adolescent medicine, global health, infectious diseases, oncology and more. The session reflected the full breadth of research taking place across Children’s National.

Ambroise Wonkam, MD, PhD, professor of genetic medicine at Johns Hopkins University, then delivered Tuesday’s Global Health Keynote Lecture, “Harnessing our common African genomes to improve health and equity globally.” His work affirmed that inclusive genomics is key to building a healthier world.

Later, the Global Health Initiative event and GCAF Faculty Seminar encouraged attendees to pursue collaborative opportunities at home and abroad, reflecting the growing global footprint of Children’s National research programs.

Transforming education and care delivery

On Wednesday, Larrie Greenberg, MD, professor emeritus of pediatrics, kicked off the day with a Grand Rounds keynote on educational transformation: “Shouldn’t teachers be more collaborative with their learners?” He followed with a CAPE workshop exploring the effectiveness of case-based learning.

The Nursing Sponsored Keynote Lecture by Vincent Guilamo-Ramos, PhD, MPH, LCSW, ANP-BC, PMHNP-BC, FAAN, explored “Redesigning the U.S. broken health system.” He offered an urgent and inspiring call to reimagine pediatric care by addressing social determinants of health.

In the Jill Joseph Grand Rounds Lecture, Deena J. Chisolm, PhD, director of the Center for Child Health Equity at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, challenged attendees to move beyond dialogue into action in her talk, “Health equity: A scream to a whisper?,” reminding researchers and clinicians that advocacy and equity must be foundational to care.

The day continued with a poster session spotlighting medical education, neonatology, urology and neuroscience, among other fields.

Posters and pathways to progress

Throughout the week, poster sessions highlighted cutting-edge work across dozens of pediatric disciplines. These sessions gave attendees the opportunity to engage directly with investigators and reflect on the shared mission of discovery across multiple disciplines, including:

Neuroscience and Neuroprotection – Novel approaches to brain injury treatment and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Genetics and Precision Medicine – Advances in understanding genetic predisposition and innovative therapies.
Health Disparities and Global Health – Strategies to bridge gaps in pediatric healthcare access worldwide.
Innovative Technology in Pediatrics – Breakthroughs in AI, bioinformatics and medical device development.

Honoring excellence across Children’s National

The REI Week 2025 Awards Ceremony celebrated outstanding contributions in research, mentorship, education and innovation. The winners in each category were:

POSTER SESSION AWARDS

Basic & Translational Research

Faculty: Benjamin Liu, PhD

“Genetic Conservation and Diversity of SARS-CoV-2 Envelope Gene Across Variants of Concern”

Faculty: Steve Hui, PhD
“Brain Metabolites in Neonates of Mothers with COVID-19 Infection During Pregnancy”

Faculty: Raj Shekhar, PhD
“StrepApp: Deep Learning-Based Identification of Group A Streptococcal (GAS) Pharyngitis”

Post docs/Fellows/Residents: Dae-young Kim, PhD
“mhGPT: A Lightweight Domain-Specific Language Model for Mental Health Analysis”

Post docs/Fellows/Residents: Leandros Boukas, MD, PhD
“De Novo Variant Identification From Duo Long-Read Sequencing: Improving Equitable Variant Interpretation for Diverse Family Structures”

Staff: Naseem Maghzian
“Adoptive T Lymphocyte Administration for Chronic Norovirus Treatment in Immunocompromised Hosts (ATLANTIC)”

Graduate Students: Abigail Haffey
“Synergistic Integration of TCR and CAR T Cell Platforms for Enhanced Adoptive Immunotherapy in Brain Tumors”

High School/Undergraduate Students: Medha Pappula
“An ADHD Diagnostic Interface Based on EEG Spectrograms and Deep Learning Techniques”

Clinical Research

Faculty: Folasade Ogunlesi, MD
“Poor Air Quality in Sub-Saharan Africa is Associated with Increase Health Care Utilization for Pain in Sickle Cell Disease Patients”

Faculty: Ayman Saleh, MD
“Growth Parameters and Treatment Approaches in Pediatric ADHD: Examining Differences Across Race”

Post docs/Fellows/Residents: Nicholas Dimenstein, MD, MPH
“Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Eligibility in the Pediatric Emergency Department”

Staff: Tayla Smith, MPH
“The Public Health Impact of State-Level Abortion and Firearm Laws on Health Outcomes”

Graduate Students: Natalie Ewing
“Patterns of Bacteriuria and Antimicrobial Resistance in Patients Presenting for Primary Cloacal Repair: Is Assisted Bladder Emptying Associated with Bacteriuria?”

Graduate Students: Manuela Iglesias, MS
“Exploring the Relationship Between Child Opportunity Index and Bayley-III Scores in Young Children”

High School/Undergraduate Students: Nicholas Lohman
“Preliminary Findings: The Efficacy, Feasibility and Acceptability of Group Videoconference Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Exposure and Response Prevention for Treating Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Among Children and Young People”

Community-Based Research

Faculty: Sharon Shih, PhD
“Assessing Pediatric Behavioral Health Access in DC using Secret Shopper Methodology”

Post docs/Fellows/Residents: Georgios Sanidas, MD
“Arrested Neuronal Maturation and Development in the Cerebellum of Preterm Infants”

Staff: Sanam Parwani

“Intersectionality of Gender and Sexuality Diversity in Autistic and Non-Autistic Individuals”

Graduate Student: Margaret Dearey
“Assessing the Burden of Period Poverty for Youth and Adolescents in Washington, DC: A Pilot Study”

Quality and Performance Improvement

Faculty: Nichole L. McCollum, MD
“A Quality Improvement Study to Increase Nurse Initiated Care from Triage and Improve Timeliness to Care”

Post docs/Fellows/Residents: Hannah Rodriguez, MD
“Reducing Unnecessary Antibiotic Use in a Level IV NICU”

Staff: Amber K. Shojaie, OTD, OTR/L
“Implementing Dynamic Axilla Splints in a Large Burn Patient”

MENTORSHIP AWARDS

Basic Science Research

Conrad Russell Y. Cruz, MD, PhD

Clinical Research

Rana Hamdy, MD, MPH, MSCE

Bench to Bedside Research

Ioannis Koutroulis, MD, PhD, MBA

ELDA ARCE TEACHING SCHOLAR AWARD

Priti D. Bhansali, MD, MEd

Heather Ann Walsh, PhD, RN

SUZANNE FEETHAM NURSING RESEARCH SUPPORT AWARD

Eileen P. Engh, PhD RN
“Rare Disease Organization Lifecycle” Role in Helping Parents with Everyday Life Information Seeking and Connection (RDO-HELIX)

EXPLORATIONS IN GLOBAL HEALTH PILOT AWARDS

Launchpad Awards

Mi Ran Shin, MD, MPH
“Establishing Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation for Birth and Burn Injuries in Ethiopia”

Susan Harvey, MSN, CPNP-AC
“Implementation of Sickle Cell Pilot Program in Ndhiwa Sub County, Kenya”

Meleah Boyle, PhD, MPH
“Understanding and Addressing Environmental Sustainability to Protect the Health of the Children’s National and Global Communities”

Eiman Abdulrahman, MD
“Research Capacity Building to Improve Pediatric Emergency and Critical Care in Ethiopia”

Pilot Awards

Alexander Andrews, MD
“EEG as a Diagnostic and Prognostic Marker in Severe Pediatric Malaria, Blantyre Malawi”

Daniel Donoho, MD & Timothy Singer, MD
“Feasibility Study of a Novel Artificial Intelligence-Based Educational Platform to Improve Neurosurgical Operative Skills in Tanzania”

Hasan Syed, MD
“Bridging the Gap an Educational Needs Assessment for Pediatric Neurosurgery Training in Pakistan”

Sofia Perazzo, MD & Lamia Soghier, MD, MEd, MBA
“QI Mentorship to Improve Pediatric Screening and Follow-up in Rural Argentina”

Benjamin Liu, PhD
“AI-Empowered Real-Time Sequencing Assay for Rapid Detection of Schistosomiasis in Senegal”

Rae Mittal, MD
“Assessment and Enhancement of Proficiency in Emergency Child Neurology Topics for Post-Graduate Emergency Medicine Trainees in India”

Innovation Day ignites bold thinking

Thursday, REI Week shifted to the Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus for Innovation Day, a celebration of how bold ideas and collaborative culture can accelerate progress in pediatric medicine.

Brandy Salmon, PhD, associate vice president of Innovation and Partnerships at Virginia Tech, opened the day with “The Alchemy of Innovation,” focusing on how institutions can build a culture that fuels transformative partnerships.

A multidisciplinary panel discussion moderated by Nathan Kuppermann, MD, MPH, and Catherine Bollard, MBChB, MD, featured Nehal Mehta, MD, Julia Finkel, MD, Kevin Cleary, PhD, Ioannis Koutroulis, MD, PhD, MBA, Francesca Joseph, MD and Patrick Hanley, PhD, who shared how innovation can be advanced and promoted, especially as a core institutional priority.

A shared vision for the future

REI Week 2025 reaffirmed the values that define Children’s National: a commitment to excellence, collaboration and equity in pediatric research and care. As discoveries continue to emerge from our hospital and our research campuses, the connections built and ideas sparked during this week will help shape the future of pediatric health — locally and globally.

By elevating voices from the bedside to the bench, with the support of the executive sponsors Nathan Kuppermann, MD, MBChB, Catherine Bollard, MBChB, MD, Kerstin Hildebrandt, MSHS, Linda Talley, MS, RN, NE-BC and David Wessel, MD, REI Week demonstrated that we must embrace the community in all aspects of our work. Because we know that there are answers we can only get from the patients that we serve—and we need to be their voice.

Research, Education & Innovation Week will be back next year on April 13-17, 2026.

Posters at the REI Week 2025 Monday, March 31 poster session.
Panelists discuss innovation during REI Week 2025.
Global Health Initiative community engagement event during REI Week 2025.
Chris Rees presents his REI Week 2025 lecture.
Nathan Kuppermann listens to a presenter during the REI Week 2025 Tuesday, April 1, poster session.
Michelle Riley-Brown, Nathan Kuppermann, Catherine Bollard and Naomi Luban on stage during the REI Week 2025 awards ceremony.
Brandy Salmon presents on innovation programs at Virginia Tech during the REI Week 2025 Innovation Day.
Catherine Bollard listens to a presenter during the REI Week 2025 Monday, March 21 poster session.
Ambroise Wonkman poses for a picture with Children’s National staff.
Tanzeem Choudhury presenting during REI Week 2025.

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New study finds prenatal opioid exposure linked to smaller newborn brain volumes

April 15, 2025

A new study out of the Center for Prenatal, Neonatal & Maternal Health Research, directed by Catherine Limperopoulos, PhD, led by Yao Wu, PhD and Stephanie Merhar, MD, MS, out of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, sought answers to the question: “Do brain volumes differ in opioid-exposed vs. unexposed newborns?” In one of the largest studies of this kind, researchers found that prenatal exposure to opioids is associated with smaller brain volumes in newborns. These findings from the landmark Outcomes of Babies with Opioid Exposure (OBOE) study build on, reinforce smaller studies, and achieve a better understanding of the impacts of prenatal opioid exposure (POE).

Dive Deeper

The Advancing Clinical Trials in Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal (ACT-NOW)’s OBOE study is a multi-site observational study of newborns with prenatal opioid exposure and a control group of unexposed newborns from four different sites in the United States – Case Western Reserve University, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

In a study involving 173 newborns who were exposed to opioids during pregnancy and 96 newborns not exposed to opioids prenatally showed smaller brain sizes in several key areas. Specifically, these exposed babies had smaller total brain volumes, as shown through MRI, as well as reduced volumes in important parts of the brain, including the cortex (outer layer of the brain), deep gray matter (areas that control movement and emotions), white matter (which helps transmit signals in the brain), cerebellum (responsible for coordination and movement), brainstem (controls basic functions like breathing), and the amygdala (involved in emotions and memory).

Further details showed that newborns exposed to medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) during pregnancy with methadone, had smaller white matter volumes, while those exposed to MOUD with buprenorphine had smaller volumes specifically in the right amygdala. Additionally, newborns who were exposed to opioids plus additional substances such as THC and gabapentin had smaller volumes in even more brain areas compared to those who were only exposed to opioids.

What’s Next

The OBOE study sets the groundwork for further research into the long-term impact of opioid exposure during pregnancy. Additional work is necessary to expand on these findings and how they relate to functions in childhood – including exploring the way these reduced brain volumes may impact cognitive, behavioral, and motor impairments. The study raises important questions about how current guidelines for MOUD during pregnancy – specifically with methadone and buprenorphine – might evolve considering these findings. This study highlights the need for further research to assess the long-term effects of MOUD regimens on both maternal and infant outcomes.

This significant study underscores the importance of multi-disciplinary collaboration in opioid exposure research, effective regulation, and policy interventions – involving healthcare providers, researchers, policymakers, and affected families – to best mitigate the consequences and improve the health outcomes of children affected by prenatal opioid exposure.

You can read the full study, Antenatal Opioid Exposure and Global and Regional Brain Volumes in Newborns, and its companion editorial, Following the Developing Brain Affected by Opioid Exposure, in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Additional authors from Children’s National include Kushal Kapse, BS, MS, and Josepheen De Asis-Cruz, MD, PhD. Other authors include Carla M. Bann, PhD, Jamie E. Newman, PhD4, Nicole Mack, MS, Sara B. De Mauro, MD, MSCE, Namasivayam Ambalavanan, MD, Jonathan M. Davis, MD, Scott A. Lorch, MD, MSCE5, Deanne Wilson-Costello, MD, Brenda B. Poindexter, MD and Myriam Peralta-Carcelen, MD.

A meta-analysis of neighborhood impact on child health outcomes

March 25, 2025

Researchers at Children’s National Hospital synthesized associations between the Child Opportunity Index (COI), a composite index of children’s neighborhood opportunity, and pediatric health.

In a new systematic review and meta-analysis published in Pediatrics, researchers at Children’s National Hospital synthesized associations between the Child Opportunity Index (COI), a composite index of children’s neighborhood opportunity, and pediatric health. Most studies in the review found that lower COI (less neighborhood opportunity) was associated with adverse health outcomes among children. In the meta-analysis specifically, lower COI (or less neighborhood opportunity) was associated with higher odds of mortality, all cause emergency department (ED) visits and sub-groups of hospitalizations – for medical reasons, surgical/trauma diagnoses and >30-day re-hospitalizations.

The hold up in the field

Until now, the variety of metrics used to measure the impact of where a child lives (place) made it difficult to meta-analyze place-based research across studies and quantify associations. In recent years, the frequent use of the COI has given the authors the unique opportunity to synthesize across those associations quantitatively.