The University of Iowa Children's Hospital NICU is one of 16 centers chosen from a large pool of applicants to be a part of the Neonatal Research Network of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), a branch of the National Institutes of Health. The selection includes a five-year, $1.37 million award from the NICHD.

The network was developed to conduct research studies to investigate the safety and effectiveness of treatment strategies to care for premature and critically ill newborn infants. The network was started in 1986 by NICHD and is made up of select medical institutions across the country.

"Of the hundreds of academic pediatrics departments and neonatology units in the country, there are only a handful that are chosen to be a part of the network. So it is nice recognition for our team and what we've accomplished. We are confident we will be able to make significant contributions to the network's research, which, in turn, will help to improve the care of babies throughout the United States and the world," said Edward Bell, M.D., University of Iowa Children's Hospital pediatrician, principal investigator for the award, professor of pediatrics in the UI Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine and vice-chair for faculty affairs in the department.

Bell said the best way to do multi-center research is to use an existing network that has the infrastructure and communications network in place, rather than trying to recruit other hospitals to try to help with the research.

"We have answered most of the big questions in neonatology. Now we are focusing on questions that take a large number of patients enrolled in a study to answer. The most important new therapies are evaluated in multi-center trials," Bell said.

Bell said that participating in the network is a good way for the University of Iowa Children's Hospital NICU to participate in some of the biggest, most important clinical research studies involving newborns.

For more information:

University of Iowa Children's Hospital

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Edward Bell, M.D.

Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine