Indiana University Medical Center has been an active member of the Neonatal Research Network since 1991. Particular strengths of the Indiana Center include a large patient population, effective enrollment of subjects in Network protocols, eleven neonatology faculty with extensive experience in clinical and basic research, an established newborn follow- up program, excellent infrastructure and support staff, and important collaborative research programs with other departments and university centers. Indiana University School of Medicine is the only medical school and the site of the only comprehensive children's hospital in Indiana. The Medical Center serves as the principal referral center for pediatric subspecialty care for the entire state, which has a population of 5.5 million and 85,000 births annually. Reflecting these strengths, Indiana has a clear record of participation and contribution to the Neonatal Network. Indiana has enrolled an average of 228 VLBW infants per year to the generic data base (8.5% of total) for the past four years with excellent accuracy, completeness, and timeliness of data collection and transmission as recognized by the George Washington University Biostatistics Center. Indiana has also participated in all protocols possible since joining the Network, contributing 18% (171) of patients enrolled in the two current prospective masked randomized trials (Antenatal Phenobarbital for Prevention of IVH and Dexamethasone Therapy for Chronic Lung Disease), as well as 15% (113) of the 781 infants enrolled in the ETCO Bilirubin Study. Indiana faculty chaired and developed the Newborn Follow-up Program within the Neonatal Network and the DNA Probe Blood Culture Screening Study, while serving on six additional subcommittees responsible for three currently active Network protocols and three developing protocols. The clinical and basic research of the neonatology faculty (funded by 12 currently active NIH grants, in addition to the GCRC Neonatal Scatterbed) is focused on developmental hematopoiesis, molecular immunology, and fetal /neonatal protein and energy metabolism. These nationally recognized research programs lend themselves to ancillary and secondary studies of the Neonatal Network; for example, two currently active and one completed ancillary/secondary studies have been designed and initiated by Indiana faculty. Collaborative support has been provided by other investigators, departments and centers when additional expertise and/or resources could benefit the Network protocols. An additional strength of the Indiana Center is the potential for an increase in the study population, as a proposal for University Hospitals to merge with Methodist Hospital is currently being reviewed by appropriate governmental agencies. Methodist is a large private hospital in Indianapolis with 4000 deliveries annually, a 24-bed newborn intensive care unit and 116 VLBW infants each year. Indiana University brings to the Neonatal Network a large patient population, a uniquely balanced program of clinical service and research, and a strong record of participation and accomplishment.
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