This application is for five years of funding through the Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23). The main goal is to establish the candidate as an independent researcher in the area of promotion of emotional regulation in vulnerable populations of infants. The training obtained during the period of the K23 Award will be directed toward conducting an intervention that will enhance emotional regulation, in infants born prematurely, and to acquire expertise in assessing psychophysiologic regulators of emotion. The primary goal of the intervention is to provide a more attuned environment for preterm infants through social support of the mother while the infant is hospitalized and at home. The candidate possesses has clinical background in neonatal intensive care that provides her with an understanding of the risks of prematurity and cares of the infant born prematurely. The main objective will be achieved through training in intervention with vulnerable families, conduct of intervention research and assessment, seminars in emotional regulation and psychobiology, training in behavioral and psychophysiologic (vagal tone and cortisol levels) indicators of emotion, courses in advanced statistics, and supervised research experience. Training and conducting a pilot study during the first year of the award will inform the design of the main study proposed for this award. The study will examine whether an intervention promoting skin-to-skin (kangaroo) holding of healthy preterm infants by their mothers, over an extended period of time, will facilitate attunement between mother and infant that will result in subsequent enhanced emotional regulation in these vulnerable infants compared to supported traditional blanket-holding and no support control groups. The candidate will submit an R01 application near the end of the training period based on findings from this study. The proposed training program, mentorship, and institutional resources coupled with the candidate's previous research and clinical experience will enable her to be a productive clinical researcher capable of conducting independent interdisciplinary research. .

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23)
Project #
5K23HD040892-04
Application #
6797883
Study Section
Pediatrics Subcommittee (CHHD)
Program Officer
Raju, Tonse N
Project Start
2001-08-01
Project End
2006-07-31
Budget Start
2004-08-01
Budget End
2005-07-31
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2004
Total Cost
$126,963
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Colorado Denver
Department
Psychiatry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
041096314
City
Aurora
State
CO
Country
United States
Zip Code
80045
Neu, Madalynn; Hazel, Nicholas A; Robinson, Joann et al. (2014) Effect of holding on co-regulation in preterm infants: a randomized controlled trial. Early Hum Dev 90:141-7
Neu, Madalynn; Robinson, JoAnn; Schmiege, Sarah J (2013) Influence of holding practice on preterm infant development. MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs 38:136-43
Neu, Madalynn; Robinson, JoAnn (2010) Maternal holding of preterm infants during the early weeks after birth and dyad interaction at six months. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs 39:401-14
Neu, Madalynn; Laudenslager, Mark L; Robinson, JoAnn (2009) Coregulation in salivary cortisol during maternal holding of premature infants. Biol Res Nurs 10:226-40
Neu, Madalynn; Robinson, JoAnn (2008) Early weeks after premature birth as experienced by Latina adolescent mothers. MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs 33:166-72
Neu, Madalynn; Goldstein, Mark; Gao, Dexiang et al. (2007) Salivary cortisol in preterm infants: Validation of a simple method for collecting saliva for cortisol determination. Early Hum Dev 83:47-54
Neu, Madalynn (2004) Kangaroo care: is it for everyone? Neonatal Netw 23:47-54