Ongoing Clinical Research

One of the primary goals of our division and the shared vision of all our faculty and staff is to provide better care, health, and outcomes for infants. To promote this goal, we support a range of investigator initiated and sponsor initiated research focused on improving health for infants today and tomorrow.  This research includes everything from case studies and chart reviews to multicenter, interdisciplinary clinical trials.  

From bench to bedside, around the world and back, our research has included both internal and external collaborators.  Internal collaborators have included bioengineering, cardiology, genomics, infectious disease, neurology, ophthalmology, and more.  On a national and international level, we have been involved in clinical trials on IV Tylenol, cooling on transport, levetiracetam (an anti-seizure medication), IV nutrition, antibiotic safety, and more.  Funding for our projects has come from the NIH, NICHD, the Thrasher Foundation, the Rady Children’s Hospital Foundation, and various industry sponsors among others.

Prospective Review of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Treatment, Complications, and Outcomes | PI: Denise Suttner

Study of Attitudes and Factors Effecting PREterm infant care Practices (SAFE PREP) – Phase II | PI:  Karen Mestan

National Registry for Surveillance and Epidemiology of Perinatal COVID-19 Infection | PI: Laurel Moyer

Interviewing Spanish Speaking Parents about Communication in the NICU | PI: Krishelle Marc-Aurele

TIME Study: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Therapeutic Hypothermia for Infants with Mild Encephalopathy in California | PI: Jose Honold

Pharmacokinetics and Safety Profile of Digoxin in Infants with Single Ventricle Congenital Heart Disease (Multicenter study with the NICHD Pediatric Trials Network / Duke Clinical Research Institute) | PI: Denise Suttner

Utilizing scavenged complete blood count samples for NeoChip testing and validation  | PI: Eniko Sajti (Collaboration with bioengineering)

NeoChip: High Resolution Melt with machine learning for the accurate and rapid diagnosis of sepsis in neonates (Collaboration with bioengineering) | PI: Eniko Sajti

Additionally, the following projects are collaborations with other divisions, currently recruiting/enrolling in the UCSD and RCHSD NICU(s):

"LENS" - A Multicenter, Open-label, Randomized, Active Comparator Study to Evaluate the Efficacy, Safety, and Pharmacokinetics of Lacosamide in Neonates with Repeated Electroencephalographic Neonatal Seizures | PI:  Jeff Gold (Neurology)