The Incubator
A weekly discussion about new evidence in neonatal care and the fascinating individuals who make this progress possible. Hosted by Dr. Ben Courchia and Dr. Daphna Yasova Barbeau.
#369 - 🔬 Building Bridges Between the NICU and the Lab with Dr. Eleanor Molloy
Send us a text
In this episode of At the Bench, Betsy Crouch and David McCulley engage in a thought-provoking conversation with Dr. Eleanor Molloy, a neonatologist and physician scientist. They explore Eleanor's journey in neonatology, the importance of inflammation in neonatal health, and the challenges and rewards of conducting research in this field. The discussion also highlights the significance of collaboration, both within research teams and with parents, to enhance clinical practice and improve outcomes for neonates. Eleanor shares insights on the role of biomarkers, the impact of sex differences in research, and the necessity of...
#368 - Beware the Satisfied Man: A Conversation with Dr. Steve Abman (NeoHeart Special 2025)
Send us a text
In this special episode recorded live at the NeoHeart Conference 2025 in San Diego, California, Ben and Daphna sit down with Dr. Steve Abman, the Dr. John Patrick Cleary Living with Legends Keynote Address Speaker. A true leader in pediatric medicine, Dr. Abman serves as Professor of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine, Co-Director of the Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension Program, Director of the Pediatric Heart and Lung Center, and President of the American Pediatric Society.
Through candid reflection and storytelling, Dr. Abman discusses his journey from social activism to medicine, his mentors who shaped his...
#367 - 🌍 Building Neonatal Care Across Zambia: Training, Mentorship, and Impact with Jean Musonda-Chintende
Send us a text
In this episode, Mbozu and Shelly-Ann are joined by Jean Musonda-Chintende, a critical care nurse and national trainer in advanced newborn care with the Ministry of Health in Zambia. Jean shares her decade-long journey in neonatal intensive care and her leadership in building and mentoring neonatal units across the country.
She discusses the process of setting up special care baby units in hospitals that previously lacked neonatal services, including assessing facility readiness, training staff, and ensuring standardized care through continued mentorship. Jean highlights partnerships with organizations such as UNICEF and Clinton...
#366 - A European Approach to Neonatology: Individualized Care, Empowered Families, and the Future of Education with Mario RĂĽdiger
Send us a text
In this episode of the Incubator Podcast, Dr. Mario RĂĽdiger, a prominent neonatologist from Germany, shares his journey into the field of neonatology, discussing the differences between European and American practices, the importance of flexibility in adopting new therapies, and the role of evidence in neonatal care. He emphasizes the significance of empowering parents in the NICU and advocates for a family-centered approach to care. The conversation also touches on the future of neonatal education, the impact of podcasting in the field, and the challenges of work-life balance for healthcare professionals. Dr. R...
#365 - 👶 Christina’s Journey to Discharge Day
Send us a text
In this heartfelt episode of Beyond the Beeps, Leah and Christina discuss the emotional journey of navigating the NICU as a parent. Christina shares her experiences from the moment she went into preterm labor to the discharge day of her son, Caleb. The conversation highlights the importance of building a support system, advocating for your child, and finding resilience during challenging times. Christina emphasizes the need for information and education in the NICU environment, as well as the significance of self-care for parents. The episode concludes with a message of hope and encouragement...
#364 - đź“‘ Journal Club - The Complete Episode from October 5th 2025
Send us a text
In this Journal Club episode, Ben and Daphna review a wide range of new research shaping neonatal practice and policy.
The discussion begins with a randomized controlled trial from Korea examining antenatal corticosteroid use in twin pregnancies at risk for late preterm delivery, showing reductions in neonatal respiratory morbidity. They then turn to a meta-analysis on DHA with or without ARA supplementation in preterm infants, where results raised concerns about potential increased risk of BPD, highlighting the need for more precise dosing and study design.
A major feature of...
#364 - [Journal Club Shorts] - đź“Ś Do Antenatal Corticosteroids Reduce Respiratory Morbidity in Late Preterm Twins?
Send us a text
Antenatal Corticosteroid in Twin-Pregnant Women at Risk of Late Preterm Delivery: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
Lee SM, Park HS, Choi SR, Lee J, Kim HJ, Park JY, Oh KJ, Cho GJ, Oh MJ, Chung JH, Kim SM, Kim BJ, Kim SY, Hong S, Jung YM, Lee SJ, Seong JS, Kim H, Oh S, Lee J, Jin YR, Kim JH, Cho HY, Park CW, Park JS, Jun JK.JAMA Pediatr. 2025 Sep 22:e253284. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.3284. Online ahead of print.PMID: 40982289
Support the show
As always, feel free to send...
#364 - [Journal Club Shorts] - đź“Ś Improving Neonatology Staffing With the INS Toolkit
Send us a text
Support the show
As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on the webpage linked below.
Enjoy!
#364 - [Journal Club Shorts] - đź“Ś Are Infants With Critical Congenital Heart Disease at Higher Risk for Cancer in the First Year of Life?
Send us a text
Critical Congenital Heart Disease and Infant Cancer.
Chin S, Lupo PJ, Baer R, Hobbs CA, Chambers CD, Bandoli G.Pediatrics. 2025 Sep 25:e2025072934. doi: 10.1542/peds.2025-072934. Online ahead of print.PMID: 40992753 No abstract available.
Support the show
As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped...
#364 - [Journal Club Shorts] - đź“Ś Does DHA With or Without ARA Supplementation Improve Outcomes in Preterm Infants? A Meta-Analysis
Send us a text
Effect of enteral supplementation of DHA with or without ARA in preterm infants: a meta-analysis.
Dang D, Gao Z, Zhang C, Mu X, Lv X, Wu H.Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2025 Apr 15:fetalneonatal-2024-327606. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2024-327606. Online ahead of print.PMID: 40233974
Support the show
As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and...
#364 - [Journal Club Shorts] - đź“Ś How Do Neurodevelopmental Outcomes Compare After Transcatheter PDA Closure Versus Surgical Ligation in Extremely Preterm Infants?
Send us a text
Comparison of neurodevelopmental outcomes of extremely preterm infants undergoing trans-catheter closure of the patent ductus arteriosus compared to surgical ligation.
Kaluarachchi DC, Chock VY, Do BT, Rysavy MA, Sankar MN, Laughon MM, Backes CH, Colaizy TT, Bell EF, McNamara PJ, Hintz SR, Natarajan G.J Perinatol. 2025 Sep 23. doi: 10.1038/s41372-025-02417-8. Online ahead of print.PMID: 40987835
Support the show
As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter...
#364 - [Journal Club Shorts] - đź“Ś What Do Parents and Practitioners Think About Opt-Out Consent in Neonatal Trials?
Send us a text
Parent and practitioner experiences of opt-out consent in neonatal intensive care: a mixed methods study within a trial.
Mitchell T, Andrzejewska I, Battersby C, Cole C, Daskalopoulou Z, Dorling J, Gale C, Graham M, Hubbard M, Hardy P, Hurd M, King AR, Manley BJ, Murray D, Nuthall E, O'Connor H, Ojha S, Roberts CT, Rodriquez A, Roehr CC, Stanbury K, Tume L, Young L, Woolfall K.Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2025 Aug 31:fetalneonatal-2025-328693. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2025-328693. Online ahead of print.PMID: 40889884
Support the show
As...
#364 - [Journal Club Shorts] - đź“Ś How Reliable Are Current Screening Tools for Autism in Preterm Children?
Send us a text
Screening for Autism in Preterm Children: A Systematic Review.
Thomas KE, Raghuram K, Banihani R, Church PT, Mbuagbaw L, Penner M.Pediatrics. 2025 Sep 3:e2024069837. doi: 10.1542/peds.2024-069837. Online ahead of print.PMID: 40897396
Support the show
As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on...
#363 - A Mother, A Nurse, and a Baby Named Caleb – The Human Side of Neonatal Care
Send us a text
In this episode, Ben and Daphna sit down with Cassie Carrigan and Sacha Force to share the story of Cassie’s son, Caleb, and the lessons his short life continues to teach. Cassie, a mother, mental health therapist, and NICU parent, walks us through Caleb’s complex diagnostic journey, multiple surgeries, and ultimately the genetic condition that explained his struggles. She reflects candidly on the emotional toll of repeated bad news, the challenge of decision-making in crisis, and the importance of partnership between parents and medical teams.
Alongside her, Sacha—Caleb’s NICU n...
#362 - 50 Studies Every Neonatologist Should Know
Send us a text
What if you could hold in your hands a roadmap to the most influential studies that have shaped modern neonatology? In this special episode of The Incubator Podcast, Ben and Daphna sit down with Dr. John Zupancic, Dr. Susanna Hay, and Dr. Roger Soll to discuss the release of their new book, 50 Studies Every Neonatologist Should Know. Together with their co-editors Dr. Barbara Schmidt and Dr. Haresh Kirpalani, the team has distilled decades of neonatal research into an accessible, thoughtfully structured volume designed to guide clinicians, trainees, and educators.
The conversation...
#361 - Dr. Isabella Eiler - Exploring risk factors related to obtaining umbilical cord blood gas samples
Send us a text
In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr Isabella Eiler from the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is originally from the Milwaukee area and first attended the Medical College of Wisconsin for medical school. She then went on to complete her pediatric residency at the Indiana University School of Medicine. In this episode of Rupa's Fellows Friday, Dr. Isabella Eiler discusses her journey in neonatology, particularly her interest in NeuroNICU and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). She shares insights from her research on missed opportunities for neonatal assessments and...
#354 -🚶‍➡️[Life Course Series] - Do We Really Understand the Life Course after Preterm Birth?
Send us a text
This episode sets the stage for a collection of conversations inspired by a recently published special issue in Children: Implications of Preterm Birth for Health and Well-Being Over the Life Course. Host Dr. Daphna Barbeau is joined by the editors, Dr. Susan Hintz and Dr. Jonathan Litt of Stanford University, to discuss why the concept of “life course” is so critical for understanding the long-term impact of preterm birth.
Dr. Hintz and Dr. Litt explain how survival is only the beginning of the story. Preterm birth often shapes health trajectories well into...
#356 -🚶‍➡️[Life Course Series] - Are We Saying the Right Words in the NICU?
Send us a text
In this episode, Dr. Daphna Barbeau speaks with Dr. Paige Terrien Church and Dr. Ashwini Lakshmanan about one of the most delicate yet essential aspects of neonatal care: communication. Drawing on their recent articles, the discussion highlights how the words we choose in the NICU profoundly shape families’ experiences, hopes, and perceptions of their child’s future.
Dr. Church addresses the discomfort many clinicians feel when discussing disability, emphasizing how entrenched medical training and ableism can unintentionally bias conversations. She introduces the concepts of microethics—the subtle, everyday interactions between families and pr...
#357 -🚶‍➡️[Life Course Series] - What Can Parents Teach Us About Life in and After the NICU?
Send us a text
In this moving episode, Dr. Ben Courchia and Dr. Daphna Barbeau are joined by LaToshia Rouse, a certified doula and patient engagement consultant, and Dr. Jessica DiBari from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. Together, they share insights from their two Parent Perspective articles in the special issue of Children, which focus on the NICU experience and the critical transition to home.
LaToshia and Jessica describe the NICU as a culture all its own—one that parents enter suddenly, without preparation, and often with a sense of trauma and grief. They di...
#355 -🚶‍➡️[Life Course Series] - How Do Inequities Shape the Life Course of Preterm Infants?
Send us a text
In this episode, we chat with Dr. Tim Nelin and Dr. Yarden Fraiman, two authors from the recently published special issue of Children on the life course implications of preterm birth. Together, they explore how inequities—both environmental and social—can shape the long-term health trajectories of preterm infants.
Dr. Nelin introduces the idea of “micro” and “macro” environments, showing how factors such as air pollution, green space, violence, and neighborhood social vulnerability not only contribute to preterm birth risk but also affect infants once they leave the NICU. His research underscores...
#360 -🚶‍➡️[Life Course Series] - What Do the Seven Principles of Life Course Health Teach Us About Preterm Care?
Send us a text
In this episode, Dr. Daphna Barbeau is joined by Dr. Neal Halfon (UCLA) and Dr. Shirley Russ (Cedars-Sinai/UCLA), two leading voices in life course health development, to explore how this framework reshapes our understanding of preterm infant care and follow-up. Together, they discuss their article, Ensuring Optimal Outcomes for Preterm Infants After NICU Discharge: A Life Course Health Development Approach to High-Risk Infant Follow-Up.
Dr. Halfon introduces the seven principles of life course health development—development, unfolding, complexity, timing, plasticity, thriving, and harmony—and explains how each reveals the dynamic, mult...
#358 -🚶‍➡️[Life Course Series] - How Does Mental Health Shape the Life Course of Preterm Infants?
Send us a text
In this episode, Dr. Daphna Barbeau sits down with Dr. Richard Shaw (Stanford University) and Dr. Soudabeh Givrad (Weill Cornell Medical College), child psychiatry experts and co-authors of Neurodevelopmental, Mental Health, and Parenting Issues in Preterm Infants. Their conversation shines a spotlight on the often-overlooked intersection of prematurity, neurodevelopment, and family mental health.
Dr. Givrad explains how the rapid brain growth that normally occurs late in pregnancy makes preterm infants especially vulnerable to stress, pain, separation, and environmental influences in the NICU. She and Dr. Shaw outline the higher risks for...
#359 -🚶‍➡️[Life Course Series] - Can a Strength-Based Approach Transform NICU Follow-Up?
Send us a text
In this episode, Dr. Daphna Barbeau welcomes Dr. Shirley Russ, Senior Project Scientist for the Life Course Translational Research Network, to discuss how life course health development can reframe neonatal care and follow-up after prematurity. Drawing from her extensive work leading the Prematurity Node within the network, Dr. Russ highlights why translating research into practice at scale is essential for improving lifelong outcomes.
The conversation emphasizes moving beyond a problem-focused, deficit-based model of NICU follow-up toward a strength-based approach that recognizes resilience, family capacity, and the broader developmental ecosystem surrounding each...
#353 - 🔬 Dr. AnneMarie Stroustrup on Environmental Exposures, Research Persistence, and Leadership in Neonatology
Send us a text
In this episode of At the Bench, hosts Dr. Misty Good and Dr. Betsy Crouch sit down with Dr. AnneMarie Stroustrup, Chair of Pediatrics at Zucker School of Medicine, Physician-in-Chief at Cohen Children’s Medical Center, and senior vice president of the pediatric service line at Northwell Health.
Dr. Stroustrup reflects on her path from early work in biotechnology to training as a neonatologist and physician scientist. She shares how volunteer experiences in an under-resourced emergency department shaped her decision to pursue medicine, and how her MPH in epidemiology provided the to...
#352 - đź“‘ Journal Club - The Complete Episode from September 14th 2025
Send us a text
In this week’s Journal Club, Ben and Daphna review several recent neonatal studies with direct implications for practice.
They begin with the BORN trial from Italy, which investigated whether transfusing preterm infants with cord blood–derived red blood cells, rather than adult donor blood, could reduce severe retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). While the intention-to-treat analysis showed no difference, per-protocol findings suggest potential benefits that warrant larger trials.
Next, they review a large international cohort study of outcomes in infants born at 22–23 weeks, highlighting striking variability in survival and morbid...
#352 - [Journal Club Shorts] - đź“Ś EBNEO Commentary on Norepinephrine vs Dopamine in septic shock
Send us a text
Dopamine versus epinephrine for neonatal septic shock: an open labeled, randomized controlled trial. Singh G, Bhaskar V, Batra P, Gupta P.J Perinatol. 2025 Aug 28. doi: 10.1038/s41372-025-02399-7. Online ahead of print.PMID: 40877444
EBNEO Commentary: Review of the 'Norepinephrine Versus Dopamine for Septic Shock in Neonates: A Randomised Controlled Trial'. Altit G.Acta Paediatr. 2025 Jul 23. doi: 10.1111/apa.70241. Online ahead of print.PMID: 40698742 No abstract available.
Support the show
As always, feel free to send us questions, comments...
#352 - [Journal Club Shorts] - 📌 What Are Outcomes for Infants Born at 22–23 Weeks Across 11 Countries?
Send us a text
Outcomes of Preterm Infants Born at 22 to 23 Weeks' Gestation in 11 International Neonatal Networks. Isayama T, Norman M, Kusuda S, Reichman B, Lehtonen L, Lui K, Adams M, Vento Torres M, Filippi L, Battin M, Guinsburg R, Modi N, HĂĄkansson S, Klinger G, de Almeida MF, Helenius K, Bassler D, Su YC, Shah PS; International Network for Evaluation of Outcomes (iNeo) Investigators.JAMA Pediatr. 2025 Aug 25:e252958. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.2958. Online ahead of print.
Support the show
As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: n...
#352 - [Journal Club Shorts] - đź“Ś What is the Best Respiratory Predictor of Heart Rate Stabilization in Delivery Room Resuscitation
Send us a text
Respiratory Targets Associated With Lung Aeration During Delivery Room Resuscitation of Preterm Neonates. Rub DM, Hsu JY, Weinberg DD, Felix M, Nadkarni VM, Te Pas AB, Kuypers KLAM, Davis PG, Ratcliffe SJ, Kirpalani HM, Foglia EE.JAMA Pediatr. 2025 Aug 11:e252521. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.2521. Online ahead of print.
Support the show
As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and...
#352 - [Journal Club Shorts] - đź“Ś When and How Often Should We Screen for PH in BPD?
Send us a text
Screening for pulmonary hypertension in preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia: when, how often and does it matter? Gentle SJ, Carlo WA, Ambalavanan N.Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2025 Sep 5:fetalneonatal-2024-328405. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2024-328405. Online ahead of print.
Support the show
As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode...
#352 - [Journal Club Shorts] - đź“Ś Should We Transfuse Cord Blood PRBCs Instead of Adult PRBCs to Prevent Severe ROP?
Send us a text
Cord red blood cell transfusions for severe retinopathy in preterm neonates in Italy: a multicenter randomized controlled trial. Teofili L, Papacci P, Pellegrino C, Dani C, Cresi F, Remaschi G, Ansaldi G, Giannantonio C, Campagnoli MF, Vania B, Fabbri M, de Vera d' Aragona RP, Molisso A, Beccastrini E, Dragonetti A, Pasciuto T, Gabbriellini S, Baroni S, Serrao F, Purcaro V, Raffaeli G, Villa S, Prati D, Mondello I, Falcone A, Patti ML, Boggini T, Bergamaschi P, Lepore D, Franco FGS, Orazi L, Mozzetta I, Baldascino A, Valentini CG, Locatelli E, Albiani R...
#352 - [Journal Club Shorts] - đź“Ś Does Atropine Improve Safety During Elective Neonatal Intubation?
Send us a text
Atropine Versus Placebo for Neonatal Nonemergent Intubation: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Afifi J, El-Naggar W, Hatfield T, Sandila N, Baier J, Narvey M.J Pediatr. 2025 Jul 9;286:114719. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2025.114719. Online ahead of print.PMID: 40645282
Support the show
As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode are listed and timestamped on...
#352 - [Journal Club Shorts] - đź“Ś Can Continuous Glucose Monitoring Help Manage Hyperinsulinemic Hypoglycemia?
Send us a text
Continuous glucose monitoring in a neonate with hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia and ABCC8 gene mutation. Iwańczyk P, Majewska A, Issat T, Hoffman-Zacharska D, Krajewski P, Lipska-Karpińska K.Endocrinol Diabetes Metab Case Rep. 2025 Jun 5;2025(2):e250002. doi: 10.1530/EDM-25-0002. Print 2025 Apr 1.
Support the show
As always, feel free to send us questions, comments, or suggestions to our email: nicupodcast@gmail.com. You can also contact the show through Instagram or Twitter, @nicupodcast. Or contact Ben and Daphna directly via their Twitter profiles: @drnicu and @doctordaphnamd. The papers discussed in today's episode ar...
#351 - 🌍 Improving Neonatal Care in Bamenda Cameroon (Ft Dr. Kate Kan)
Send us a text
In this episode, Mbozu and Shelly-Ann are joined by Dr Kate Kan, Consultant Pediatrician and the director of the Neonatal Unit at theRegional hospital in Bamenda Cameroon. During the discussion, Dr Kan describes her journey from aspiring pediatrician to her current role as the head of the Neonatal Unit at her institution. She describes some of the challenges as well as the progress that is being made to improve neonatal care in her region.Â
Dr. Kan also highlights the impact of mentorship in her journey and shares her views on how men...
#350 - What Happened to You? Dena Hubbard on Curiosity, Compassion, and Changing Neonatology
Send us a text
In this episode of The Incubator Podcast, Ben and Daphna sit down with Dr. Dena Hubbard, neonatologist and Director of Quality at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital’s NICU. Dr. Hubbard is widely recognized for her leadership in trauma-informed care, physician well-being, and advocacy work within the American Academy of Pediatrics.
She shares her journey from private practice to becoming a national voice for trauma-informed approaches in neonatal care. Dr. Hubbard explains how an early encounter with a NICU family transformed her understanding of parental stress, judgment, and resilience—and how that mome...
#349 - 🚀 NeoCarePal – The NICU’s New Digital Swiss Army Knife
Send us a text
In this Tech Tuesday episode, Ben speaks with Jason Beyer, Business Unit Leader for the Care Franchise at Chiesi USA, about the development of NeoCarePal, a free mobile app designed to simplify daily workflows in the NICU.
NeoCarePal brings together a curated collection of the most commonly used neonatal calculators and formulas in one easy-to-use platform. Instead of searching across multiple sources, clinicians can access tools for glucose infusion rates, oxygenation index, gestational and corrected age, umbilical catheter positioning, endotracheal tube depth, Sarnat scoring, bilirubin management based on the 2022 guidelines, and...
#348 - 🚀 CPAP with Purpose: Supporting Babies in the Delivery Room and the NICU (Part 3)
Send us a text
In this Tech Tuesday episode, Ben speaks with Laurence Gulliver, General Manager for Humidification at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare. With nearly two decades at the company and a background in mechanical engineering and product development, Laurence has helped guide innovations that have shaped respiratory support for neonatal, pediatric, and adult patients worldwide.
The conversation explores the role of humidification in neonatal respiratory care and why it is often overlooked despite its impact on mucociliary function, secretion management, bronchoconstriction, and thermoregulation. Laurence explains the engineering challenges of delivering consistent humidity through ventilator circuits...
#347 -CPAP with Purpose: Supporting Babies in the Delivery Room and the NICU (Part 2)
Send us a text
In this episode of The Incubator Podcast, Dr. Guilherme Sant’Anna, Professor of Pediatrics at McGill University, joins Ben and Daphna to discuss his team’s work on implementing an early bubble CPAP protocol in the delivery room. Although CPAP has long been considered standard practice for preterm infants, Dr. Sant’Anna explains why intubation rates remain high in the most immature babies and how his group sought to change this pattern.
The conversation reviews the background of the protocol, which began at McGill in 2014, and the cultural shift required to adopt...
#346 - CPAP with Purpose: Supporting Babies in the Delivery Room and the NICU (Part 1)
Send us a text
In this episode of The Incubator Podcast, we welcome Dr. Cindy McEvoy, Professor of Pediatrics and Director of Neonatal Research at OHSU, to discuss her work on the use of extended CPAP in preterm infants. CPAP has long been a cornerstone of neonatal care, but how long should stable infants remain on support? Dr. McEvoy shares findings from two randomized controlled trials that explored whether an additional two weeks of CPAP could promote lung growth and improve longer-term outcomes.
We review the physiologic rationale behind extended CPAP, including the role of...
#345 - 🔬Genetics and Neonatal Lung Disease: A Conversation with Dr. Jennifer Wambach
Send us a text
In this episode of At-the-Bench, hosts David McCulley and Misty Good interview Dr. Jennifer Wambach, a neonatologist and researcher specializing in rare neonatal lung diseases. Dr. Wambach shares her journey into neonatology, her research on genetic lung diseases, and the importance of mentorship in developing future physician-scientists. The conversation also covers the Undiagnosed Diseases Network, current research on genetic lung diseases including ABCA3 deficiency, and the challenges faced in rare disease research. Dr. Wambach emphasizes the need for resilience and adaptability in scientific careers, offering valuable advice for early-career investigators.
Support...
#344 - Neonatal Nephrology - A Year In Review
Send us a text
In this episode of The Incubator Podcast, we sit down with Dr. David Askenazi, Dr. Heidi Steflik, and Dr. Kimmy Vuong to explore the latest research and practice shifts in neonatal nephrology. The discussion begins with the often-overlooked role of the kidney in the NICU and why kidney health has direct implications for outcomes far beyond discharge.
The group reviews three recent high-impact papers. The first, a secondary analysis of the PENUT trial, examines whether PDA treatment in extremely low gestational age infants influences two-year kidney outcomes, raising questions about long-term...
