Jack Cary Eichenbaum Summer Scholars Program | NYU Langone Health

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Neonatology Medical Student Education Jack Cary Eichenbaum Summer Scholars Program

Jack Cary Eichenbaum Summer Scholars Program

The Jack Cary Eichenbaum Summer Scholars Program in NYU Langone’s Division of Neonatology started in 1999 and provides medical and undergraduate students a unique opportunity to participate in neonatology research projects and clinical observational rotations. The goal of the eight-week program is to foster and encourage students’ interest in the importance of medical research and provide an introduction to the medical profession by allowing them to explore various aspects of neonatology.

Through the program, students are paired with a faculty member and a neonatal–perinatal fellow who mentor them to perform basic science or clinical neonatology research. Many of these projects are used in future publications, and more than 95 percent of the scholars pursue careers in medicine and healthcare. The program also provides an introduction to patient care and ethical issues in neonatal medicine and offers various events for networking and professional growth.

The program directors are Pradeep N. Mally, MD, and Sean M. Bailey, MD. For more information, contact Elizabeth Tavarez at Elizabeth.Tavarez@NYULangone.org or 212-263-7286.

Program Application

The Jack Cary Eichenbaum Summer Scholars Program is open to first-year medical students and undergraduate college students interested in a career in medicine. Undergraduate students should be actively enrolled and in good standing at their college or university at the time of application.

We appreciate your interest in our program. Our 2024 program dates are June 20 to August 16.

The application for summer 2024 is available from December 15, 2023, to March 1, 2024.

Past Scholar Projects

The following research projects were conducted in 2023.

Neurodevelopmental Outcomes After Neonatal ECMO

By Eileen Nolan, Zoe Apple, and Victoria Isernia

The Pediatric Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Program began at NYU Langone in March 2015. Close neurodevelopmental follow-up is recommended for all neonates who receive ECMO. Neonatal ECMO survivors were seen in our Neonatal Comprehensive Care Program (NCCP) to monitor their development until age 2. In this research project, we aimed to assess the neurodevelopmental outcomes of all babies who received ECMO at our institution, and followed up at the NCCP clinic. This was a retrospective study analyzing the demographics, clinical status pre-ECMO, and neurodevelopmental outcomes of these children. We also calculated PIPER+ scores, which are predictors of mortality on ECMO, to determine whether higher scores were associated with worse neurodevelopmental scores.

Echocardiograhic and Systemic Markers of Hemodynamic Significant PDA (hsPDA) in Premature Neonates

Echocardiographic and Clinical Markers of hsPDA in Premature Neonates: A retrospective pilot project

By Elise Zwicklbauer, Mariam Quraishi, and Theophilus Acheompong

Hemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus (hsPDA), is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) preterm infants by significant left-to-right shunting, which leads to pulmonary edema/hemorrhage, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), acute renal failure (ARF), necrotizing enterocolitis and chronic lung disease.

Significant ductal shunt is present in 55 to 70 percent of infants born less than 1,000 g or before 28 weeks of gestation. These patients also seem to have a lower closure rate after medical therapy and require surgical ligation. In this context, if possible, early recognition of this pathological ductal anatomy may help to prevent significant short-term morbidity such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), ICH, NEC, and other long-term developmental morbidities. There are widely differing views as to what degree of clinical or echocardiographic metrics correlates with hsPDA and subsequently leading to the need for medical management or ductal ligation. This retrospective pilot research project aims to determine the incidence of hsPDA at NYU Langone NICUs and to determine the value of markers (ECHO + clinical), to predict treatment progression from medical to surgical intervention for premature neonates with hsPDA.

Impact of Preterm Formula Higher in Protein and Whey Content on Feeding Intolerance in Very-Low-Birth-Weight (VLBW) Infants

By Elena Sasso, Ava Mandel, and Medha Nagasubramanian

The Division of Neonatology, in conjunction with the clinical nutrition department, launched a new formula in the NICU for premature neonates in 2018 with a higher protein/whey content. This study is a retrospective study of infants born at or before 28 weeks and weight of 1,500 grams or less on the higher protein/whey formula and their feeding tolerance on this formula. The main goals of this research are to assess infant demographics, feeding tolerance, growth metrics, and control variables on a control group with a lower protein/whey ratio formula to a test group on a higher protein/whey formula. Assessing feeding tolerance in the NICU is invaluable in very-low-birth-weight infants.