Facilitating The Increase In Pulmonary Blood Flow At Birth
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$617,729.00
Summary
Pulmonary hypertension in newborn infants is a significant problem that is very difficult to treat because we do not understand how blood flow through the lungs increases at birth. We have recently shown that currently believed mechanisms controlling blood flow at birth are incorrect and additional factors exist. Our experiments will determine factors that affect blood flow through the lungs at birth. This information will be used to improve the care of newborns with pulmonary hypertension.
Birth is one of the greatest physiological challenges that we will ever experience and so it is not surprising that it is a period of high risk of death. Despite the risk, our understanding of how infants transition from fetal to newborn life is limited. My research is focused on improving our understanding of how infants make the transition at birth so that we can reduce the risks for these most vulnerable of humans. In particular, I want to improve outcomes for infants born very premature.