Pediatrics

Hamilton Baker, M.D.

baker@musc.edu

We have started the MUSC Artificial Intelligence (AI) Hub. Part of our missions is to: Catalyze AI research at MUSC and its partners in pursuit of funding and leadership in the field both regionally and nationally. Also, to create productive relationships that produce high quality research and solidify MUSC as a leader in this field. We meet every 2 weeks to gather those performing this type of research at MUSC and I think it would be great to get medical students involved and give them an opportunity to connect with these researchers for potential opportunities.

Andrea Boan, Ph,D., MSCR, PA-C

boan@musc.edu

Our Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Autism Research Team works in a collaborative unit to conduct clinical research in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and other developmental disabilities in an effort to inform effective clinical practice. We are actively engaged in a number of grant funded, investigator-initiated research programs. Some current studies underway includes our Carolina Autism Transition Study assessing the critical transition from adolescence to adulthood; Tele-health Parent-Child Interaction Therapy clinical trials, child elopement interventions, tele-health management of Complex ADHD, and genetic investigations of ASD. More information available on our websites:
DBP Research Programs
DBP Faculty Research

Catherine Bradley, Ph.D. and Laura Carpenter, Ph.D.

bradlecc@musc.edu or carpentl@musc.edu

MUSC Developmental Pediatrics, Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Several studies are underway in the following topic areas: prevalenceof ASD, genetic causes of ASD, and investigational studies of medications to manage ASD-related symptoms.

Casey Langdon, Ph.D.

langdonc@musc.edu

The Langdon Laboratory’s mission is to elucidate the intricacies and mechanisms underlying how different oncogenic events shape cancer cell fate decisions in pediatric sarcomas with the goal to better tailor pharmacological interventions for these devastating tumors. The Langdon Laboratory is initially focusing on Ewing sarcoma. Ewing sarcoma is a devastating pediatric bone cancer; there have been no new advancements in therapeutic options for these patients in decades. The Laboratory uses a combination of molecular biology techniques and pharmacological intervention strategies to assess different cooperating drivers that facilitate sarcomagenesis. The overarching goal of the Laboratory is two-fold: to perform high impact basic science to investigate the mechanistic determinants of Ewing sarcoma development and to translate that work into transformative care for these patients. Please contact Dr. Langdon for specific details about projects that are available in his laboratory

Kyu-Ho Lee, M.D., Ph.D.

leekh@musc.edu

Basic bench laboratory and translational research opportunities in the areas of Pediatric Cardiology/Congenital Heart Disease and OB-GYN/hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are available in the Lee Laboratory at the Darby Children's Research Institute. Our lab has had extensive and fruitful experiences mentoring several generations of pre-medical and medical students in basic cell and molecular biology as well as experimental embryologic systems (primarily mouse) at all levels of experience. More information about the laboratory and currently available projects may be obtained through our laboratory website, publication link and PI contact information.
An updated listing of lab publications may be found here.

Dalila Lewis, M.D.

lewisdal@musc.edu

Clinical pediatric epilepsy research project focusing on seizure characteristics in children to include comorbidities and influence of health inequities. Requires data entry, chart review, monthly/bimonthly meetings. Please check out our website by clicking here.

Elizabeth H. Mack, M.D., M.S.

mackeli@musc.edu

MUSC Children's Health belongs to a collaborative of ~140+ children's hospitals (www.solutionsforpatientsafety.org) focused on preventing hospital-acquired harm (HACs) including hospital-acquired infections. Device removal is an important part of the bundles related to device-related infections. We have had many students participate in our quality improvement research in the past. Specifically in Spring 2020, we are looking for 1-2 students to observe rounds specifically for discussion related to device presence/removal in the intensive care unit in the mornings. In the afternoons we are looking for students to participate in real-time feedback for chlorhexidine bathing CH-wide, and real-time feedback for adjunct CLABSI bundles for high risk populations. We aim to pursue poster presentation at a national conference featuring the medical student's work related to these exciting harm prevention efforts.

We have tight-knit children's quality team that maintains a large portfolio of projects related to preventable harm reduction in pediatric patients and employees. We would aim to place students on one of these teams based on their interest and availability. We would teach any skills needed to be successful and always welcome shadowing in the pediatric ICU as well. We are grateful for your interest and enjoy working with FLEX students each year.

Hospital-acquired condition projects/teams include hospital acquired infections, pressure injuries, unplanned extubations, falls, and more. These projects range from in-person work to virtual work and some involve both. Projects may involve working with care teams, Excel, REDCap, Epic, etc.
We are participating in a variety of pediatric COVID studies and welcome interested students to assist with eligibility, enrollment, data entry. This would involve an introduction to CITI training, IRBs, etc.

If you're interested, let's meet to discuss potential FLEX rotation focused on harm prevention in pediatric patients.

Jezabel Rodriguez Blanco, Ph.D.

rblanco@musc.edu

Dr. Blanco's research is still focused on medulloblastoma, and aimed at identifying novel therapeutics for these underserved group of patients. Due to the significant morbidity that current multimodal therapy has in developing children, one of her major research lines is focused on finding targeted therapeutics for these tumors. Additionally, she is working into finding novel therapeutics for some of the most lethal forms of pediatric brain tumors. This second research line includes tumors considered very high-risk disease such as the TRP53 mutant Sonic Hedgehog subgroup or the MYC amplified group 3 medulloblastoma, and high-grade gliomas, such as the virtually incurable diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma. Main Projects in the Blanco's Laboratory:

Identifying novel targeted therapeutics for SHH subgroup medulloblastoma patients.
Studying the efficacy of novel regulators of the growth and propagation of TRP53 mutant medulloblastoma.
Evaluating the efficacy of novel MYC signaling modulators for the treatment of Type 3 medulloblastoma patients.
Targeting the cell-of-origin as a novel approach for the treatment of SHH medulloblastoma patients.

Carol Wagner, M.D.

wagnercl@musc.edu
Call 843-792-2112 and leave a message with one of our administrative assistants

The Neonatal Nutrition Research Group at MUSC conducts research involving pregnant and lactating women and their infants with a special focus on vitamin D. We have conducted several clinical trials surrounding the vitamin D requirements of pregnant and lactating women and their infants and have ongoing studies underway. We have large databases that could be utilized to ask research questions specific to these patient populations.