Infant Lung Center

The Infant Lung Center (ILC) exists to reduce pain and improve the quality of life for preterm and full-term infants who are born with or later develop pulmonary disorders. We focus on translational early phase and pivotal clinical trials, as well as post-clinical trial surveillance, in our multifaceted approach to addressing this medical and public health problem. 
Support for this Center is sustained by its dedicated database and biorepository infrastructure, which enables local research and international efforts to develop safe and effective patient treatments and to improve quality of life outcomes.

About Chronic Pulmonary Disorders

Chronic pulmonary disorders that arise at birth or in the first days of postnatal life remain among the most important challenges in pediatric medicine. For example, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is the most common and significant pediatric pulmonary disorder in the United States.

Infant lungs, especially those of prematurely born babies, are fragile and easily damaged. When the lungs are injured, the tissues inside the lungs become inflamed and can cause scarring. This scarring can result in difficulty breathing and increased oxygen needs.

Risk factors for developing a chronic lung disease include the following: 

• Less than 30 weeks of gestation at the time of birth.
• Birthweight less than 2,500 grams (5.5 pounds).
• Infants with growth restrictions before or after birth.
• Infection after birth.
• Infant Respiratory Distress Syndrome (RDS).
• Lung disease due to prematurity.
• Infants who require breathing support from mechanical ventilation or oxygen therapy after birth. 
  
  

Financial support for the Infant Lung Center and Neonatal Research

Endowments

Cooper Connor Endowed Fund for Pulmonary Research

Sosland Family Endowed Chair in Neonatal Research

Others sources of support

Courtney S. Turner Charitable Trust
Any philanthropic support towards advancing Neonatal Research at Children’s Mercy is greatly appreciated. Your gift today brings hope, comfort, and the prospect of brighter tomorrows to children and their families.

Children’s Mercy is a 501(c)3 charitable organization.

Neonatal Disease Research

The Division of Neonatology’s research program aims to understand the why and the how behind neonates developing diseases, with the ultimate goal of preventing or curing them. Our program specializes in early-stage clinical research for this critically ill and understudied population of infants and toddlers. It combines the expertise of neonatal physicians trained in developmental pharmacology with multidisciplinary specialists. 

Unique research

The Division of Neonatology operates two IRB-approved repositories at Children’s Mercy. Investigators affiliated with Children’s Mercy and their collaborators may utilize these research assets to study a variety of infant disorders. 

Neonatal Data Repository 

This repository banks clinical data from Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) patients admitted to Children’s Mercy during the first year of life and tracks their outcomes until they reach adulthood. 

Infant Pulmonary Biorepository

This repository prospectively banks blood, urine, tracheal aspirates, and buccal swabs longitudinally from infant pulmonary patients admitted to Children’s Mercy. 

Research highlights

The Division of Neonatology is committed to performing novel research that leads toward the improvement of neonatal disease prevention, detection, and outcomes. 

Clinical connections

Chronic Lung Disease team

The Infant Lung Center supports the Chronic Lung Disease (CLD) Team, which utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to better serve infants with complex lung and chronic airway problems. The CLD Team meets regularly to discuss more involved pulmonary cases to promote improved custom treatment plans and care approaches.  

Tracheostomy and Home Ventilator Program

Infant Lung Center physicians lead the outpatient Tracheostomy and Home Ventilator Clinic, which follows patients discharged from a Children’s Mercy Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) or Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and continue to receive respiratory and developmental support. 

Multicenter relationships

BPD Collaborative

The Children’s Mercy’s Division of Neonatology and Infant Lung Center is a founding member of the BPD Collaborative. The Collaborative was established to fill knowledge gaps involving the treatment of infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and to improve the care and outcomes of BPD. The BPD Collaborative is comprised of 25 institutions with multidisciplinary teams dedicated to optimizing outcomes of infants and children with severe BPD, focusing their research collaboration on long-term pulmonary support for critically ill infants. 

Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Consortium

The ILC participates in the Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Consortium (CHNC), especially its BPD and Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH) Forums. This consortium consists of 49 participating institutions dedicated to improving care for high-risk infants by providing a platform to compare the development of infant outcomes across Level IV neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). 

Affiliated Faculty