The General Pediatric faculty participates in clinical and educational research, and supports other divisions in their research studies. There are presently nine (9) grant supported research projects ongoing. There have been seven (7) articles published in peer review journals by members of the General Pediatric Division in the last year. Some of the recent and/or current projects:

Hilary Baldwin, M.D.

• Development of Survey Tool to Assess Differences Between Hospitalist and General Pediatric Teaching Services

Theresa Barton, M.D.

• Immunogenicity of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine in Immuno-compromised Children
• Characteristics of S. Pneumoniae Isolates in Pneumococcal-Associated Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome

Casey Drake, M.D.

• Community Acquired – Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Infection (CA-MRSA) in Children

Vanthaya Gan, M.D.

• CLIP Asthma (ExxonMobil:   Community Leadership in Preventing Asthma).   Evaluate The Role of Indoor Allergens in Asthma-associated Morbidity
• ACE Asthma: Inner City Asthma Consortium (ICAC): Asthma Control Evaluation (ACE):   A Biomarker-Based Approach to Improving Asthma Control.  The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. Evaluate if the biomarker-supplemented approach to asthma therapy improves asthma outcomes (asthma symptoms days and asthma exacerbations) as compared to a guideline-based approach without the use of a specific biomarker.  The biomarker to be evaluated will be exhaled nitric oxide (eNO)
• Caregiver Psychiatric Symptomatology and its Relationship to Service Utilization by Children with Asthma:   Texas Higher Education Coordination Board:  To evaluate the relationship between caregiver psychiatric symptoms (Depression) to their children' asthma symptom, their health care utilization
• Indoor Allergen prevention education in Asthmatic.   Evaluate the effectiveness of dust mite education (including the placement of allergy covers over the mattress) on asthma morbidity in a subset of children who admitted to CMCD with asthma
• Pediatric TEDAS: Texas Emergency Department Surveillance: Partnership with institutions that address health care needs of pediatric asthma in Texas: Pilot project – planning in progress

Patricia Hicks, M.D.

• BEAM Study (NICHD)-Randomized clinical trial on the beneficial effect of antenatal magnesium sulfate
• NICHD Neonatal Research Network Follow-up LBW Studies
• Steroid Study (NICHD) Randomized Clinical Trial on the Beneficial Effect of Antenatal Magnesium Sulfate
• Effect of Gatifloxacin on Carriage Streptococcus Pneumoniae and Haemophilus Influenzae in Children Treated for Recurrent or Persistent Otitis Media-sponsored By Bristol Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals
• A Phase III Double-blind, Randomized, Comparative, Multi-center Study of the Immunogenicity and Safety of Three Doses of GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals’ Thimerasol-free Hepatitis B Vaccine (10 mcg/0.5ml) Compared to the US-licensed GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals’ Preservative-free Hepatitis B Vaccine (Engerix-B®, 10mcg/0.5mL) When Administered Intramuscularly on a 0,1, 6 Month Schedule to Healthy Infants In Their First Two Weeks of Life – Sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals
• Pre-booster concentration of Anti-Hib Antibodies in Serum Samples Obtained from Infants (12 to 15 Months of Age) who Have Completed the Primary Series of Vaccination with Licensed Hib Vaccine-sponsored by Aventis Pasteur Pharmaceuticals

Dawn Johnson, M.D.

• Occult Liver Damage in Physically Abused Children

Joel Steinberg, M.D.

• Safety Endpoint Adjudication Committee for the Merck’s Rotavirus Vaccine Study