# Patient-Oriented Research and Mentoring Program in Prematurity-Associated Pulmonary Morbidity

> **NIH NIH K24** · CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $119,637

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Dr. Hibbs proposes a patient-oriented research and mentorship program focusing on
prematurity-associated pulmonary morbidity. She has a strong track-record for POR research
and mentorship and availability of future mentees from junior faculty and trainees at Rainbow
Babies and Children's Hospital (RBC) and CWRU; she will integrate mentees in the newly
proposed project as well as other currently funded local and multi-center studies.
Longer term respiratory morbidity and neurodevelopmental delay are major consequences of
preterm birth. In the proposed study, we seek to characterize the association between immature
respiratory control, manifesting as intermittent hypoxia (IH), and later respiratory and
neurodevelopmental morbidity in a cohort of preterm infants less than or equal to 30 weeks'
gestation. This proposal is a two-year follow-up study of the Pre-Vent Case Western Reserve
(CWRU) site protocol, and represents a unique opportunity to pair longer-term clinically relevant
outcomes, as measured by validated questionnaires, with an already-funded study using
sophisticated techniques to capture and analyze early life IH events. Our hypotheses are that IH
episodes at one week and one month of life are significantly associated with recurrent
wheezing, sleep disordered breathing, and neurodevelopmental delay. In prior studies we have
demonstrated that apnea almost always precedes desaturation in preterm infants and have
documented a novel association between retinopathy of prematurity, and both the duration of IH
events and the time interval between IH events. From these data we speculate that it is not only
longer and more frequent IH events, but also distinct time interval of at least one minute
between IH events, that will be associated with long-term clinical morbidities. We provide
additional retrospective data that IH is associated with wheezing disorders, as well as a
remarkable track record for both meeting enrollment goals and effective follow-up in prior clinical
studies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10217232
- **Project number:** 5K24HL143291-04
- **Recipient organization:** CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Anna Maria Hibbs
- **Activity code:** K24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $119,637
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-08-01 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10217232

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10217232, Patient-Oriented Research and Mentoring Program in Prematurity-Associated Pulmonary Morbidity (5K24HL143291-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10217232. Licensed CC0.

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