Research Week 2025

12:20-12:35:

Title: Physician-Attorney Conflicts in End-of-Life Decisions

Overview: A common problem in a PICU or NICU is a critically ill child with little/no prospect for meaningful survival, and doctors and parents agree that burdens of treatment exceed the benefits. They agree that the best interests of the child call for comfort care, with the expectation that the child will die. In some of these cases, hospital lawyers raise legal concerns about withholding/withdrawing LSMT. This talk has three main points that it will cover centered around physician-attorney dynamics in end-of-life care that are especially important to physicians that take care of critically-ill children.

12:35-12:50:

Title: Lung Ultrasound Score to Assess Extubation Success in Neonates on Invasive Mechanical Ventilation

Overview: The objective of this study is to evaluate the lung ultrasound score (LUS) as a predictor of extubation success in neonates with respiratory distress on mechanical ventilation, defined as remaining extubated for more than 72 hours. We also assessed for changes in vital signs before and after POCUS to determine safety of imaging procedure.

12:50-1:05:

Title:  Improving Healthcare Communication: Large Language Models for Summarizing and Translating Medical Notes

Overview: Clinical notes are designed for clinician-to-clinician communication, containing jargon potentially difficult to understand for patients and their caregivers. In this session, we will explore large language models’ ability to summarize medical documentation as well as its ability to translate generated summaries into Spanish.

1:05-1:20:

Title: Mitigating Acceleration Forces During Neonatal Transport Using a Novel Spring and Dampener Device.

Overview: This session will discuss the concerns of neonatal transport as a risk factor for increased morbidity and mortality for neonates. Dr. Gollub studied the forces they experience during transport and worked with a team of biomechanical engineering students to invent a device to mitigate these forces.

1:20-1:35:

Title: Prevalence and Method of Diagnosis of Critical Congenital Heart Disease in Wisconsin Newborns Between 2014-2022

Overview: This study analyzes nine years of data (2014–2022) on all Wisconsin-born babies to update the prevalence and diagnostic methods of critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) in the era of routine prenatal screening.  The study provides a contemporary assessment of CCHD identification.

1:50-2:05:

Overview: This presentation explores the stress experiences of adolescents living with chronic health conditions (CHCs). Through semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis, the study identified key themes related to the stress of living with a CHC, responses to this stress, and feelings of being different from peers. Findings highlight both the unique and shared stress experiences among teens with CHCs, providing insight to inform future interventions aimed at improving stress management in this population.

2:05-2:20:

Title: Central Venous Catheter Complications and Practice Variation Following the Glenn Operation

Overview: Placement of central venous catheters (CVC) after the Glenn operation is a highly debated topic due to differences in systemic venous physiology between the upper and lower extremity veins. In this study, we evaluate whether the location and duration of CVCs is associated with catheter associated complications. In addition, we describe practice variation in CVC usage across the US in this unique patient population.

2:20-2:35:

 Title: Sleep Disordered Breathing(SDB) in Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 13

 Overview: SDB is not well studied in Trisomy 18 and 13. There is only one published article in the literature so far. So I have done a retrospective chart review to study the prevalence of SDB in Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 13 as well as studying the associated comorbidities and interventions done in this population. I reviewed the EMR from year 2010 to 2023 for all patients who fulfill the diagnostic criteria and received care at UW.

2:35-2:50:

 Title: Are We Too Supportive? A Ventilator Weaning QI Project in the PICU

Overview: After reviewing the process of weaning invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) in our PICU, we identified opportunities and a patient population where we attempted to target more frequent ventilation weans to ideally identify the minimal respiratory support required by the patient.

The 2025 Odell Research Award Awardee & Lecturer:

Doug Dean III, PhD – assistant professor, Division of Neonatology & Newborn Nursery, Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Title: Physics & Scanners & Brains, Oh My! My Journey in Imaging Early Brain Development

Overview: The brain undergoes remarkable growth during the first years of life that is fundamental for establishing brain connectivity and enabling behavior and cognitive function. Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging techniques offer an exciting opportunity to measure and track quantities sensitive to underlying tissue microstructure. This presentation will highlight my journey in this field and advancements in imaging infants and young children to be able to use quantitative MRI techniques to better understand processes that support early brain development.

The 2025 Wald Research Award Awardee & Lecturer:

Sarah Webber, MD – associate professor, Director of Well-Being, Division of Hospital Medicine & Complex Care, Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Title: Finding Joy Through Process

Overview: This talk explores the importance of embracing the process of inquiry rather than focusing solely on outcomes. By cultivating curiosity, building meaningful connections, and appreciating small moments of discovery, we can enhance both professional fulfillment and intellectual engagement.

The 2025 Wald Research Award Awardee & Lecturer: 

Sima Ramratnam, MD, MPH – associate professor, Division of Allergy, Immunology & Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Title: Uncovering the Hidden Drivers of Childhood Asthma and Rhinitis

Overview: In this presentation, Dr. Ramratnam will share her non-traditional research career journey, from years of contributing as a co-investigator to finally transitioning to a principal investigator.  In this session, Dr. Ramratnam will review her earlier research that has explored the associations between various social determinants of health and childhood asthma and rhinitis.  More recently, Dr. Ramratnam has identified the importance of economic and social disadvantage in shaping disparities in children’s respiratory and neurocognitive health outcomes. Finally, Dr. Ramratnam will share her plan to build on her research findings to further improve our understanding of childhood asthma disparities.

9:40-10 Speaker:

Title: Epigenetic Insights: Unraveling Mechanisms in Kidney Transplantation

Overview: Cell-free DNA and epigenetics are increasingly being used in medicine to diagnose and define the pathophysiology of human disease. In this session, we will explore the potential applications of cell-free DNA and methylation in kidney transplantation and discuss the early findings and future directions of the Gene Expression in Transplant Health (GET Health) study from the Spector Lab.

10-10:20 Speaker: Megan Yanny, MD – assistant professor, Division of General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Title: Primary Care Provider’s Attire – Parent Perceptions and “Professionalism”

Overview: I am investigating associations between a
child’s PCP’s attire and parents’ perceptions of their
knowledge, trustworthiness, approachability, and
the desire to stay within that medical home. I will discuss my survey study that looked at various attire types, including white coats, and the parent preferences and perceptions, and connect this to broader implications regarding dress codes, professionalism in medicine, and other factors.

10:20-10:40 Speaker:

Title: Moving Toward Action: Training Residents to Respond to Discrimination Using Simulation

Overview: This session will review the status quo in findings on the effectiveness of microaggression trainings in creating behavior change. Dr. Bowen will also review his work on the use of simulation exercises in training post-graduate trainees upstander intervention skills. Review will include findings, limitations, and next steps for Medical Education.

1:00-1:15 Speaker:

Title: Leveraging MRI Relaxometry to Examine Relationships between the Area Deprivation Index and White Matter Myelination in Infants and Children

1:15-1:30 Speaker:

Title: Transgender and Gender Diverse Youths’ Experiences With Transgender Influencers

1:30-1:45 Speaker:

Title: Effects of Mepolizumab and Systemic Corticosteroids on Airway Gene Expression Patterns Post-exacerbation in Urban Children with Asthma

1:45-2:00 Speaker:

Title: Advancing Rare Disease Diagnostics Through Multidisciplinary Collaboration: Insights from the University of Wisconsin-Undiagnosed Disease Program

2:00-2:15 Speaker:

Title: Optimizing Outpatient Follow-up of Non-Emergent Neonatal Echocardiography By Altering the Role of the Echocardiographer

2:15-2:30 Speaker:

Title: Parent Perceptions of Virtual Scribe and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Scribe Use in Pediatric Medical Visits

The University of Wisconsin–Madison ICEP designates this live and virtual activity for a maximum of 11.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

The University of Wisconsin–Madison ICEP designates this live and virtual activity for a maximum of 11.5 ANCC contact hours.

The University of Wisconsin–Madison ICEP, as a member of the University Professional & Continuing Education Association (UPCEA), authorizes this program for 1.15 CEUs or 11.5 hours.