About
Mission
About Us
Infant Anemia: From Bench to Clinic
Our lab's mission is to understand gut health in relation to nutrition and health condition in preterm infants through clinical studies and translational research. Our efforts focus on anemia and oral iron supplementation in very low birth weight infants (VLBWI) through a variety of methods including in vitro enteroid models of gut inflammation, measurement of iron uptake and its downstream effects, multiomics analysis of gut microbiota, etc. Our goal is to investigate the differences in the preterm gut microbiome in order to best manage patient needs.
Leadership the Forefront of Our Research Areas
Our team is led by Dr. Tina Ho, who oversees clinical studies, patient care, and translational research. Daily lab functions and in vitro experiments are run by our postdoc, Hannah Wapshott-Stehli, and lab manager, Madison Huszar. The translational research is supported by a group of competent and accomplished undergraduate students who are trained by the lab and, with experience, may pursue their own research projects. The clinical studies are coordinated and executed by a skilled team of medical students at Tampa General Hospital and USF's Morsani College of Medicine.
Our Research Approach
Advancing the understanding and treatment of anemia in very low birth weight infants and utilizing in vitro experiments and clinical studies to improve the field of neonatal nutrition and inflammation.
Clinical Studies
Analyzing the effects of high dose and low dose iron supplementation on very low birth weight infants and their gut microbiota
In Vitro/Basic Science
Developing immature enteroid models mimicking the intestinal epithelium for modeling iron absorption and oxidative stress
AI and ML
Predicting treatment responses and generating mechanistic hypotheses
Education and Training
Our lab is proud to offer mentorship, education, and training for students at all levels of their education from undergraduate to graduate, PhD, and medical students.
Funding
Our Grants
Our lab currently operates under 3 NIH funded grants with aims including: enteral iron supplementation and intestinal health in preterm infants (K23), multiomics analysis of gut dysbiosis in anemic preterm infants (R21), and AI driven pain intensity and pain sensitization biomarker signatures to optimize neonatal pain management (UG3).
