About

Mission

About Us

Infant Anemia: From Bench to Clinic

Diagram of anemia, oral iron, and gut health as areas of research 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. 
Meet Our Team

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.

Fetal enteroid microinjected with a fluorescent molecule

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 fetal 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).

Locations

Research Lab

Interdisciplinary Research Building
3720 Spectrum Blvd Ste 325
Tampa, FL
33612

Clinical Facility

Tampa General Hospital
5 Tampa General Circle Ste HMT 450
Tampa, FL
33606

Reaching Out

 Dr. Thao (Tina) Ho

Dr. Thao (Tina) Ho
Principal Investigator
tho1@usf.edu
(813)259-8640

Hannah Wapshott-Stehli

 

wapshott@usf.edu

Madison Huszar

Research Scientist
Mhuszar@usf.edu