M.D. Dr. Gest is interested in developing a protocol for care of the extremely immature baby, encompassing all aspects of the baby's care, including ethical considerations and development. He continues to have an interest in fetal and neonatal edema and lymphatic function. M.D. Dr. Griffin is interested in the iron requirements of preterm infants and mineral recruitments of older children, in particular zinc. Charleta Guillory, M.D. Dr. Guillory's research focuses on comparing total calcium and ionized calcium in sick premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit. Peter M. Haney, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Haney's long-term research goals are to understand the molecular cell biology of lactation and the regulation of glucose transporters during development.
Current work focuses on glucose transport in the lactating mammary gland.
Dr. Haney is studying the regulation of the amount, activity, and subcellular targeting of GLUT1, the only glucose transporter isoform identified in the mammary gland, in established and primary mammary epithelial cell lines, as well as in humans and rodents. Efforts are under way to elucidate the mechanisms of altered glucose transporter targeting, including Golgi sequestration and polarization of plasma membrane distribution, that he has observed during lactation. He will examine how GLUT1 gene expression and subcellular targeting regulate the synthesis of lactose and whether they play a role in breast cancer. Dr. Haney also is studying how diet regulates the amount and activity of glucose transporters in brain, liver, pancreas, fat, muscle, and intestine during development and how changes in the amount and activity of these proteins affect metabolism and growth. M.D. Dr. Johnson's research interest focuses on the prevention of respiratory syncytial virus infection in former NICU patients and educating the public at large regarding their health.