The Incubator
A weekly discussion about new evidence in neonatal care and the fascinating individuals who make this progress possible. Hosted by Dr. Ben Courchia and Dr. Daphna Yasova Barbeau.
Episodes
In this episode, Dr. Sidney Zven shares his unique journey from a civil engineering career to becoming a neonatology fellow at Walter Reed Military Medical Center. He discusses his experiences with food insecurity among military families, particularly focusing on WIC enrollment challenges and the impact of stigma and misinformation. Dr. Zven highlights his mentorship experience while working on a grant to address thes...
In this episode of At the Bench, Misty Good and David McCulley interview Dr. Bernard ThĆ©baud, a neonatologist and leader in lung and pulmonary vascular developmental biology and regenerative medicine. The conversation explores Dr. Thebaudās journey into research, the importance of mentorship, and the challenges of translating research into clinical practice. They discuss the significance of recognizing opportunities, ...
In the final episode of our Rethinking Phototherapy series, Ben speaks with Steve Falk, Chief Engineer of the Maternal Infant Care Strategic Business Unit at GE Healthcare. With more than three decades of engineering leadership, Steve has been instrumental in the development of landmark neonatal technologies, including the Giraffe Omnibed and Panda platforms.
This conversation highlights the critical role of engineerin...
What happens when we challenge our long-standing assumptions about phototherapy in the NICU? In this special installment of our Rethinking Phototherapy series, Ben and Daphna are joined by Dr. Deepak Manhas to examine one of the most complex questions: how should we manage hyperbilirubinemia in preterm infants?
Unlike term babies, preemies face unique risksāshorter red blood cell lifespan, immature bilirubin conjugatio...
In the second installment of our Rethinking Phototherapy series, Ben and Daphna welcome Dr. Daniel Rauch, Professor of Pediatrics at the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine and Division Chief of Pediatric Hospital Medicine and General Academic Pediatrics at Joseph Sanzari Childrenās Hospital. Dr. Rauch co-authored the AAP technical report on phototherapy and brings a unique perspective on how light therapy should b...
In this episode of The Incubator Podcast, Ben and Daphna sit down with Dr. Alex Kemper, Division Chief of Primary Care Pediatrics at Nationwide Childrenās Hospital and Editor-in-Chief of Pediatrics. Dr. Kemper served as chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics subcommittee that authored the 2022 revision of the neonatal hyperbilirubinemia guidelines.
Together, they explore the motivations behind revisiting the 2004 ...
In this discussion, Dr. Hevil Shah (Cook Childrenās Hospital) and Dr. Julie Lindower (UI Childrenās) highlight the work of the CHNC Focus Group on Extremely Preterm Infants, centered on babies born between 21ā23 weeksā gestation. They share insights from a workshop on precision care, emphasizing lessons from Iowaās long-term data showing improved survival and neurodevelopmental outcomes. The conversation explores vari...
In this keynote discussion, Dr. Natasha Henner (Lurie Childrenās Hospital) examines how evolving reproductive policies are reshaping neonatal practice, from counseling at the limits of viability to supporting families after restrictive abortion laws. She discusses rising NICU admissions for infants with congenital differences, ethical tensions around ālife-limitingā diagnoses, and gaps in perinatal hospice and home ca...
In this keynote conversation, Dr. Amy Baughcum, PhD (Nationwide Childrenās), Dr. Elizabeth Fischer, PhD (Childrenās Wisconsin), and Dr. Lamia Soghier, MD, MeD, MBA (Childrenās National) discuss building comprehensive perinatal mental health support systems that span from prenatal diagnosis to life after NICU discharge. Drawing inspiration from Dr. Joanna Coleās fetal psychology model at CHOP, they emphasize early scre...
This episode addresses NICU staff mental health with Dr. Chavis Patterson, PhD (Childrenās Hospital of Philadelphia). He reviews common problemsātoxic stress, compassion fatigue, irritability, sleep disturbanceāand practical mitigation strategies: brief micro-practices (five-minute arrival/departure routines), peer debriefs (e.g., āpink flagsā), unit multidisciplinary check-ins, and institutional resources such as emp...
This keynote episode features Dr. Jennifer Sucre (Vanderbilt University Medical Center), whose research bridges bedside observation and molecular biology to uncover why some preterm infants develop severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) while others recover. Through innovative live imaging of lung development and mouse and human tissue models, her lab discovered that capillary āguidanceā signalsāsemaphorinsāare cruci...
This episode features Dr. Giulia Lima (Boston Childrenās Hospital), a CHNC Mentored Fellow, discussing risk factors for morbidity and mortality among preterm infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) using data from over 11,000 NICU admissions. Surprisingly, older gestational age did not predict improved survival once infants survived beyond three days. Major mortality predictors included surgical NEC, bloodstream i...
This episode features Dr. Sofia Isabel Perazzo (Childrenās National Hospital) and Dr. Rakesh Rao (St. Louis Childrenās Hospital) discussing a CHNC Explore analysis of intestinal stricture formation following surgical necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Using 15 years of CHND data, they examined over 2,400 surgical NEC cases, finding an overall stricture incidence of about 31%, with striking inter-center variability (24ā3...
In this episode Dr. Murali Premkumar (Texas Childrenās) presents an Explore/CHNC analysis of stricture formation after surgical NEC using 2010ā2024 CHND data (2,411 surgical NEC infants). Overall CHNC stricture incidence ā31% with marked inter-center variability (adjusted center rates ~24ā38%). Multivariable analysis identified lower gestational age and stoma/laparotomy as associated with higher stricture risk, while ...
This episode features Dr. Sarah Swenson (Childrenās Nebraska), Dr. Cara Solness, PhD (Childrenās Nebraska), and Dr. Desiree Leverette (Emory/Childrenās Healthcare of Atlanta) discussing equitable approaches to parental mental health screening in the NICU. They highlight that traditional programs often screen only mothers for depression, missing significant distress among non-gestational parents, especially fathers. Un...
This episode features Joshua Hess, MSN, RN discussing strategies to encourage more nurses to attend neonatal conferences where interdisciplinary collaboration drives meaningful quality improvement. Hess highlights how nurse involvement ensures clinical decisions reflect bedside realities, especially in managing conditions like BPD. He describes his unitās culture of first-name, physician-nurse partnership and how inst...
In this episode, Dr. Marina Metzler (St. Louis Childrenās) shares her experience as a mentored fellow within the CHNC network, focusing on her project investigating genetic diagnoses in neonates with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). She discusses the application and mentorship process, the support available from statisticians and CHNC collaborators, and early findings showing that infants with genetic conditions...
This episode reflects on key themes emerging from day two of the 2025 CHNC Symposium. Hosts highlight ongoing work within CHNC focus groups, including defining emergent neonatal transport criteria and improving care pathways for infants with intestinal failure. They emphasize the pivotal role of family partners in research and quality improvement, noting the need to reduce financial and logistical barriers that limit ...
This episode features Dr. Carolina Adams (Emory) and Dr. Faizah Bhatti (Oklahoma Childrenās Hospital) discussing findings from the CHNC Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) Focus Group. Their survey of pediatric ophthalmologists across U.S. centers revealed wide variability in screening practices, communication with neonatologists, sedation protocols, and anti-VEGF dosing. Many clinicians continue using higher bevacizumab...
In this episode, neonatologists Dr. Megan Paulsen (Childrenās Minnesota) and Dr. Sarah Swenson explore strategies for supporting parental mental health in the NICU, emphasizing universal screening for depression, anxiety, and trauma. They highlight the critical impact of parental well-being on infant neurodevelopment, family stability, and long-term quality of life. Drawing on personal and professional experience, Dr....
Popular Podcasts
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you wonāt hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, youāve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!