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FNNDSC Newsletter: October 5th

Writer: FNNDSC
FNNDSC
2 days ago
5 min read
Happy Fall!

Upcoming Center-Wide Events:

October Lecture Series Calendar:

The FNNDSC Lecture Series is resuming with speakers after the summer break on Tuesday mornings 10-11 am


Speaker: Vivek Gopalakrishnan, PhD

METEOR Postdoctoral Fellow at MIT CSAIL, Recent medical engineering and medical physics PhD graduate from the Harvard–MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology (HST)

Title: "Estimating 3D Structure and Dynamics from 2D Intraoperative Imaging"

Date: Tuesday, October 6th, 10-11 AM, Hancock Conference Room


Speaker: Chris Kroenke, PhD

Professor, Oregon National Primate Research Center

Advanced Imaging Research Center, Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU)

Title: “Detecting effects of early-gestation alcohol exposure on cerebellar growth with fetal MRI: A preclinical study using nonhuman primates”

Date: Tuesday, October 20th, 10-11 AM, Hancock Conference Room


FALL in Love with ELGs - 2026 Harvest Festival

Date: Wednesday, October 7th, 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM, The Green at 401 Park (Fenway, Boston)

Join Boston Children’s Hospital for a festive afternoon celebrating the season and our Employee-Led Groups (ELGs)! Expect to meet ELG representatives, pet therapy dogs, and enjoy Autumn treats!

 

BCH History Trail FNNDSC Group Tour:

Date: Wednesday, October 14th 12-1 PM, BCH main campus

The tour includes 15+ stops throughout the main hospital and highlights important people, events, and infrastructure significant to BCH history.

The BCH Archives team only allows 12 attendees per tour, and we are at capacity for the 10/14 tour so if you have interest in joining, let caroline.schutz@childrens.harvard.edu know and we can coordinate another group tour!

 

October Coffee Social:

Date: Thursday, October 15th 12-1 PM, South Boston Conference Room

Bring your own pumpkin to paint🎃!

 

FNNDSC Halloween Gathering 👻🧛:

Date: Wednesday, October 28th 11-12 PM, South Boston Conference Room 

 

Upcoming Holidays: Holiday Schedule

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No observed hospital holidays in October

Monday, October 12th – Indigenous Peoples’ Day

Friday, October 30th – Halloween

For everyone celebrating a significant holiday in October, we celebrate with you!

 

Conferences & Workshops:


Recent Center News:

Notable Publications:

  • Karimi D, Li B, Taymourtash A, Jaimes C, Grant PE, Warfield SK. Charting the Normal Development of Structural Brain Connectivity in Utero Using Diffusion MRI. Read their work here.  

  • Belfort MB, Ahtam B, Bell KA, Berger P, Cherkerzian S, Ellard D, Foster L, Fusch C, Gagoski B, Grant PE, Kuncham M, Pepin H, Solti M, Steele T, Woodward L, Inder T. Individually Targeted Human Milk Fortification: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Read their work here.

  • Assis T, Galvin CP, Castillo JP, Haouchine N, Kersten-Oertel M, Gao Z, Crispin-Ortuzar M, Price SJ, Santarius T, Ou Y, Frisken S, Garcia NC, Golby AJ, Dorent R, Machado IP. Data-driven registration and modeling of brain deformation for image-guided neurosurgery. Read their work.

  • Wilson S, Jeong S, Wilkins-Haug L, Grant PE, Rollins CK, Morton SU, Im K. Linking maternal blood pressure with fetal cerebral haemodynamics and cortical growth in congenital heart disease. Read their work here.  

 

Awards & Noticings:

We are delighted to announce that Dr. Ellen Grant, our FNNDSC Director, has been appointed Vice Chair of Radiology Research.

Ellen brings an outstanding record of scientific accomplishment, collaboration, and mentorship to this role, along with a deep commitment to advancing pediatric imaging research.

We are excited for Ellen to strengthen multidisciplinary collaboration across departments and continue her strategic vision within the BCH research enterprise!

Incredibly well-deserved, congratulations, Ellen!! 🎉🎉


FNNDSC Representation at 2026 Folkman Research Day:

Luiz Felipe Tojal, Medical Student Intern, gave an oral presentation, titled, “CT and Head Ultrasound Linear Indices as Proxies for CSF Volume in Infants with Extreme Ventriculomegaly." Great job presenting, Luiz! 


We also congratulate several FNNDSC members who presented posters at Folkman Research Day on September 22nd. Amazing work, team!!

Harumy Yoshikawa, MD, Research Fellow: "Development of a Scoring System to Predict the Need for Hydrocephalus Surgery in Neonates with Myelomeningocele"
Harumy Yoshikawa, MD, Research Fellow: "Development of a Scoring System to Predict the Need for Hydrocephalus Surgery in Neonates with Myelomeningocele"
Navaneeth Makaram, PhD, Research Fellow: “Reduced Complexity of Intracranial EEG Images is a Persistent Biomarker of Epileptogenic Tissue and Predicts Postsurgical Outcome"
Navaneeth Makaram, PhD, Research Fellow: “Reduced Complexity of Intracranial EEG Images is a Persistent Biomarker of Epileptogenic Tissue and Predicts Postsurgical Outcome"
Aryn Lee, Clinical Research Assistant: “Associations Between Placental Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Based T2* Mapping, Estimated Fetal Weight, and Umbilical Artery Doppler in Complicated Monochorionic-Diamniotic Twin Pregnancies"
Aryn Lee, Clinical Research Assistant: “Associations Between Placental Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Based T2* Mapping, Estimated Fetal Weight, and Umbilical Artery Doppler in Complicated Monochorionic-Diamniotic Twin Pregnancies"

Sofie Chung, Clinical Research Assistant: “Automated Delineation of Individual Twin Fetuses in Prenatal MRI Using Synthetic Data Augmentation"
Sofie Chung, Clinical Research Assistant: “Automated Delineation of Individual Twin Fetuses in Prenatal MRI Using Synthetic Data Augmentation"

Funding Opportunities for Faculty and Fellows:

 Grant writing resources:

 

U.S. Immigration Resources:

Please check the Office of Immigration Services (OIS) page for regular updates and communication: Office of Immigration Services 

 

 

Studies Recruiting:

Dr. Borjan Gagoski and team are in search of participants for their study on Pediatric Edited MRS of the Brain. Please see details in the flyers below: 

 


The Healthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study team at Boston Children's Hospital is looking for 9- to 15-month-old infants and toddlers to volunteer for one or both of the play-based neurodevelopmental assessments below as part of the training and piloting of these assessments for the HBCD Study.

  1. Bayley Assessment of Infant and Toddler Development (up to 2 hours, $50 compensation): A play-based assessment that evaluates multiple areas of child development, including motor, visual, cognitive, and language skills.

  2. NIH Baby Toolbox (45 minutes, $20 compensation): This assessment primarily uses an iPad, along with several play-based activities, to evaluate cognition, executive function, language, early math skills, self-regulation, social functioning, and motor development.

In addition to compensation, all volunteers will receive diapers, an Uber Eats meal voucher, and small gifts for both mom and child as a thank-you. Transportation costs and childcare for siblings can also be provided, if needed. If you are interested, or know someone who might be, please email hbcd@childrens.harvard.edu.

 

Patient/Family Stories and Publications Sharing:

The Department of Newborn Medicine wants to stay informed about the exciting and impactful research happening in the FNNDSC. As part of this effort, the team is working to feature patient stories and publications that highlight both research and its clinical impact. If you have a project or publication that you feel would be a good fit for this effort, reach out to caroline.schutz@childrens.harvard.edu with the details.

 

Helpful Links:


FNNDSC Fun:


Thank you to everyone who attended the FNNDSC Park Potluck on September 6th!
Thank you to everyone who attended the FNNDSC Park Potluck on September 6th!
Kickball was also a blast to play with the team!
Kickball was also a blast to play with the team!

BCH Involvement



Dr. Sarah Morton is leading the Morton Lab Team in the 2026 American Heart Association Heart Walk taking place on Saturday, October 24th! ❤️


Boston Events 🎆🎉🪩:

 

Way to Shine!🌟

Have you seen a teammate or colleague do something exceptional? Have they gone out of their way to exceed someone's expectations? Let them know that you noticed and that you care! To send a Way to Shine, please follow this link: Bravo! Way to Shine - Boston Children's Hospital (harvard.edu)

 

Brain Games 🧠 📝


HAVE SOMETHING TO SHARE?

If you have something that you would like to see featured in the next newsletter, please contact Caroline Schutz caroline.schutz@childrens.harvard.edu

 

 

 

 


 
 
 

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