Matthew Harer
University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI·Medicine & Clinical Research
Babies born very early often have kidneys that do not get enough oxygen. Up to half of preterm newborns develop acute kidney injury (AKI), a sudden loss of kidney function that raises their risk of illness and death.
- Fields
Medicine & Clinical Research
Pharmacology
Physiology
- Topics
preterm neonates
premature infants
acute kidney injury
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through May 2030
What they work on
- Test in a randomized trial whether an extra caffeine dose of 10 or 20 mg/kg raises kidney oxygen levels more than placebo in preterm infants under 30 weeks' gestation with low kidney oxygen measured by near-infrared spectroscopy.
- Assess the immediate and short-term kidney outcomes of extra caffeine doses, including urinary markers of kidney injury in preterm neonates.
- Determine whether caffeine doses keep brain oxygen levels normal by monitoring cerebral oxygenation with NIRS and measuring brain-injury markers in urine.
- Build a pharmacokinetic model that links caffeine blood levels to changes in kidney oxygenation in preterm infants.
More about the research
There is still no proven way to prevent or treat it. Caffeine is already routinely given to preterm infants for breathing pauses. Non-randomized studies suggest it may also lower the risk of kidney injury.
Why it matters
Preterm infants who develop acute kidney injury face higher risks of illness and death, and no therapy currently prevents it. If an extra dose of caffeine, a drug already used in neonatal units, safely raises kidney oxygen without affecting the brain, it could become an inexpensive way to protect premature babies' kidneys. This would be tested next in a larger multicenter trial.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
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The school
University of Wisconsin-Madison: 91 labs on PI Pages, $1.9B a year on research, 854 research doctorates a year.
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