The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Pediatrics is proud to announce that Ariel Salas, M.D., MSPH, associate professor in the Division of Neonatology, along with his research team, has secured a National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute R34 award totaling $654,330 over three years.
This award will support an innovative pilot clinical trial focused on improving outcomes for extremely preterm infants, one of the most vulnerable patient populations. These infants face a high risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a serious lung disease associated with long-term health challenges.
Salas and his team will explore whether optimizing early human milk nutrition by enhancing key fatty acids, including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA), during the first two weeks of life can improve lung development and reduce respiratory morbidity. The study aims to generate critical data that could transform neonatal nutrition practices and improve long-term outcomes for preterm infants.
“R34 awards play a vital role in advancing clinical research by supporting early-stage studies that test feasibility and refine interventions,” said Salas. “This project will help us establish proof of concept and inform the design of a future large-scale trial with the potential to significantly impact neonatal care.”
By supporting pilot studies like this, the R34 mechanism serves as an important step toward larger, high-impact NIH-funded trials, helping translate innovative ideas into meaningful improvements in patient care.