Expansive Research in Environmental Impacts on Brain Development
Each year, 8.6% of children aged 3 – 17 is diagnosed with developmental disabilities. Understanding the cause and developing effective interventions is key to reducing this life altering condition.
About Cynthia F. Bearer, MD, PhD
Division Chief, Neonatology, UH Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital
Professor, Case Western Reserved University School of Medicine
William and Lois Briggs Chair in Neonatology, UH Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital
Editor-in-Chief of Pediatric Research, the official journal of the American Society of Pediatrics, the European Society for Paediatric Research and the Society for Pediatric Research
Dr. Bearer is a renowned physician-scientist studying fetal and environmental pediatric health. Her basic, translational, and clinical research examines how environmental factors affect neurodevelopment in preterm infants. Currently, her laboratory is focused on the effects of ethanol, bilirubin and hypoxia-ischemia on brain development and how these neurotoxic exposures inhibit the function of lipid rafts. Lipid rafts, specialized micro domains of the plasma membrane, are critical for cell-to-cell signaling in cerebellar development and brain stem function, including the control of respiration.
About the Research
Throughout her career, Dr. Bearer has studied how ethanol, the compound found in alcoholic drinks, gasoline, hand sanitizer and excipients, causes fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, the one of the most common causes of neurodevelopmental disability. Understanding the mechanisms involved is essential for developing effective clinical interventions.
In her research, Dr. Bearer has established fatty acid ethyl esters in meconium as a biomarker for both in utero exposure to ethanol, and ethanol impact on neurocognitive outcomes. She holds a patent on this technology. Additionally, she and her team have identified choline, an essential nutrient, as a neuroprotective agent that fights the effects of ethanol and bilirubin.
Science@UH Podcast
Physician Scientist Carries on Legacy of UH Rainbow in Neonatal Care
Cynthia Bearer, MD, explains how her groundbreaking research on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, lipid rafts, and brain development in preterm babies aims to improve neonatal care.