To successfully infect the tissues and hosts they encounter, viruses must efficiently bind, enter, and replicate in target cells and rapidly adapt to changing environmental pressures. Research in the Ogden lab is focused on the tropism and diversity mechanisms of RNA viruses, including rotavirus and reovirus. Rotavirus is an important cause of diarrheal disease that results in the deaths of more than a hundred thousand infants and children each year. In the Ogden Lab, we are studying functions of rotavirus outer-capsid proteins in infection and neutralization, contributions of FAST proteins to virus spread, and effects of virus transport as free particles or in extracellular vesicles. Reovirus is an oncolytic virus that is rarely associated with acute disease in humans. The Ogden Lab uses reovirus to answer fundamental questions about virus structure, virus-cell interactions, and viral diversity. Themes we explore include packaging signals, RNA recombination and defective viral genomes, gene segment reassortment during coinfection, virus egress and infection in extracellular vesicles, and structural dynamics of the attachment protein during cell entry. A long-term goal of the lab is to engineer viruses to make better vaccines, therapeutics, and research tools.

>> View Publications on PubMed

My research focuses on the diagnostic process for PCD, specifically on the role of nasal nitric oxide (nNO) testing in making a diagnosis of PCD.

Dr. Nicholson’s research interests focus on functional outcome and sequelae of interventional pediatric cardiology procedures through multi center collaboration. In addition, he's worked alongside Drs. Dana Janssen and Thomas Doyle to found Influent Medical, LLC, a biomedical startup with a mission of developing devices for congenital heart disease.

>> View Publications on PubMed

Dr. Nicholson has a broad background in clinical and epidemiologic pediatric research, including advanced training in biostatistics and protocol development and experience conducting prospective studies requiring patient enrollment. These skills were obtained through her fellowship in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition and acquiring a Master's of Public Health in Epidemiology at Vanderbilt University. As an Associate Professor of Pediatrics in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, she has established the Pediatric C. difficile Clinic, which cares for children with refractory and recurrent C. difficile disease. She has also established the Pediatric Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) program at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt and established herself as an expert in the treatment of C. difficile infections nationally as the co-PI on a multi-center consortium evaluating FMT in pediatric patients with recurrent C. difficile. She received the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (NASGPHAN) Young Faculty Clinical Investigator award for this work and has been made the NASGPHAN FMT Special Interest Group co-chair. She has had continuous NIH funding since 2012, including NIAID K23 and U19 awards, and over 40 peer-reviewed publications.

>> View Publications on PubMed

Dr. Ngo is interested in improving trainee medical education through curriculum development, personal and professional development of learners, and educational scholarship.

Dr. Neul is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in psychosocial intervention for youth with serious health conditions and their families. Her research is clinical intervention based with a focus on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and quality improvement regarding patient-centered care. In collaboration with clinical psychologist, Dr. Michelle Reising, Dr. Neul co-created the Behavioral Hematology-Oncology Program (BHOP), a program which focuses on providing evidence-based practices in the psychosocial assessment of youth diagnosed with cancer and hematological disorders and their families.

In collaboration with the Stem Cell Transplant Team, Dr. Neul developed the Pre-Transplant Psychosocial Screening Survey, which is administered to patients ages 13 years and older and parents of patients (all ages) to assess for transplant readiness as well as psychosocial strengths and needs to devise a transplant-related psychosocial support plan for patients and caregivers.

In collaboration with the Sickle Cell Disease Team, Drs. Neul and Reising are incorporating an evidence-based cognitive screening intervention developed by pediatric SCD expert, Dr. Allison King at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, to aide in academic support planning and education of patients, families, and school personnel regarding the impact of Sickle Cell Disease on learning and to ensure appropriate supports are in place to optimize academic and psychosocial functioning. Dr. Neul's clinical intervention-based research and program development efforts strive to match psychosocial intervention and supports with patient and family needs to optimize psychological adjustment and health outcomes.