Early Identification of the Infant at Risk

with Barry M. Lester, Ph.D.

This webinar was presented live on November 5th, 2021 via registration. If you were unable to attend the live event, the recording is here.

Webinar Presented by Barry M. Lester, Ph.D.

Barry M. Lester, Ph.D.

The ability to identify which individual infants are at risk for poor developmental outcome is key to developing interventions to mitigate such untoward outcomes. Approximately one third of preterm infants born less than 30 weeks gestational will have a developmental deficit by age 2. The toolbox for identifying these children includes medical and biological (e.g. epigenetic) factors and neurobehavior. The NeoNatal Neurobehavioral Scales (NNNS) can be used to identify discrete typical and atypical neurobehavioral profiles during the infant’s stay in the NICU. These profiles, in conjunction medical and epigenetic factors predict developmental deficits in preterm infants at age 2 and can be used to identify which individual infants are at highest risk for poor developmental outcome. The NNNS can also be used as part of standard clinical care for drug exposed infants and for preterm infants to augment management of these infants while in the NICU, facilitate parental involvement and identify neurobehavioral targets for post discharge care and referral.  

 Barry Lester is Professor Psychiatry, Professor of Pediatrics and founding Director of the Center for the Study of Children at Risk at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Women and Infants Hospital. The Center includes research, clinical services and training. Dr. Lester has had a long-standing interest in mapping the biological and social forces that drive development in children at risk and the early detection of these children in research and clinical practice. Current research at the Center includes three multisite longitudinal studies that involve improving the diagnosis of infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), early detection of infants at risk for autism and neurobehavioral and epigenetic predictors of developmental outcome in preterm infants. Dr. Lester’s preterm cohort is also part of the national NIH Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes or ECHO that involves 35 pediatric cohorts and over 45,000 children. Dr. Lester’s research has been continuously funded by the NIH throughout his career. He has been heavily involved in the NIH peer review process having served on numerous NIH study sections, the NIH National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse, Steering Committee of the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse, the NIH Director’s Pioneer Award Program and the College of the Center for Scientific Review. He is past president of the International Association for Infant Mental Health and the author of more than 300 peer reviewed publications and 18 edited volumes.