A Georgetown University study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics says that there is a great deal of evidence that suggests that probiotics should be used to protect prematurely born infants from a dangerous and often deadly disease. Dr. Dan Merenstein of Georgetown University was the study’s senior author. The nearly half-million babies born prematurely every year in the U.S. are at risk of developing necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), which affects the gastrointestinal tract by infecting it and destroying the bowel. According to the Georgetown website, the Georgetown University researchers believe that probiotics, a useful bacteria type, can help protect the intestinal tract and should be used with all premature babies with NEC.
“Although probiotics products are sold at every supermarket and are present on hospital formularies, the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] demands that probiotic research that makes a health claim obtain an investigational new drug (IND) application,” wrote Dr. Merenstein, along with Dr. Andi L. Shane of Emory University and Dr. Girish Deshpande of the University of Sydney.
“Consumers and clinicians are in a catch 22 where they can buy and use all sorts of probiotics, but FDA regulations are stalling research,” Dr. Merenstein said.
Georgetown BioResearch Product Faire™ Event 2012
Researchers at Georgetown University conduct a great deal of high-impact research in the life sciences every year, such as this latest study that suggests probiotics be used for premature babies with NEC. Lab suppliers interested in working to sell lab equipment and market life science products may also be interested to know that Georgetown University is very well-funded. Georgetown University received $53.5 million from the NIH in 2012. For a full list of departments at Georgetown University receiving NIH awards organized by department name, number of awards received and total funding awarded, please visit the NIH website.
In addition to receiving funding from the NIH, Georgetown University was also awarded $6 million from the NSF in 2012. The NSF-funded projects spanned various life science disciplines. Some of the research areas of focus included cross-EF activities, population and community ecology, behavioral systems and evolutionary processes. For more information on NSF funding at Georgetown University, please visit the NSF website.
If you are a lab supplier interested in marketing life science products and working to sell lab equipment at life science marketing events in Washington, D.C., Biotechnology Calendar, Inc. invites you to attend our Georgetown BioResearch Product Faire™ Event on October 17, 2013. Last year, the Georgetown BioResearch Product Faire™ Event attracted 223 attendees. Fifty-nine of the attendees were purchasing agents, professors and post docs, and 24 were lab managers. The visitors came from 13 different research buildings and 21 departments around campus.
Biotechnology Calendar, Inc. is a full-service science research marketing and events-planning company that organizes life science marketing events at top research universities across the country. If you’d like to market your life science products and sell lab equipment at life science marketing events closer to home, we encourage you to view our 2013 calendar of events. For more information on our Georgetown BioResearch Product Faire™ Event, or to view more funding statistics for Georgetown University, click on the button below.