Oklahoma Neonatologist-Researcher Earns NIH Grant to Advance Retinopathy of Prematurity
Faizah Bhatti, MD, was the first to discover the presence of surfactant protein A in the eye–a key protein related to blood vessel growth and previously believed to only exist in the lung. Now, the University of Oklahoma neonatologist and researcher has earned a 5-year, $2.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate the role of this protein in the development of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).
“When a baby is born at the full 9 months of gestation, the retina should be nearly covered in blood vessels for normal functioning. When a baby is born at 6 months, the retina has only the first small buds of blood vessel development,” Dr. Bhatti, an associate professor of pediatrics, ophthalmology and neurosciences in the OU College of Medicine, said in a recent press release. “Sometimes babies have mild ROP that goes away on its own, but in other babies, the blood vessels develop so abnormally that the shape of the retina is distorted and can detach.”
Supplemental oxygen, which is often required in premature babies, is a known risk factor of ROP. However, even as physicians have become more skilled at keeping oxygen levels in a safe range, ROP has continued to rise. This is what inspired Dr. Bhatti to search for other contributing factors, such as surfactant protein A.
Her primary research found that by deleting surfactant protein A in a mouse model of ROP, the eye disease was significantly reduced. Since then, her team has explored the role of the protein in human babies and is the first to illustrate surfactant protein A in human retinal disease.
With the NIH grant, Dr. Bhatti hopes to further understand the role of surfactant protein A with the goals of rescuing the loss of normal blood vessels early in the disease process. ROP prevention is crucial, as current treatment options, including laser therapy and injections, can be inadequate with high risks of complications.
“This type of research is crucial because eye disease will have a major impact on these infants for the rest of their lives,” Dr. Bhatti said. “They are at greater risk for neurodevelopmental disabilities and for adult eye diseases. Eye disease affects quality of life and a person’s ability to integrate into society.”
Dr. Bhatti also serves as the director of the Developmental Vascular Biology Lab within the OU Health Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Health. In addition to the eyes, her lab focuses more broadly on normal and abnormal blood vessel growth in all organs.
“Whatever is happening in the eye is not happening in isolation,” she said. “We can use the knowledge we gain from studying ROP and apply it to systems like the brain, the lung and the gut to better understand other complications of prematurity that are linked to abnormal blood vessel development.”