Sally Vitali

Dr. Vitali began during her fellowship laboratory research investigating the protective role of the enzyme Heme Oxygenase-1 during exposure to chronic hypoxia using a knockout mouse model. With the support of the Pediatric Critical Care Scientist Development Program, Dr. Vitali has continued her research examining the effects of hypoxia on the heart and pulmonary vasculature and the pathophysiology of hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension. Dr. Vitali's research training has been under the mentorship of Dr. Stella Kourembanas of the Division of Newborn Medicine at Children's. She is now supported by a K-08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Training Award by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute which will support her continued translational research in Dr. Kourembanas' laboratory. She is currently investigating the role of hypoxia-induced pulmonary inflammation in the development of pulmonary hypertension.

Dr. Vitali's other research interests focus on optimizing study design for case-control studies of genetic basis of critical illness. Dr. Vitali's mentor for this work is Dr. Adrienne Randolph of the Division of Critical Care Medicine.

Publications

• Vitali SH, Camerota AJ, Arnold JH. Anesthesia and Analgesia in the Neonate, in Avery's Neonatology, Pathophysiology and Management of the Newborn, Sixth Ed., MacDonald MG, Seshia MMK, Mullett MD (eds.). Philadephia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2005.
• Vitali SH, Mitsialis SA, Christou H, Kluger M, Liu X, Kourembanas S. Mechanisms of HO-1-mediated Cardiac and Pulmonary Vascular Protection in Chronic Hypoxia: Roles of Carbon Monoxide and Bilirubin. Chest 2005; 128(6 Suppl):578S-579S.
• Vitali SH, Arnold JH. Bench-to-bedside review: Ventilator strategies to reduce lung injury--lessons from pediatric and neonatal intensive care. Critical Care 2005; 9(2):177-83.
• Vitali SH, Randolph AG. Assessing the quality of case-control association studies on the genetic basis of sepsis. Pediatr Crit Care Med 2005, 6:S74-77