The Center for Premature Infant Health and Development was founded in 2002 by Jack Turman, Jr., PhD, a developmental neurobiologist. Dr. Turman has worked to create a novel Center that blends research and outreach targeting preterm infants and their families. Faculty of the Center work together to find solutions to the complex biomedical, psychological, and social problems associated with preterm delivery. The Center is housed within the Institute for Genetic Medicine (www.usc.edu/igm) at the Keck School of Medicine (www.usc.edu/keck) at the University of Southern California (www.usc.edu). The University of Southern California is uniquely poised to house this innovative Center to address the problems associated with preterm infants and their families because it contains a number of faculty with expertise in studying the causes and consequences of preterm birth.
Center faculty come from the Keck School of Medicine (Departments of Cell
and Neurobiology, Department of Pediatrics -
including the University's affiliate partner, Childrens Hospital Los
Angeles, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology),
School of Dentistry (Including the Division of Biokinesiology and Physical
Therapy), School of Social Work, Thorton
School of Music, and the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences (Department
of Geography).
The Center's faculty work to
conduct translational (from bench-bedside-community), interdisciplinary, and
family centered research, and community
outreach that is responsive to the concern of families and professionals
associated with preterm infants.
