Doc Talk

Cook Children’s AVP executive scientist and director of pediatric precision health, Dennis Lal, PhD, shares innovative strategies for tackling today's complex, data-driven research challenges. The goal? Turn data into direct impact on patients’ lives and end the diagnostic odyssey for families searching for answers. Discover the goal of precision health, spanning rare disease, clinical genetics, and the development of learning health systems to translate rapidly evolving scientific knowledge into routine care building health care systems that learn from every patient, and the partnerships driving the future pediatric medicine.

Discover how Cook Children’s utilizes a multidisciplinary team—including Pulmonology, ENT, and GI—to manage tracheomalacia. Drs. Mokdad and Pancham review long-term outcome research and surgical innovations designed to prevent chronic lung damage and improve pediatric quality of life.

Otolaryngologist Patricia Purcell, M.D. and audiologist Mandy Pendleton discuss early intervention by the specialized cochlear implant team at Cook Children's restores hearing in children ages 7-9 months and up with profound hearing loss.

Vice President, Chief Research Officer, William Stigall, MD, MA, shares the frontier-pushing pediatric research happening at Cook Children’s and its power to improve the health and wellbeing of children in Texas, the nation, and internationally.

Whether it's caused by a movement disorder such as Bell's Palsy or Guillain-barre syndrome, trauma, facial palsy, affects a child's look, smile, speech, eating, and self-esteem. Listen in to hear how the speech language pathologists at Cook Children’s facial reanimation program provide therapy that helps to restore facial movement and symmetry, boosting confidence, and turning little smiles into big successes.

Dr. Christos Papadelis shares the strides made by robotic rehabilitation for children with cerebral palsy at Cook Children's. His team uses the Amadeo system, which improves upper extremity functions through video games. The project focuses on children with congenital hemiplegia and is showing significant improvements in finger motion and dexterity after only 15 consecutive days of training. Listen up to discover what’s on the horizon as we understand more about neuroplasticity and the potential for broader applications in both upper and lower extremities.

Can focused ultrasound send tiny bubbles beyond the blood brain barrier and destroy diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas in children? Hear why Sibo Zhao, M.D., and John Honeycutt, M.D., believe it can, why this research is so important, and what its future applications might be.

Imagine holding a perfect 3D replica of a child's heart, spine, or skull in your hands. Cardiologist Steve Muyskens and plastic surgeon Han Zhuang Beh share the incredible advantages of having an onsite 3D printing lab that creates precise, unique detailed models so surgeons can map out a clear plan before entering the operating room, providing better, more reliable results in even the smallest patients.

For babies born before 28 weeks and full-term infants born with serious complications, the small baby unit team at Cook Children’s NICU adds an extra level of care, and a fighting chance for a bright future.

Cook Children’s pediatric neurologist, Stephanie Acord, M.D., delves into selective dorsal rhizotomy for children with spastic cerebral palsy with a deep dive into the evaluation of each patient, the neurosurgical process, role of the motion lab, and rehab therapies post-surgery. She also discusses the long-term outlook for these kids as more strides are made in the future.