Dr. Jenna Geick attended medical school at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. After completing her residency at the University of Michigan, she returned to Iowa in 2024 to begin her neonatology fellowship. Dr. Geick’s project is a retrospective cohort review to develop normative data for cardiac structure and function utilizing targeted neonatal echocardiography in a relatively healthy extremely preterm population of infants less than 27 weeks of gestation. She will also investigate differences in these metrics on postnatal day 1 and postnatal day 7.
Neonatal Trainees Engaged in Hemodynamics Research
Jenna Geick, MD
Dilara Mat, MD
Dr. Dilara Mat completed her medical degree at Istanbul University in Turkey, followed by a pediatric residency at Hacettepe University. Following residency she moved to Iowa to join the Iowa Neonatal Hemodynamics Team as a research fellow. Her primary research focuses on understanding the impact of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) shunt burden on short- and long-term outcomes in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants who have undergone PDA catheter closure. Additionally, she is studying on targeted neonatal echocardiogram measurements of to explore how maternal depression and its treatment influence cardiac outcomes in offspring.
Melanie Morris, MD
Dr. Melanie Morris went to medical school at the University of Washington School of Medicine and completed her pediatric residency at the University of Iowa. The underlying physiology of pulmonary hypertension in patients with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is complex and can include multiple etiologies such as pulmonary vascular disease, left heart failure, flow mediated disease, and pulmonary vein disease. Dr. Morris’ project is a retrospective cohort study to identify the underlying frequency of these abnormal cardiopulmonary profiles in infants born < 30 weeks gestational age with chronic pulmonary hypertension and BPD based on serial targeted neonatal echocardiography exams.
Ashley Schlapper-Sevcik, DO
After completing her residency at Iowa Methodist Blank Children’s Hospital, Dr. Schlapper-Sevick started her neonatology fellowship at the University of Iowa in 2023. She is currently studying right ventricular dysfunction in BPD patients with pulmonary hypertension or evidence of pulmonary vascular changes (BPD-RH phenotype) and BPD patients with systemic hypertension or evidence of systemic vascular changes (BPD-LH phenotype) compared to BPD without any hypertension or vascular changes compared to term controls. Hemodynamics echo results are primarily used to determine phenotypes and to determine the level of dysfunction present.
