As part of the Duke Master of Biostatistics program, graduate Delaney Underwood, MB, completed a major research project studying how patients recover after a type of treatment called a hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT).

Predicting what will happen after an organ transplant is difficult. One major reason is that the most common tools used to measure patient health risks were designed for general hospital patients—not for people receiving transplants. Faith Mendoza, MB a graduate of the Duke Biostatistics Master’s program, led a multicenter study as her final master’s project to address this problem. Her team tested the Elixhauser Comorbidity Index in kidney and liver transplant patients and then created new, organ-specific versions that better fit these groups.

Infants born prematurely often have underdeveloped organ systems and behavioral organization, placing them at risk for short-term health challenges that may extend into later life. One common challenge preterm infants face is difficulty feeding, which frequently necessitates the use of enteral feeding tubes