Neonatal expert Dr. Amy D’Agata spearheads efforts for new lab, increased research experience

Nurse researchers, nurse practitioners and nursing students continue to spend more time at the bench conducting lab science, which not only contributes to the advancement of health care research, but also helps them achieve a deeper understanding of their patients’ condition, improving the care they provide.

University of Rhode Island College of Nursing Assistant Professor Dr. Amy D’Agata spent much of her early career as a neonatal intensive care nurse at the bedside of her patients, assessing their condition and caring for their every need. As she transitioned into academia, she took on a research role, which she said is a natural transition for a nurse or nurse practitioner.

“There are nurses whose entire careers are focused on bench science research and it’s becoming more and more important for nurses to consider incorporating biobehavioral science into their research questions,” D’Agata said. “While this type of research science is relatively new in some colleges, including URI, other schools of nursing have this focus on bench science research integrated into their faculty research and curriculum.”

The URI College of Nursing provides students access to a state-of-the-art Nursing Education Center, which opened in Providence in 2017. It houses URI’s graduate nursing programs, from its master’s degree offering — which U.S. News & World Report ranks in the nation’s top 100 — to doctor of nurse practitioner and Ph.D. degree tracks. The NEC contains multiple research and practice labs, including advanced simulation labs, where undergraduate and nurse practitioner students hone their skills in a lifelike hospital or in-home setting.

In addition to the educational clinical opportunities offered by the NEC, URI nursing students should soon have an opportunity to study in a state-of-the-art nursing research lab in Providence. The lab will be funded by both the College and grant funding, which D’Agata recently submitted to the National Institutes of Health.

“Studying in this type of environment and with these capabilities will give nursing students a different way to look at the patient and patient problems,” D’Agata said. “Being able to understand what’s happening to patients from a molecular perspective will help them ask different types of questions to improve nursing practice.”

The recent grant application and lab are part of D’Agata’s program of research focused on biobehavioral research into the stress experience of NICU infants and how it may influence neurodevelopment. Treatment received in the NICU can be stressful and painful for the patient, particularly premature newborns, D’Agata said. She has measured the stress experience of infants using an instrument that organizes many procedures commonly performed on NICU infants into four categories — extremely stressful (such treatments as intubation or chest tube insertion); very stressful (blood work and IV insertion); moderately stressful (diaper changes and position changes); and a little stressful (everyday activities like taking a bath).

“We measure these types of daily stress and pain exposures over a period of time in the NICU,” D’Agata said. “When babies are very premature or very sick, even routine care like diaper changes can be perceived as pretty stressful. When you consider all the stress experiences infants have over the course of care, you wonder what all that stress means to an infant’s brain development.”

In the new bench lab, D’Agata and her team will continue to measure different biomarkers to understand their relationship to infant stress and neurodevelopment. D’Agata has studied biomarkers like the stress hormone cortisol, the gut microbiome and genes associated with stress exposure.

“The end goal is to understand how stress impacts infants and to look for opportunities to modify practice in ways that decrease stress exposure at such a vulnerable time,” D’Agata said. “Really, all the work is focused on finding ways to better support infants.”

In addition to continuing her research, D’Agata teaches pediatrics and pediatric simulation to undergraduate students, as well as a new online course in genetics and precision medicine. While D’Agata’s research is focused on NICU infants, she is also open to working collaboratively with other faculty members and students on biobehavioral research in other patient populations. D’Agata believes that working in a research lab helps expand the students’ learning experience and exposes them to new opportunities in the field.

“There are many different ways faculty members can expose students to different aspects of the nursing profession,” D’Agata said. “It’s all about providing a well-rounded growth experience for students.”