The NEC Society is honored to welcome Dr. Anne Trontell to the NEC Symposium faculty team. Dr. Trontell serves as the Associate Director of Clinical Effectiveness and Decision Science Program at the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), where she helps to oversee large pragmatic clinical trials that compare the effectiveness and safety of alternative healthcare options to enable patients and providers to make informed healthcare decisions. Dr. Trontell remarks, “I am the one who is honored to join the NEC community and hear about the NEC Society’s important work. While my days in the NICU are in the past, the memories of the patients and families who I met are etched deep. I look forward to learning from all the participants at the NEC Symposium.”

Dr. Trontell will provide the welcoming address to NEC Symposium participants on Sunday, June 2nd, co-facilitate a workgroup on patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) and NEC on Tuesday, June 4th, and collaborate with Symposium participants on Wednesday, June 5th to prioritize PCOR strategies for the NEC community. Jennifer Canvasser, founder and director of the NEC Society and co-chair of the NEC Symposium shares, “Dr. Trontell will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to our community of diverse NEC stakeholders. We are eager to demonstrate how our work at the NEC Society epitomizes the PCORI vision and to explore collaboration opportunities for driving PCOR and improving care for medically fragile babies and their families.”

The NEC Symposium is made possible through a partnership between the NEC Society and University of Michigan Section of Pediatric Surgery, with support from a PCORI Engagement Award. The NEC Symposium will take place at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, June 2 – 5, 2019. Clinicians, investigators, and patient-family advocates from around the world will participate in the NEC Symposium. The fundamental goal is to propel the understanding, prevention, and treatment of NEC in medically fragile infants through PCOR and clinical comparative effectiveness research. The NEC Symposium will build off of the foundation set by the groundbreaking 2017 NEC meeting, which was held in partnership with the University of California at Davis Division of Neonatology, and also received a PCORI Engagement Award.

Dr. Samir Gadepalli, a University of Michigan pediatric surgeon and founding member of the NEC Society’s Scientific Advisory Council, will co-chair the NEC Symposium, along with the directors of the NEC Society, Jennifer Canvasser, MSW and Erin Umberger, M.Arch. Dr. Gadepalli cared for Jennifer’s son Micah, who died from complications of NEC when he was 11-months-old.

Symposium announcements and updates are available at NECsociety.org

Organizations and companies interested in supporting or exhibiting at the NEC Symposium should email Jennifer 

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For additional information, please email Jennifer