Brynne Sullivan, MD
Dr. Brynne Sullivan is a Neonatologist and physician-scientist with a research career dedicated to improving neonatal outcomes through innovative use of bedside monitoring data. She focuses on developing predictive analytics to enable early detection and intervention for life-threatening conditions such as sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in premature infants. These illnesses, cause significant morbidity and mortality via systemic inflammation and cardiorespiratory collapse. Early diagnosis and treatment of these sub-acute, potentially catastrophic illnesses can start the course to recovery before serious injury occurs, but the earliest signs often go unrecognized using current technology. Her research highlights- the integration of physiologic data, clinical markers, and biomarkers- to build, test and implement comprehensive early warning systems that support timely and precise care.
Dr. Sullivan’s research has been pivotal in advancing the field of neonatal predictive monitoring. Through her studies of the heart rate characteristics index, or HeRO score, and cardiorespiratory monitoring data, she found that mathematical analyses of continuous cardiorespiratory monitoring detect signatures of illness due to sepsis in premature infants. Her projects have been supported by foundation grants, the Integrated Translational Health Research Institute of Virginia (iTHRIV), and NIH funding, including NICHD K23 and NIBIB R18 awards. Dr. Sullivan leads a multidisciplinary, multicenter collaboration across four NICUs, establishing a robust database that combines physiologic and demographic data to predict adverse outcomes in preterm infants. This dataset has driven numerous studies and facilitated the external validation of predictive algorithms. Her work also extends to Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS), where she collaborates with researchers at UVA, the University of Alabama-Birmingham, and Washington University in St. Louis to study cardiorespiratory signatures in affected infants.
As the Director of Center for Advanced Medical Analytics (CAMA), Dr. Sullivan leads the development of advanced medical analytic tools, including time-series analyses, machine learning models, and the implementation of the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data pipeline for NICU research. In addition to her many publications on neonatal physiology and predictive monitoring, she has mentored numerous trainees and medical students, fostering the next generation of clinical researchers. Through her innovative work, Dr. Sullivan continues to advance neonatal care and improve outcomes for the most vulnerable patients.