SPRINTS
Studying Exercise Safety in Sickle Cell Anemia
SPRINTS (1R01HL136480) is a study funded by
Meet the SPRINTS Staff
Our group of doctors, scientists and research staff is committed to someday developing safe, evidence-based exercise guidelines for children and adults with sickle cell anemia. They comprise an experienced group of NIH-funded researchers in the areas of sickle cell anemia and exercise science. With their diverse backgrounds and vast experience, the study staff firmly believe that the goals of this study will be accomplished without compromising the health and safety of the study participants.
Robert Liem, MD, MS - Primary Investigator
Dr. Robert Liem is a pediatric hematologist and current director of the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Program at the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. He is also an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Liem is a clinical investigator with active research programs focused on exercise responses, inflammation and vascular function as well as their impact on cardiopulmonary fitness, clinical outcomes and physical function in children and young adults with sickle cell anemia. He runs several research protocols at Lurie Children's that align with his interests in exercise physiology, free-living physical activity, exercise patterns and aerobic training in this population.
Kayla Jones, BS - Study Coordinator
Kayla is the primary research study coordinator for SPRINTS at Lurie Children's Hospital. She obtained her BS in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Iowa. Prior to working on SPRINTS, Kayla was a Project Coordinator at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab where she studied weight management for patients with spinal cord injury and speech recovery in stroke patients.
Other Investigators
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Lewis Hsu, MD, PhD is a pediatric hematologist and Director of the Pediatric Sickle Cell Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Tracy Baynard, PhD is an exercise physiologist and Director of the Integrative Physiology Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
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Jane Hankins, MD is a pediatric hematologist at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. Kirsten Ness, PT, PhD is a epidemiologist and exercise medicine specialist at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN.
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Shlomit Radom-Aizik, PhD is an exercise physiologist and Director of the Pediatric Exercise and Genomics Research Center at the University of California Irvine. Fadia Haddad, PhD is Manager of the Molecular Laboratory at the Pediatric Exercise and Genomics Research Center at the University of California Irvine.
