USA Health neonatologist Gangajal Kasniya awarded grant to improve health outcomes

Thanks to a quality improvement grant from Chiesi USA, the level lll neonatal intensive care unit at USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital will soon have new equipment and guidelines to help improve outcomes for infants experiencing respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).

Neonatologist Gangajal Kasniya, MBBA, FAAP, was recently awarded a $20,400 grant to initiate a quality improvement project for enhancing RDS management in African American infants through the implementation of standard video laryngoscope-assisted less-invasive surfactant administration (LISA) guidelines.

Surfactant treatment is the standard of care in preterm infants with RDS, as this therapy has been shown to improve newborn and infant survival, research data shows. Surfactants help with breathing by reducing surface tension between liquids and solids.

“Less invasive surfactant administration is a technique that delivers surfactant via a thin catheter without intubation,” said Kasniya. “This method has been shown to reduce the severity of respiratory distress syndrome and the risk of chronic lung disease in preterm infants compared to traditional endotracheal approaches.”

Goals of the quality improvement project, Kasniya said, include increasing LISA usage among eligible infants (diagnosed with RDS and on noninvasive ventilation) to 65% within the first year of implementing the new guidelines.

To achieve the objectives, he said, USA Health’s Division of Neonatology is developing standardized LISA guidelines, acquiring a neonatal-specific video laryngoscope to improve procedural success, and implementing educational tools to promote equitable care practices.

A board-certified neonatologist, Kasniya joined the staff at Children’s & Women’s Hospital in 2024 to help care for extremely premature and sick infants in the region’s only level III NICU. He also serves as an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine at the University of South Alabama.

Kasniya earned a medical degree from Sawai Man Singh Medical College in India. His pediatric residency was completed at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Chicago, followed by a neonatology fellowship at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York.

A fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, he is also a member of the American Federation for Medical Research, Academy of Physicians in Clinical Research, Trainees and Early Career Neonatologists, and the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin.

Chiesi USA, Inc., located in Cary, North Carolina, is an affiliate of Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A, a family-owned, global research and development-focused pharmaceutical company based in Italy. The company is committed to supporting educational efforts in U.S. medical communities. Its grant program funds projects in independent medical education, healthcare-related charitable support, scientific project support, and medical fellowships.