Dr Makoni is trained in Neonatal Hemodynamics – Targeted Neonatal Echocardiography (TnEcho) which is neonatologist performed echocardiograph in the neonatal intensive care unit to support clinical decisions in hemodynamically unstable neonates. Her research interests are in neonatal cardiovascular system with special focus on pathophysiology of chronic pulmonary hypertension in very low birth weight infants, racial /health disparities in premature babies, genomics and metabolomics of cardiovascular development in premature infants.
Academic Section(s):
Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
Education:
Medical School: St. George's University School of Medicine, Grenada, West Indies
Pediatric Residency: University of Toledo, Toledo, OH
Fellowship: OU Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Graduate School: MS Clinical and Translational Sciences, Hudson College of Public Health -University of Oklahoma Health Sciences, Oklahoma City, OK
Board Certification(s):
General Pediatrics
Neonatal Perinatal Medicine
Clinical/Research Interests:
Dr Makoni is currently working on trending differential expression of microRNAs in very low birth weight infants and describing any differences between those who develop chronic pulmonary hypertension and those who do not. She will also be investigating any racial or gender-based differences in not only microRNA but also in vascular growth factors and metabolites of the same patient population. Research is targeted at understanding pathophysiology of vascular disease especially chronic pulmonary hypertension and hypertension. The long-term goal is to follow very low birth weight infants from birth until 3-4 years of age. Using a variety of molecular, metabolomic, ultrasound and miRNA approaches, the research hopes to develop early diagnostic strategies to predict long-term and eventually preventative therapies for cardiopulmonary and renovascular diseases associated with prematurity.
Select Publications:
Makoni M, Eckert J, Pereira A, Nizet V, Lawrence S, Alterations in Neonatal Neutrophil Function Attributable to Increased Immature Forms, Early Hum Dev 2016 Jul 15;103:1-7
Lawrence SM, Eckert JV, Makoni M, and Pereira HA (2014) Is the Use of Complete Blood Counts with Manual Differentials for Determining Neutrophil Composition in Newborns Antiquated? Ann Clin Lab Sci. 2015 Summer; 45(4):403-13.
Makoni M, Mukundan D, Fever, Curr Opin Pediatr. 2010 Feb;22(1):100-6