Jessica Pullen

Current Research and Scholarly Interests

In collaboration with Dr. Meera Sankar, Medical Director of LPCH NICU and President-Elect of the California Association of Neonatologists, we are exploring the implications of implementing Transcutaneous versus serum measurements of Bilirubin for diagnosis and management of Hyperbilirubinemia. We are particularly interested in patient care benefits, cost/benefit analyses as well as implications for global health settings.

Research Projects

• Economic and Patient Care Benefits of Transcutaneous Bilirubin versus Total Serum Bilirubin for the Detection of Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia

  Transcutaneous Bilirubin (TcB) has become increasingly utilized as a non-invasive tool for assessing jaundice in newborns. Prior studies have demonstrated strong correlation to Total Serum Bilirubin (TSB) levels in both term and preterm infants. While several studies have focused on the safety and accuracy of TcB levels, the economic and patient care benefits of TcB versus TSB have yet to be fully elucidated.

  Time Period

  9/1/2024 - Present

  Location

  Stanford, CA

  Organization

  Stanford School of Medicine

  Collaborators

  • Meera Sankar, Pediatrics - Neonatal and Developmental Medicine
  • Alexander Fox, Clinical Assistant Professor, Pediatrics - Neonatal and Developmental Medicine
  • Aydin Zahedivash, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department Funds
• Assessing sources of lead exposure in Bangladesh

  Lead (Pb) Research Assistant --
  
  Lead is a potent neurotoxin and poses a serious threat to public health and human intellectual capital worldwide. While no level of lead exposure is considered safe for humans, lead is particularly detrimental to children during the developmental period of their central nervous systems. Our past research in various countries worldwide has identified a need for field-appropriate rapid lead detection methods for environmental samples.
  
  A primary objective of this project is to assess suspected sources of lead poisoning among 2,000 women and children in Bangladesh. Possible sources include environmental sources like air, water, or soil, as well as household dust, paint or cosmetics.

  Time Period

  1/1/2024 - 3/31/2024

  Location

  Stanford, CA

  Organization

  Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability

  Collaborators

  • Stephen Luby, Director of Research, Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health; Lucy Becker Professor of Medicine, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and Professor, by courtesy, of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford School of Medicine
  • Scott Fendorf, Terry Huffington Professor, Senior Associate Dean for Integrative Initiatives, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and Professor of Photon Science, Doerr School of Sustainability
• Elucidating the Role of Familiarity in Team Performance and Communication in the Operating Room (Scholarly Concentration Project)

  Communication breakdowns in operating room teams are the most common cause of adverse
  events during surgery. As literature in the field continues to reveal the number of preventable
  surgical errors linked to failures in communication, improving the effective functioning of OR
  teams has become an increasingly important priority. In response, many academic medical
  centers have begun to devote greater resources to addressing the performance of operating room
  teams and to implementing interventions targeted at improving team communication. With prior
  literature pointing to familiarity as a key component at play in the functioning of the OR team;
  designing interventions aimed at optimizing team performance will require a thorough
  understanding of the meaning of familiarity and the role that it plays in the context of the
  operating room.
  
  Since previous studies that focused on the concept of familiarity have been limited by
  retrospective designs as well as restrictive definitions of familiarity within this context, an
  observational study based in ethnographic fieldwork and interviews, will be a key step forward
  in addressing the critical issues in teamwork and communication in the OR. Through this study,
  we hope to gain an understanding of the intricacies and subtleties of the meaning of familiarity
  within the context of the operating room team and to further elucidate the implications team
  familiarity has on team communication and performance. This information will promote a
  greater understanding of the issues impacting the effective functioning of the OR team and will
  allow for more targeted future interventions to address these issues.

  Time Period

  6/1/2016 - 3/24/2017

  Location

  Stanford, CA

  Organization

  Stanford School of Medicine

  Collaborators

  • David Magnus, Director, Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics; Thomas A. Raffin Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Ethics and Professor (Teaching) of Medicine (Primary Care and Population Health), Stanford School of Medicine
  • Sabine Girod, Stanford School of Medicine

Work Experience

• Clinical Anatomy Teaching Assistant, Stanford School of Medicine (8/1/2016 - 3/24/2017)

  Location

  Stanford, CA

• Global Change and Emerging Infectious Disease Teaching Assistant, Stanford School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences (3/21/2021 - 6/4/2021)

  Location

  Stanford, CA

• Lead (Pb) Research Assistant - Luby/Fendorf Lab, Stanford School of Sustainability (1/1/2024 - 3/31/2024)

  Assessing sources of environmental lead exposure in Bangladesh

  Location

  Stanford, CA