The basic, translational, and clinical research of Dr. Tiffany Field, research professor of Pediatrics and a member of the Mailman Center for Child Development, and her colleague Saul Shanberg of Duke University, was featured as one of nine examples of NIH-funded research that have resulted in far-reaching changes for our society. This recognition appeared in a New York Times article on May 16, 2025, titled “9 Federally Funded Scientific Breakthroughs That Changed Everything” by authors Alan Burdick and Emily Anthes.
Dr. Field and Dr. Shanberg demonstrated that massaging infant rat pups with a paintbrush (to imitate a mother’s gentle licking) led to faster growth in the pups. This finding was later translated into an infant massage study in the NICU at Holtz Children’s Hospital, which showed similar growth benefits in human infants, as well as earlier discharge from the NICU.
This research was highlighted alongside breakthroughs that led to Global Positioning Systems (GPS), diabetes and obesity drugs, quantum dots, the sign language dictionary, the Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart (CAPTCHA), life without screwworms, bladeless LASIK surgery, and the DustBuster.
Congratulations to Dr. Field for having her internationally impactful work recognized as a powerful example of the benefits of science to our society.
Pictured above is Dr. Field in the NICU around 1990 during the Infant Massage study.
