2017 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 34
BY SENATOR PETERSON
A RESOLUTION
To commend LSU Health New Orleans' Sunyoung Kim, PhD, Associate Professor of
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the School of Medicine, for her work in
developing and testing a screening system for necrotizing enterocolitis affecting
preterm infants.
WHEREAS, necrotizing enterocolitis is a disease that affects one out of eight infants
who are extremely premature and carries an extremely high mortality rate; and
WHEREAS, this disease presents a three-to-four times greater risk for male,
African-American infants who are born prematurely and suffer from extremely low birth
weight; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana has one of the highest rates of preterm births in the United
States and has a large African-American population; and
WHEREAS, diagnostic tests are critical for disease management and better
outcomes; however, current tests have poor success in identifying necrotizing enterocolitis;
and
WHEREAS, the current gold standard diagnostic method is X-ray, which has a true
positive rate of only forty-four percent; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Kim's noninvasive Neonatal DDx biomarker panel, a collaborative
effort between physicians, nurses, and researchers, which is performed on stool samples,
identifies ninety-three percent true positives and ninety-five percent true negatives in
diagnosing the disease that affects about six thousand premature infants every year in the
United States; and
WHEREAS, by personalizing medical management of infants, Dr. Kim's technology
may prevent one thousand infants from dying each year, with an added benefit of potentially
saving U.S. insurance companies seven hundred twenty million dollars in health care costs;
and
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WHEREAS, the success of the state of Louisiana, the strength of our communities,
and the overall vitality of American society depends, in great measure, upon the dedication
of people like Dr. Sunyoung Kim who use their considerable talents to further medical
research and help Louisiana's tiniest and most vulnerable citizens.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby commend Dr. Sunyoung Kim for her work in developing and testing a lifesaving
screening system for premature infants and does hereby wish her continued success in all
future endeavors.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Dr. Sunyoung Kim.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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