The Kristine Sandberg Knisely Professorship of Neonatology

psom shield placeholderIn 2006, Samuel E. Knisely and the Division of Neonatology created the Professorship to honor Mr. Knisely’s wife, Kristine Sandberg Knisely, MD, and her dedication to pediatrics and to women’s and public health.

Dr. Knisely (1920–1980) graduated from the Perelman School of Medicine in 1949. She completed her internship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) and her residency at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). She was an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics from 1955 to 1976.

A mother of seven, Dr. Knisely brought empathy to her role as an attending physician in the newborn nurseries at CHOP, HUP, and Philadelphia General Hospital. She was mentored by Dr. Elizabeth Kirk Rose, a graduate of the Perelman School of Medicine Class of 1926 and Head of Maternal and Child Health in Philadelphia’s Department of Public Health. Dr. Knisely would later join Dr. Rose and succeed her in this role.

Dr. Knisely was a member of the Philadelphia Pediatric Society, Philadelphia Neonatal Society, American Academy of Pediatrics, and American Public Health Association. She chaired the Committee on Family Planning and Population Education of the American Friends Service Committee. She also served on the Board of Trustees at Fox Chase Cancer Center and Jeanes Hospital, among her many commitments to advancing child and maternal health.

 

Scott A. LorchCurrent Chairholder
Scott A. Lorch, MD, MSCE

Scott A. Lorch, MD, MSCE, is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics. He is an attending neonatologist, the director of clinical research within the division of neonatology, and the director of the Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Training Program at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). He is centrally involved with research projects concerning healthcare organization, racial and socioeconomic disparities, perinatal epidemiology, health economics, and quality of care in the perinatal setting, particularly maternal and neonatal care.

Dr. Lorch earned both his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and his Medical Degree from Northwestern University in 1992 and 1996, respectively. He received his Master of Science degree in Clinical Epidemiology (MSCE) from the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Pennsylvania in 2003.

Previous Chairholders

  • Barbara K. Schmidt, MD, MSc 2007–2018