Description of Clinical Expertise

I have 25 years of experience as a practicing neonatologist in large perinatal centers; and significant experience conducting research in neonatal infectious diseases and mentoring clinical and research trainees. I spent the first 14 years of my academic career at Boston Children’s Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and was recruited to the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in 2014. I currently serve as Section Chief for Newborn Medicine at Pennsylvania Hospital; work clinically at CHOP and Pennsylvania Hospital.

Description of Other Expertise

I am committed to medical research training in newborn medicine and have trained multiple pre- and post-doctoral fellows during my career. I currently serve as primary mentor for one physician who has completed a K23 grant and is now an R01-funded independent investigatory at Penn and CHOP. I serve at the primary mentor for another physician with a current K08 grant and for a third physician when she was supported by a T32 grant and now has a well-scored K23 grant awaiting funding. In addition, I am member of the advisory committee for a 4th physician who was recently awarded a K08 grant.

Description of Research Expertise

I began my neonatal research career as a laboratory-based scientist investigating mechanisms of virulence in Group B Streptococcus, an important neonatal microbial pathogen. My interests evolved to focus on neonatal sepsis risk assessment. In collaboration with Dr. Gabriel Escobar, I performed a series of studies addressing the risk of neonatal early-onset sepsis among term and late preterm infants, and developed risk prediction models based on objective data available at the moment of birth and newborn clinical condition. We transformed these Bayesian multivariate models into a practical “calculator,” providing neonatal clinicians a Sepsis Risk Score to estimate individual infant risk and guide care decisions. Our work catalyzed widespread adoption of these models and fundamentally changed national perinatal practice. My research group currently focuses on sepsis risk assessment among preterm infants; on national infection epidemiology and antibiotic practice; and on determining the longer-term health outcomes of perinatal antibiotics exposures. During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, my research group leveraged our existing infrastructure to conduct studies of maternal COVID seroepidemiology and transplacental antibody transfer. My research group are all faculty in the CHOP Clinical Futures program. Finally, I am the local principal investigator for the NIH-funded Neonatal Research Network. Pennsylvania Hospital has the largest perinatal center in Philadelphia and is an active site for clinical research, and specifically for Neonatal Research Network studies.