Faculty
Kristi Watterberg, MD
Photo: Kristi Watterberg, MD
Dr. Kristi Watterberg is a Professor of Pediatrics and Chief of the Division of Neonatology. Her primary research interests are adrenal function in the fetus and newborn infant and the pathogenesis and prevention of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Pursuing this interest, Dr. Watterberg has conducted both observational and interventional studies exploring the relationships between prenatal and postnatal inflammation, adrenal function and the development of BPD. In 2001, she received funding from NICHD for a multicenter trial entitled, "Prophylaxis of early adrenal insufficiency to prevent BPD". The short-term results of this study were published in Pediatrics (114:1649, 2004), and showed that for infants exposed to prenatal inflammation (chorioamnionitis), early treatment with low-dose hydrocortisone increased survival and decreased BPD. The two-year follow up of these infants will be completed in 2005. As Chief of the Division, Dr. Watterberg looks forward to continuing the mission of the Division to improve the health of newborn infants throughout the State of New Mexico through clinical services including newborn transport and outreach education.
Publications: Kristi Watterberg, MD
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Erika Fernandez, MD
Dr. Fernandez is an assistant professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Neonatology. She majored in electrical engineering and worked in research in the Anatomy Department, University of Mexico School of Medicine in her undergraduate years. She then received an MD degree from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and completed a pediatric residency after which she practiced general pediatrics for 3 years at a local New Mexico community healthcare center. She returned to the University of New Mexico for subspecialty training in neonatal-perinatal medicine where she continues to work now as faculty. Her research interest is in adrenal function in the newborn.
Publications: Erika Fernandez, MD
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Janell Fuller, MD
Dr. Fuller received her medical degree from Finch University of Health Sciences/Chicago Medical School in 1998. She then went to the University of Chicago Hospitals for her residency training in Pediatrics and her fellowship training in Neonatology. She joined the Neonatology section at the University of New Mexico in August of 2004. As the Medical Director of the Neonatology Outreach Program, she provides medical expertise to our education programs. She is also available to consult on the education needs of your institution.
Publications: Janell Fuller, MD
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Robin Ohls, MD
Photo: Robin Ohls, MD
Dr. Robin Ohls joined the faculty in August, 1995. Her
primary research interest is in the field of neonatal hematopoiesis.
Currently she is conducting clinical studies to assess the efficacy of
erythropoietin therapy in decreasing the need for red blood cell
transfusions in term and preterm infants with congenital heart disease, and in neonates who require surgery, and will soon begin a multicenter study of anti-staphylococcal hyperimmune globulin in preterm intants. She performs clonogenic assays of fetal and neonatal stem cells in the laboratory, comparing fetal and neonatal erythroid progenitor cell response to a novel erythropoiesis stimulating protein, and continues to investigate the pathophysiology of the anemia of prematurity using human fetal li ver and kidney cultures. In addition, she collaborates with basic scientists in evaluating the pathophysiology of abnormal vasculogenesis seen in retinopathy of prematurity by measuring concentrations of matrix metalloproteinases in the developing human vitreous, and measuring mRNA concentrations in developing tissues using PRISM PCR.
Dr. Ohls was the recipient of an NIH Physician Scientist Award to
study the regulation of erythropoiesis in the fetus and newborn infant. Dr. Ohls also mentors residents and fellows in their research projects and is very active in teaching medical students, residents, and fellows for the School of Medicine. In 1999-2000 academic year, she received a Faculty Teaching Award from UNM School of Medicine.
Dr. Ohls is a well-known speaker nationwide in the field of neonatal
hematology and has been an invited guest speaker at both national and international conferences. Dr. Ohls is the Director of the Perinatal-Neonatal Fellowship Program at the University of New Mexico.
Publications: Robin Ohls, MD
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Lu-Ann Papile, MD
Dr. Lu-Ann Papile has a primary research interest in
perinatal brain injury and its sequelae. She is the Associate Director of
the General Clinical Research Center for Pediatrics. In addition, she is
a principal investigator in the NICHD-funded Neonatal Research Network, a
consortium of 14 neonatal centers whose primary focus is to investigate the
efficacy and safety of treatment and management strategies used in
neonatology through randomized controlled trials and observational studies.
Currently the Research Network is conducting three randomized clinical
trials; 'Parenteral Glutamine Supplementation for Extremely Low Birthweight
Infants,' 'Induced Systemic Hypothermia for Hypoxic-Ischemic
Encephalopathy in Term Infants' and 'Early Inhaled Nitric Oxide Therapy in
Term and Near-Term Infants with Respiratory Failure.'" A randomized trial
of Indomethacin prophylaxis of extremely low birthweight infants was
recently completed.
Dr. Papile has been at the University of New
Mexico since 1972. She is the Medical Director of the Division's Developmental
Care Program.
Publications: Lu-Ann Papile, MD
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Ronald Poland, MD
Photo: Ronald Poland, MD
Ronald Poland, MD
Dr. Ronald Poland is a Professor Emeritus from Pennsylvania State University and former Chair of the Pediatrics Department at Hershey Medical Center. He is currently a Professor of Pediatrics and the Medical Director of the Intermediate Care Nursery of the NBICU. Dr. Poland's primary research interest is in the pathogenesis and prevention of bilirubin encephalopathy. He is currently collaborating in a study of tin-mesoporphyrin in the prevention of severe hyperbilirubinemia as well as a study of the effectiveness of the AAP guidelines for the management of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. His areas of expertise in the field of Neonatology developed over many years in academic medicine include clinical research design and evaluation, including statistical applications. He is on the editorial board of the American Journal of Perinatology and writes questions for the AAP publication, NeoReviews Plus.
Publications: Ronald Poland, MD
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Renate Savich, MD
Dr. Renate Savich
has been a faculty member at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center since 1988. Her major research interests are in neonatal pulmonary disorders. She is currently using a rat model of pulmonary hypoplasia due to oligohydramnios or congenital diaphragmatic hernia to investigate the role of growth factors and their receptors, particularly vascular endothelial growth factor, epidermal growth factor, and transforming growth factor, in prenatal lung growth and lung branching. Dr. Savich is very active in the University Health Sciences Center and is the Chairman of the Integrating Group for Undergraduate Medical Education, responsible for the Undergraduate Medical Education Curriculum. She is also a member of the Advisory Committee to the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education. She is also active in the community as a board member of the New Mexico March of Dimes and is the Prematurity Campaign Chairman. She is the Treasurer for the District VIII Section on Perinatal Pediatrics of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Savich served as our Chief of the Division of Neonatology from 1997 to 2001.
Publications: Renate Savich, MD
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Rebecca Moran, MD
Photo: Rebecca Moran, MD
Publications: Rebecca Moran, MD
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Richard C. Krueger, Jr., MD, Ph.D.
Photo: Richard C. Krueger, Jr., MD, Ph.D.
Richard C. Krueger, Jr., MD, Ph.D. joined the Division of Neonatology as an Associate Professor in October 2006. He comes to us from his former position as a Staff Neonatologist at Ahmanson Pediatric Center, Cedars Sinai Medical Center. He was simultaneously an Associate Professor of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He completed his Post Doc in Neuroscience under Dr. Nancy Schwartz in 1998. In 1996, he completed his Neonatology Fellowship, Wyler Children's Hospital, University of Chicago. He did his Pediatric Residency, at Children's Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University in Chicago, as well as his Pediatric Internship, Children's Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University. In 1988 he graduated from University of Chicago, with a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He graduated from University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Medicine in 1990 with Honors. His research interests are the developmental biology of the extracellular matrix, particularly chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans, in the brain, and the biochemistry and molecular biology of neonatal brain injury, particularly neonatal hydrocephalus, and its impact on the neural progenitor pool.
Publications: Richard C. Krueger, Jr., MD,Ph.D.
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Vlad Ianus, MD
Photo: Vlad Ianus, MD
Dr Vlad Ianus received his MD degree from Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest, Romania. He then obtained a Masters degree in Health Policy, Planning and Financing from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and London School of Economics. He completed his residency in Pediatrics at Monmouth Medical Center (Long Branch, New Jersey) in 2003, and did a fellowship in Neonatology at Brown University/Women & Infants' Hospital of Rhode Island. He joined the Neonatology Division at UNM Children's Hospital as an Assistant Professor in Pediatrics in February 2007. His research interests relate to the fetal and neonatal myocardial cells proliferation and hypertrophy, and the ductus arteriosus diagnosis and patency in the very low birth weight infants.
Publications: Vlad Ianus, MD
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The University of New Mexico - Health Sciences Center
UNM Children's Hospital
Department of Pediatrics/Neonatology
ACC-3W
Albuquerque, NM 87131-5313
Phone: 505.272.3967
Fax: 505-272-6845
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