Vivek Narendran, MD, MRCP, MBA
- Medical Director, University of Cincinnati Medical Center NICU
- Member, Perinatal Institute
- Member, Division of Neonatology
- Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
- vivek.narendran@cchmc.org
- Board Certified
About
Biography
My clinical specialty is neonatology, and I am interested in the care of babies born at periviable gestation in the neonatal intensive care (NICU). My mother was a pediatrician who inspired me to become a physician and care for children. I was particularly drawn to helping extremely premature infants in the NICU as they were so helpless and required assistance with all their organ systems.
I’m focused on normal skin development/maturation in preterm infants (not disease-focused). The biology that a fetus could be submerged in amniotic fluid for nine months but then be born with pristine, healthy skin intrigued me and led to my study of skin development and maturation. My goal is to develop strategies to protect immature preterm skin and interventions to hasten skin maturation (improve the epidermal barrier).
My clinical research involves noninvasive ventilation strategies for preterm infants to prevent bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). The increasing survival of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) babies and associated BPD led me to study kinder, gentler forms of ventilation to reduce lung injury.
I am honored to have received the Sustained Excellence Award from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for excellence in clinical care and translational research (2017). I’m certified in Pediatrics (1998, 2008, 2018), Pediatrics, Royal College of Physicians (MRCP), United Kingdom (1996) and Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine (2001, 2008, 2018).
MBBS: Bangalore Medical College, Bangalore, India, 1985.
MD/DNB: JN Medical College, Belgaum, India, 1990.
Fellowship: Neonatology, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, Australia, 1992-94.
Residency: Pediatrics, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester, United Kingdom, 1994-1996.
Residency: Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, 1997-1998.
Fellowship: Neonatology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, 1996, 1998-2000.
Credentials: Pediatrics, 1998 & 2008; Pediatrics, Royal College of Physicians (MRCP), United Kingdom, 1996; Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine 2001 & 2008.
Interests
Non-invasive ventilation of the preterm infant to reduce BPD; surfactant trials - SUPPORT and BiB multi center, NICHD NRN sponsored by NIH
Services and Specialties
Interests
Innate immunity of the skin with a particular focus on epidermal biomarkers and antimicrobial peptides on the skin surface; role of coconut oil massage on decreasing late onset sepsis in VLBW infants; etiology of diaper dermatitis and strategies to minimize perianal skin breakdown in ELBW infants
Publications
Genomic Differences between Spontaneous versus Indicated Extreme Preterm Birth. American Journal of Perinatology: neonatal and maternal-fetal medicine. 2025; 42:238-249.
Assessment of diaper dermatitis using a novel electronic health record-embedded scale. Journal of Perinatology. 2024; 44:501-507.
The Skin of the Neonate. Fanaroff and Martin's Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, 2-Volume Set: Diseases of the Fetus and Infant. 2024.
Umbilical Cord Milking Versus Delayed Cord Clamping in Infants 28 to 32 Weeks: A Randomized Trial. Pediatrics. 2023; 152:e2023063113.
Skin Care for the Extremely Low-Birthweight Infant. NeoReviews.org. 2023; 24:e229-e242.
Timing of Antenatal Steroid Administration and Effects on the Newborn Infant: A Retrospective Study. American Journal of Perinatology: neonatal and maternal-fetal medicine. 2022; 39:1065-1073.
Epidermal Immunity and Function: Origin in Neonatal Skin. Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences. 2022; 9:894496.
DNA methylation in former extremely low birth weight newborns: association with cardiovascular and endocrine function. Pediatric Research. 2022; 91:1469-1477.
Newborn infant skin gene expression: Remarkable differences versus adults. PloS one. 2021; 16:e0258554.
Growth Rates of Infants Randomized to Continuous Positive Airway Pressure or Intubation After Extremely Preterm Birth. The Journal of Pediatrics. 2021; 237:148-153.e3.
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