Andreas Damianos, MD

As a neonatologist, I provide my expert services to the care of newborns in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Cincinnati Children’s. I comprehensively manage diseases and conditions that affect these babies.

I was originally inspired to pursue my career by my parents, who are both involved in the health sector. My mother is an educator for children with special needs and my father is a pediatrician and child neurologist. Additionally, I was fortunate to meet numerous brilliant mentors who guided me throughout my path. One such mentor was a renowned neonatologist who instilled in me her passion for the world of newborn infants. It was during my rotations in the NICU that I embraced neonatology as my subspecialty.

I believe there is nothing more fulfilling and rewarding than helping and guiding those in need. I have found that neonatology involves not only caring for the babies but also for their families since the babies' outcomes affect the family's dynamics as a whole. Through exposure to families from diverse cultural backgrounds, I have acquired additional parental coping strategies based on specific customs.

In my practice, I believe that the care management of these vulnerable infants includes input from parents, nurses, respiratory therapists, pediatric residents, neonatology fellows, nurse practitioners, consultants and the neonatology attending, like myself, who leads the team. It’s a multidisciplinary team effort to provide the best care.

I also follow our baby "graduates" (former NICU babies) in our follow-up clinic. I assist and guide families with the transition from NICU care to having their babies at home and ensure that they continue to receive the services that they deserve. I also have a passion for teaching and I thoroughly enjoy educating upcoming generations of physicians.

I recognize that the future of neonatology lies with vital hypothesis-driven research in order to help our babies. Research drives medical innovation and, subsequently, medical care. Neonatology is the forefront of medical advancement and a field that combines many subspecialties (if not all) into one. I study the effects of intermittent hypoxemic spells on the developing organs, as most of our extreme preterm infants experience such episodes where their blood oxygen levels drop for various reasons. My goal is to identify possible treatments for the potential problems that these episodes cause.

In my leisure time, I appreciate sketching and drawing, which I incorporate in my teachings.