Nehal A. Parikh, DO, MS

Biography

I specialize in neonatology and practice evidence-based healthcare and family-centered care. More specifically, my specialties include:

• Bronchopulmonary dysplasia
• Cerebral palsy
• Cognitive impairments
• Encephalopathy of prematurity
• Neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy
• Retinopathy of prematurity

I work with the pediatric population because of an overwhelming desire to serve vulnerable communities and because of my love for children. Due to this, pediatrics was a natural and clear choice for me. Once I learned about the great need for research into the causes and outcomes of neurodevelopmental disorders in high-risk populations, I became interested in this research area. My desire is to help these babies and their families.

While neonatology has successfully improved the survival of sick-term and preterm neonates, this medical field has made far slower progress in enhancing quality of life. This is mainly due to the high risk of perinatal/neonatal brain injury in (NICU) patients.

In my research, there are two main goals my colleagues and I are trying to accomplish. First, we are attempting to predict and diagnose neurodevelopmental conditions early in high-risk neonates. Our second goal is to foster and implement early treatment to prevent high-risk neonates from developing neurodevelopmental conditions.

My focus as a clinician-scientist is on early diagnosis, prognosis and prevention of neurodevelopmental impairments. My colleagues and I are conducting longitudinal cohort studies of advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neurodevelopmental results. We are looking at accelerating early detection of neurodevelopmental conditions and randomized trials of neuroprotective interventions.

In 2002, I received the Thomas Boggs Jr. Young Investigator Award during the last year of my neonatology fellowship. The Philadelphia Perinatal Society awards this honor annually to one of the top fellows from the Philadelphia neonatal-perinatal programs who has conducted the most exceptional research during their training. In 2013, I also received the Distinguished Educator Award from the neonatology fellows at Nationwide Children's Hospital, which was given to me for my commitment to teaching the fellows evidence-based medicine.

I have more than 15 years’ experience in this field and my research has received National Institutes of Health (NIH) and institutional funding since 2005. I have also used two R01 grants from the National Institutes of Health and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to fund the use of advanced MRI modalities, such as diffusion and functional MRI. This study explores the causes and long-term outcomes of premature infants' encephalopathy with the near-term goal of early detection of neurodevelopmental conditions.