The Division of Neonatal Medicine is committed to the delivery of exemplary clinical care, advancing research and training future healthcare professionals to be outstanding clinicians and advocates for some of the most at-risk pediatric patients.

The division provides coordinated multispecialty care of high-risk newborns. The sickest infants include extremely premature newborns weighing approximately 16 ounces or less at birth, as well as infants with complex congenital heart disease, serious congenital malformation and neurological injury. 

Educational Opportunities

UCI School of Medicine and CHOC offer a three-year, ACGME-accredited Neonatal/Perinatal Fellowship program that prepares physicians for careers in neonatology.

Learn more about the program

The Division of Neonatal/Perinatal Medicine is home to a robust research program, led by Muhammad Aslam, MD, professor of pediatrics and director of research and scholarly activities in the division. He is also the founding director of the UCI Neonatology Stem Cell Research Center (NSCRC).

The NSCRC is involved in basic and translational science, as well as clinical and quality improvement research related to diseases in neonates and children. A major focus of this research is utilization of stem cells in the prevention and treatment of chronic neonatal conditions where current therapies are limited.

The NSCRC is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and facilities to conduct a diverse array of experiments.

The live animal vivarium for the center is located at Gross Hall, with expert veterinary support.

Under the mentorship of Program Director Dr. Aslam, residents, fellows and junior faculty have presented their research at national and international meetings and published articles in peer-reviewed journals.

The NSCRC has received local, regional and national funding in addition to philanthropic support, which has enabled the work of the center. 

One key focus of NSCRC is to find a treatment or cure for neonatal chronic lung disease, also known as bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). BPD is a chronic respiratory disease of babies born prematurely, causing immediate and long-term health issues, frequent hospitalizations, home healthcare (need for oxygen and equipment to help lungs expand) and even death in extreme cases. Because of the survival of more and more extremely preterm babies, the number of infants diagnosed with BPD each year is at an all-time high.

Despite advances in medicine, success in preventing BPD in premature newborns has been limited, and at present there is no cure. Current treatments only slow disease progression and decrease comorbidities. Fortunately, Dr. Aslam and his team at the NSCRC have identified that stem cells and their secreted proteins prevent and partially cure BPD in animals. The center has successfully isolated and maintained human umbilical cord stem cells and extracted their secreted factors to test against BPD in experimental animal models before proceeding to FDA approval for a human clinical trial. 

Division of Neonatal/Perinatal Medicine Faculty

Faculty members in the division provide clinical services at UCI Health and Children’s Health of Orange County (CHOC). Additionally, the division has affiliated members who are primarily located at the other pediatric training sites (CHOC Children’s Hospital in Orange and Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital in Long Beach).

 

Irfan Ahmad, MD
Irfan Ahmad, MD

Associate Professor, Pediatrics

NICU Educational Director, Pediatric Residency Program, UCI
Muhammad Aslam, MD
Muhammad Aslam, MD

Professor, Pediatrics
Fayez M. Bany-Mohammed, MD
Fayez M. Bany-Mohammed, MD

Professor, Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology

Attending Neonatologists, Neonatal ICU, CHOC Children's
Rebecca J. Coleman, MD
Rebecca J. Coleman, MD

Associate Professor, Pediatrics
Vijay Dhar, MD
Vijay Dhar, MD

Professor, Pediatrics
James D Hammond
James D Hammond

Clinical Instructor, Pediatrics
Yona Nicolau, MD
Yona Nicolau, MD

Assistant Professor, Pediatrics
Antoine Soliman, MD
Antoine Soliman, MD

Professor - Division of Pulmonology, Pediatrics

Volunteer Faculty

  • Anna Marie Arias-Shah, MD
  • Amir Ashrafi, MD
  • Daryoush Bassiri, MD
  • Kushal Bhakta, MD
  • Kari Bruce, MD
  • Millie Chang, MD
  • Daniel Cho, MD
  • Anupama Chundu, MD
  • Giulia Faison, MD
  • Leonel Guajardo, MD
  • Adnan Ismail, MD
  • Sophia Jones, MD
  • Kristi Kuhn, MD
  • Sudeep Kukreja, MD
  • Christine Kurlawalla-Martinez, MD
  • Anthony Liu, MD
  • Jina Lim, MD
  • Zubin Mehta, MD
  • Michel Mikhael, MD
  • Scott Nichols, MD
  • Bret Nolan, MD
  • Angela Noltemeyer, MD
  • Leah Pike, MD
  • Ajay Reddy, MD
  • Kristin Riley, MD
  • Gladys Rojas, MD
  • Jack Sills, MD
  • Grant Shafer, MD
  • Lavonne Sheng, MD
  • Jung Sook Hwang, MD
  • Monica Sondhi, MD
  • Jacob Sweidan, MD
  • Sneha Taylor, MD
  • John Tran, MD
  • Avani Vachhani, MD
  • Rajgarhia Ayan, MD

Miller Children's Affiliated Faculty

  • Albert Antonio, DO
  • Leonel Guajardo, MD