About the Author

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Robert A. Sinkin, MD MPH, FAAP, FATS, is the Division Head of Neonatology, as well as the Vice Chair for Academic Affairs in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Virginia. He came to Charlottesville from the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY in 2006. Dr Sinkin received his fellowship training in neonatal-perinatal pediatrics and then joined the faculty, advancing to Professor of Pediatrics in Rochester. There he served as the medical director of the NICU at the Golisano Children's Hospital at Strong and the Department Chair of Pediatrics at Park Ridge Hospital, a community hospital in Rochester. His clinical and research interests center on pulmonary scarring as typified in the lungs of babies with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a chronic, fibrotic, emphysematous lung disease of babies and infants. He is an active participant in the neonatology clinical trials group at the University of Virginia (UVA), with the goal of conducting investigations aimed at reducing the morbidity associated with the respiratory distress syndromes of premature and term babies, including pharmacological intervention and ventilatory strategies to reduce BPD. He is also involved in efforts to critically assess neonatal care provision and determine the cost-benefit of neonatal interventions within Virginia. Dr Sinkin is a member of a community action team (a partnership of local health care facilities, providers, home visiting programs, and children's coalitions) focusing on "Improving Pregnancy Outcome" and is a member of Virginia's Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) Steering Committee. Dr Sinkin is a member of the recently funded NICHD award to UVA and its collaborator at the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research in Bangladesh (icddr, b). The UVA team serves as a Unit of the Global Network for Women & Children's Health Clinical Research which supports and conducts clinical trials in resource-limited countries by pairing foreign and U.S. investigators. The goal is to evaluate low-cost, sustainable interventions to improve maternal and child health and simultaneously build local research capacity and infrastructure. These activities are designed to facilitate independent continuation of local research activities that will ultimately lead to improved health care systems and personal health. Christian A. Chisholm, MD, FACOG, is a Maternal-Fetal Medicine subspecialist and professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, where he also serves as Vice-Chair for Education and Medical Director for Obstetrics. Dr Chisholm received his medical degree from the University of Maryland, and completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Maryland Medical System. He completed a fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the University of North Carolina. He is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and is board-certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He is a member of the executive committee of the Virginia Neonatal Perinatal Collaborative and serves as the lead physician for the implementation of AIM initiatives in Virginia.