Brigham Lung Research Day

Jeffrey A. Whitsett, MD, is a Professor of Pediatrics, Chief of the Division of Neonatology and Pulmonary Biology, and Executive Director of the Perinatal Institute at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Dr. Whitsett received his B.A. from Colgate University and his medical degree from Columbia University. He trained in Pediatrics at Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York City, and Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at the Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Following his fellowship, he joined the faculty at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in 1977 and has since risen to Professor. He is internationally known for his research in pulmonary medicine and his clinical expertise in neonatology. Dr. Whitsett has made groundbreaking contributions to pulmonary medicine and biology in his studies of the surfactant proteins A, B, C, and D, cloning their genes and clarifying their roles in lung development and function. Throughout his career, Dr. Whitsett has transitioned from molecular biology to animal models and then to the diagnosis and therapy of human disease. Notably, he has played a critical role in making surfactant protein replacement routine in the treatment of immature lungs and respiratory distress syndrome in premature infants. Notably, his laboratory has contributed to the identification of a number of genes critical for lung formation and function and shown that mutations in genes regulating surfactant homeostasis are responsible for acute and chronic lung disease in infants and adults. Dr. Whitsett is the author of over 600 basic science and clinical literature papers.

Dr. Whitsett is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the recipient of various awards, including the Mead Johnson Award, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Merit Award, the William Cooper Procter Award from Cincinnati Children’s, the Amberson Lecture Award of the American Thoracic Society, the prestigious Daniel Drake Medal for scientific contributions from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, the highly respected Arvo Ylppö Medal Award from Finland, the Grand Hamdan International Award on Neonatal Medicine from the United Arab Emirates, 2015 Avery Award, a joint award of the SPR/APS honoring Mary Ellen Avery, American Academy of Pediatrics 2015 Virginia Apgar Award. Columbia University P&S Alumni Gold Medal Award and the 2018 Edward Livingston Trudeau Medal from the American Thoracic Society.