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                           JeffNEWS, June 1, 1995
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Alan R. Spitzer, MD, Named New Pediatric Chairman
By Jefferson and A.I. duPont Institute
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Alan R. Spitzer, MD, has been named the new chairman of the department of 
pediatrics at Jefferson Medical College and Alfred I. duPont Institute 
Children's Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware. Dr. Spitzer replaces Robert L. 
Brent, MD, PhD, who continues his research in developmental biology at A.I. 
duPont.

Dr. Spitzer came to Jefferson in 1989 as the director of the division of 
neonatology and director of nurseries at Thomas Jefferson University 
Hospital. In 1993, he became vice chairman of the department of pediatrics. 
Under his leadership, the neonatology group developed the most clinically 
active intensive care nursery in the region and became one of the most 
prominent research divisions in the country.

Dr. Spitzer and the division currently hold several NIH grants to study 
such therapies as high frequency jet ventilation, extracorporeal membrane 
oxygenation (ECMO), surfactant metabolism, and factors that influence the 
outcome of retinopathy of prematurity. Dr. Spitzer's primary areas of 
research include neonatal lung disease, technological intervention in the 
nursery, neonatal pulmonary and neurological outcome, and infant apnea and 
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Dr. Spitzer attended Rutgers University for undergraduate studies and the 
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He completed his pediatric 
residency training at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and his 
neonatal-perinatal fellowship at the University of California in San 
Francisco. Dr. Spitzer is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, 
the Society for Pediatric Research, and the American Pediatric Society. 
He is the neonatology editor of Clinical Pediatrics.


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