Our Faculty

David J. Annibale, M.D.

Education:

Undergrad: University of Scranton, Scranton, PA
Medical: Medical College of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Residency: Medical College of PA / UNC Chapel Hill (Med-Peds)
Fellowship: University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX

Special interests & current research:

• Quality and safety
• Approaches to mechanical ventilation
• Evidence-based practice
• Medical education
• Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

John E. Baatz, Ph.D.

Education:

Undergrad:  University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, BS in Chemistry
Doctorate:  University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

Special interests & current research:

• Pulmonary physiology and biochemistry
• Protective mechanisms against hypoxia in alveolar cells
• Environmental toxins and their influence on lung development
• Preservation of viable lung tissue for drug discovery and identifying mechanisms of lung disease

John B. Cahill, M.D.

Education:

Undergrad: Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 
Medical: Rutgers University Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ
Residency: Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
Fellowship: Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC

Special interests & current research:

• Clinical neonatology
• Perinatal Statewide Regionalized Systems of Perinatal and Neonatal Care 
• Apnea of prematurity
• Transport of the high-risk medical and surgical neonate

Alison K. Chapman, M.D. 

Education:

Undergrad: DePauw University, Greencastle, IN
Medical: Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN
Residency: Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
Fellowship: Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, Baltimore, MD

Special interests & current research:

• Neonatal simulation education
• Neonatal resuscitation
• Quality improvement
• Evidence-based practice
• Clinical trial site PI 

Katherine Chetta, M.D. 

Education:

Undergrad: The University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
Medical: Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
Residency: Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
Fellowship: University of Texas Health and Science Center, Houston, TX

Special interests & current research:

• Nutrition
• Growth
• Human Milk
• NEC
• GI Pathology 

Dorothea D. Jenkins, M.D. 

Education:

Undergrad: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Medical: Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
Residency: University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO
Clinical Fellowship: University of Colorado Health Sciences, Denver, CO
AMSPDEC Research Fellowship: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC

Special interests & current research:

• Neonatal brain injury and neuroimaging
• Hypothermia treatment of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and novel pharmacological treatments
• N-Acetylcysteine for treatment of neuroinflammation due to chorioamnionitis
• Early developmental screening

Lakshmi P. Katikaneni, M.D. 

Education:

Medical: Grant Medical College, Mumbai, India
Residency:  Metropolitan Hospital, New York, NY
Fellowship:  Metropolitan Hospital, New York, NY

Special interests & current research:

• Growth and body composition of preterm neonates
• Genetics, etiology, management, and developmental follow up of preterm infants with retinopathy of prematurity
• Behavior, emotional, and health problems in NICU graduates who received ECMO therapy/the risk  for ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorders 

Frances R. Koch, M.D. 

Education:

Undergrad: Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
Medical: LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA
Residency: University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
Fellowship: Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC

Special interests & current research:

• Respiratory disease of the newborn
• Pulmonary hypertension
• ECMO 
• Congenital diaphragmatic hernia 

Laura Lach, D.O. 

Education:

Undergrad: Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
Medical: Ohio Univ. Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Athens, OH
Residency: Akron Children’s Hospital, Akron, OH

Fellowship: Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC

Special interests & current research:

• Medical education and simulation
• Quality improvement
• Mechanical ventilation
• Neonatal nutrition and body composition

Kimberly G. Lee, M.D., MSc, IBCLC 

Education:

Undergrad: Calvin University,  Grand Rapids, MI
Medical: Wayne State University,  Detroit, MI
Residency:  Children's Hospital, Boston, MA
Fellowship:  Harvard Program in Neonatology, Boston, MA
Master of Science (Maternal/Child Health): Harvard Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA

Experience Beyond Fellowship: 

• Developed newborn nursery hospitalist service, medical student newborn clerkship curriculum, and medical student lactation elective as a Stone Education Fellow at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Scholar of the Academy at Harvard Medical School
• International board-certified lactation consultant since 2003
• Fellow of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine since 2006
• Spent 13 years in community hospital level 2 nursery setting

Special interests & current research:

• Family-centered community-based newborn care
• Breastfeeding and human lactation
• Development of oral feeding abilities
• Development of feeding approaches that can be customized to meet individual patient needs 

Ashley Osborne, M.D. 

Education:

Undergrad: University of California, Los Angeles, CA
Medical: Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
Residency: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Fellowship: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

Special interests & current research:

• Point of care ultrasound (POCUS)
• Mobile health (mHealth) interventions
• Family-centered care
• Quality improvement
  
  

Julie R. Ross, M.D. 

Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Medical Director, Neonatal Nurseries
 

Education:

Undergrad: Presbyterian College, Clinton, SC
Medical: Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
Residency: Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, Nashville, TN
Fellowship: Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC

Special interests & current research:

• Quality improvement and patient safety
• Medical education and clinical simulation
• Physiological changes in intrauterine growth restriction
• Clinical trial site PI
• Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome
  
  




Heidi J. Steflik, M.D., MSCR 

Associate Professor of Pediatrics,
Associate Chief of Research, Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine,
Associate Program Director, Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship,
ECMO, CRRT, Neonatal AKI
 

Education:

Undergrad: Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
Medical: University of Tennessee Health Science Center, College of Medicine, Memphis, TN
Residency: Louisiana State University Health Science Center, School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA
Fellowship: Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
Master of Clinical Research: Medical University of South Carolina, College of Graduate Studies, Charleston, SC

Special interests & current research:

• Neonatal extracorporeal life support (ECLS) and concurrent continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT)
• Renal effects of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) medical management in premature neonates

Carol L. Wagner, M.D. 

Professor of Pediatrics
Co-PI of Vitamin D Studies,
Associate Director, NEXUS Research Center

Education:

Undergrad: Brown University, Providence, RI
Medical:  Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Residency:  University of Rochester/Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, NY
Fellowship:  University of Rochester/Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, NY

Special interests & current research:

• Neonatal-perinatal nutrition 
• Vitamin D requirements 
• Bioactivity of human milk 
• International health 

Our Faculty located at East Cooper Hospital

Tung Giep, M.D. 

Medical Director, Level 2 Nursery ECH

Education:

Undergraduate: Wofford College, Spartanburg, SC
Medical School: Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
Residency: Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
Fellowship: Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO

Experience beyond fellowship:

• President and CEO of Newborn Intensive Care Specialists (NICS). Largest private multi specialty practice in Texas.

Special interests & current research:

• Telemedicine 
• Development  of level 2/3 nursery 
• Teaching the business of medicine 

Lori Huff, M.D. 

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

Education:

Undergrad: Morehead State University, Morehead, KY
Medical: University of Kentucky, Lexington KY
Residency: University of Kentucky Children’s Hospital, Lexington, KY
Fellowship: Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC

Experience Beyond Fellowship:

• Worked with a community-based hospital, obtained instructor status for “Helping Babies Breathe” program, and worked with Vermont Oxford Network

Special interests & current research:

• Early breast milk feedings
• NAS
• Non-invasive ventilation