Jeffrey Whitsett, M.D., chief of the Section of Neonatology, Perinatal and Pulmonary Biology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, will deliver the next Flexner Discovery Lecture on Thursday, March 28.
His lecture, “Transcriptional networks regulating lung formation and alveolar homeostasis: Lessons from newborn infants,” will begin at 4 p.m. in 208 Light Hall. It is sponsored by the Department of Pediatrics.
Whitsett, co-director of the Perinatal Institute and professor of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati, is known for his pioneering work on cloning the genes for surfactant proteins and clarifying their roles in lung development.
He has played an important role in the development of surfactant protein replacement to treat lung immaturity and respiratory distress syndrome in premature infants.
He also has frequently collaborated with Mildred Stahlman, M.D., professor of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt, who is credited with establishing the first newborn intensive care unit in the country to use monitored respiratory therapy on infants with damaged lungs. Between 1992 and 2010, they co-authored 30 scientific papers together.
Whitsett earned his medical degree from Columbia University, and joined the faculty at the University of Cincinnati in 1977 after completing a fellowship in neonatology there.
A member of the Institute of Medicine, Whitsett has authored more than 400 scientific publications and has received numerous awards for his research contributions.
For a complete schedule of the Discovery Lecture series and archived video of previous lectures, go to www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/discoveryseries.
