The section of Neonatology at the University of Illinois at Chicago is committed to the academic missions of education, research, and patient care. Our full time faculty and staff participate in clinical care, teaching, and research. The neonatal service at UIC is a tertiary care center and serves as the Regional Center of Excellence for neonatal care. We offer both primary and specialized care to a large high-risk in-born population as well as out-born babies who are transported in from our immediate community. As a state designated Perinatal Center, our services include a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for premature newborns and infants with special health needs. Because of exceptional perinatal services and our top-notch nursing care, our Center serves as a referral destination for critically ill newborns from other hospitals in Illinois. Our High Risk infant follow-up clinic is located in our Out patient clinic and is staffed by our Neonatologists.

The clinical program is centered at the University Medical Center, which includes a 54 bed neonatal intensive care unit, and the normal mother-newborn nursery. We have a highly skilled transport team available for ground transport.

The Division’s educational programs include a neonatology fellowship training program, responsibility for pediatric house-staff education, lectures provided for medical students, lectures and bedside training for Pediatric Nurses and Nurse Practitioners, and a variety of regularly scheduled conferences that are available for our community neonatologists for CME credit.

The Division of Pulmonary and Developmental Biology research within the department houses an active research program in basic research. Our neonatal fellows can participate in research with several investigators in this division. In addition, there is active ongoing clinical research within the division. The research programs are supported by grants and contracts from a variety of agencies including the National Institutes of Health, American Lung Association, American Heart Association and Industry.

HIGH RISK INFANT FOLLOW-UP AND FETAL CONCERNS CLINIC

The High Risk Infant Follow-Up and Fetal Concerns Clinic at UIC provides medical, neurological and developmental care to NICU graduates. We also provide prenatal consults to expectant mothers with high risk pregnancies or other specific fetal concerns. Care is provided by the same doctors and specialists who care for infants in our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Our Follow-up specialists coordinate care with each infant’s pediatrician, in addition to assisting with the coordination of Early Intervention Services, community resources, and various educational needs, in our effort to facilitate the optimal growth and development of our precious patients.
Referral Criteria for the High Risk Infant Follow-up and Fetal Concerns Clinic at UIC:
  • Birth weight at or under 1500 grams
  • Birth gestational age at or under 32 weeks
  • APGAR under 3 at 5 minutes
  • Neonatal history of medical complications
  • Oxygen dependency
  • Diagnoses that suggest a possible risk for developmental delays
UIC is a state-designated PERINATAL CENTER
The High Risk Infant Follow-up Clinic serves as a referral destination for critically ill newborns from other Illinois hospitals.

Address and Contact Information:

University of Illinois at Chicago
Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine

840 S. Wood Street (M/C 856)
Suite 1252
Chicago, Illinois 60612
Phone:  312-996-4185

Fax:      312-413-7901

Meet the Team:

Neonatologists:

De-Ann M. Pillers, MD, PhD, FAAP
Dharmapuri Vidyasagar Professor
Head, Section of Neonatology
Program Director, Fellowship Training Program in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
Vice-Head for Academics, Department of Pediatrics
Co-Director, UIC-IDPH Perinatal Administrative Center, University of Illinois, Chicago
Email: [email protected]

Aarti Raghavan, MD, FAAP, MS (PSL)
Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
Medical Director, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Director, Quality and Safety Pediatrics
Program Director, Patient Safety Leadership Programs – Department of Medical Education
Email: [email protected]

Rena Linderer, DO
Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
Email: [email protected]  

Lily Lou, MD, FAAP
Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
Chair, AAP-Section on Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
Director of Government Relations
Assistant Co-director for Neonatology, UIC-IDPH Administrative Perinatal Center
Email: [email protected] 

Saurabhkumar Patel, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
Director for Neonatal Simulation
Director of the Medical Student (M3) NICU Rotation
Email: [email protected] 

Phornphat (Paul) Rasamimari, MD, MPH, FAAP
Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
Director of NICU Follow Up Program
Director of Neonatology for Labor and Delivery
Email: [email protected] 

Joann Romano-Keeler, MD, MS
Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
Director of Neonatal Transport Service
Assistant Director, Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Program
Email: [email protected] 

Nishant Srinivasan, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Director of Simulations, Pediatrics
Director of Neonatal Palliative Care
Associate Director, Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Program
Email: [email protected] 

Arvind Shukla, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
Email: [email protected]

Hospitalists (faculty):

Howard Hast, MD
Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
NICU Hospitalist
Email: [email protected]

Murphy Shannon, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
NICU Hospitalist
Healthy Steps Medical Director
M4 NICU Clerkship Director
Email: [email protected]

Nissim Stolberg, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
NICU Hospitalist
Email: [email protected]

Lamia Tareen, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
Email: [email protected]

Research Team:

Kanram Avanaki, PhD
Associate Professor
Email: [email protected]

Nicole Glaser
Clinical Research Coordinator
Email: [email protected]

Zaynab Kadhem, MD
Research Associate
Email: [email protected]

Wenxiang Luo, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
Email: [email protected]

Jennifer Pham, PharmD
Clinical Associate Professor
Clinical Pharmacist
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Team Leader – Pediatric Pharmacy Team
Coordinator for Collaborative International Degree Programs
Email: [email protected]

Mona Strahan, MPH
Clinical Research Coordinator
Email: [email protected]

Administration:

Joe Greenia
Coordinator, Fellowship Training Program in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
Email: [email protected]

Alina Miller, BA
Email: [email protected]