De-Ann Pillers, MD, PhD
Recipient of the Dharmapuri Vidyasagar Professor of Neonatology
Dr. Dharmapuri Vidyasagar, Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is a physician, an educator, and a pioneer in the field of neonatal-perinatal medicine. After training in the United States and Canada, he joined the neonatal unit at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. In 1974, he was recruited to develop the Division of Neonatology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. As Director until 2007, he trained scores of neonatologists.
Dr. Vidyasagar has worked closely with the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and Chicago Board of Health, among numerous other leadership roles. He served on the IDPH Perinatal Advisory Committee, and he was the Chair of the Maternal and Child Health Committee for the Chicago Board of Health. He was a fellow and the Henry P. Russe Awardee at the Institute of Medicine of Chicago. He was also President of the Chicago Pediatric Society, and he was a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Prematurity of the March of Dimes. In addition he was elected President of the Society of Critical Care Medicine.
Dr. Vidyasagar continues to develop neonatal intensive care units worldwide. He has introduced new therapies and therapeutic techniques to physicians, nurses, and other health-care personnel in such nations as India, China, Lithuania, Poland, and Uzbekistan. His contributions to the literature of the field include more than 250 articles, chapters, and textbooks. His many honors include the Distinguished Faculty Award from the University of Illinois, the Education Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Jonas Salk Award from the March of Dimes. In 2016, he was a Legends of Neonatology Hall of Fame Honoree, and he has been mentioned in the US Congressional Record.
De-Ann Pillers, MD, PhD, is a board certified pediatrician and neonatologist who is an active member of the APS. She is an Oregonian who matriculated at Washington University in St. Louis where she graduated with degrees in Chemical Engineering (B.S.Ch.E.) and French (A.B.), and returned to Oregon for her further training. A graduate of Oregon Health and Science University with an M.D. and a Ph.D. in Medical Genetics, she also completed her residency in Pediatrics and fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at OHSU prior to joining the faculty in 1991. By the time she left OHSU in 2007, she had risen through the ranks to Professor and Associate Head for Academic Affairs. During her time at OHSU, Dr. Pillers began a career as an NIH-funded basic and clinical research investigator, as well as serving as a site PI in NIH-funded multi-center clinical research projects related to retinopathy of prematurity. She also created a niche in mentoring at the fellow and junior faculty level by being the inaugural Uber-Director for Pediatric Fellowship Training, as well as the founding Program Director for the NICHD Child Health Research Career Development Award (CHRCDA) of the Oregon Child Health Research Center. Her passion for mentoring has continued unabated. In 2008 Dr. Pillers joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she was a Professor with Tenure, Division Chief of Neonatology and Newborn Nursery, and Vice Chair for Research. In 2017, Dr. Pillers joined the faculty at the University of Illinois at Chicago where she is the Dharmapuri Vidyasagar Professor and Head of the Section of Neonatology, Associate Head for Perinatology, and Vice Head for Academics. She also serves as the co-Director of the UIC Administrative Perinatal Center for the Illinois Department of Public Health.