American Academy of Neurology Sidney Carter Award for excellence in Child Neurology, 2006 American Pediatric Society Mary Ellen Avery Research Award, 2024 Child Neurology Society Roger and Mary Brumback Lifetime Achievement Award
Scientific career
Fields
Neurology, pediatrics
Institutions
University of California - San Francisco
Donna Ferriero is Distinguished Professor, emeritus, of the Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics at the University of California-San Francisco. From 2010 to 2017, she was Chair of the Department of Pediatrics and Physician-in-Chief of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital.[1] She has published over 300 peer-reviewed publications[2] and is an internationally recognized expert in neonatal neurology.[3]
When Ferriero was appointed assistant professor at UCSF, she began working with Roger P. Simon, a neurologist who had created a model of adult hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Together they created a rodent model of neonatal HIE.[3]
This allowed Ferriero to study oxidative stress following asphyxia in a developing brain. In adult animal models, overexpression of the antioxidant superoxide dismutase (SOD) prevented injury from ischemic stroke, but overexpression of SOD increased injury in Ferriero’s neonatal model. From this research, Ferriero determined that after initial injury due to asphyxia or stroke, a secondary phase of inflammation and oxidative stress caused increased cell death in neonates due to a lack of antioxidant reserves.[5]
Ferriero studies therapeutic hypothermia as a method of protecting the brain during the secondary phase after injury and is known for refining the technique and promoting it throughout neonatal intensive care units, including trials of isolated cooling of the head (CoolCap). She has developed a model of neonatal ischemic stroke and studies inflammation and stem cell migration in this model.[6]
Education and Mentorship
Ferriero is known as a strong teacher and mentor.[6] She has won many teaching awards during her years at UCSF. She was awarded the UCSF Chancellor’s Award for the Advancement of Women, and the Maureen Andrew Mentor Award from the Society for Pediatric Research, for her strong commitment to mentorship.[7]
^ abcAshwal, Stephen (2021). Child Neurology: Its Origins, Founders, Growth and Evolution. New York: Elsevier Science. pp. 725–727. ISBN978-0128216354.
