LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Istvan Seri, MD, PhD, HonD, director of the Center for Fetal and Neonatal Medicine at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) and head of the USC Division of Neonatal Medicine at CHLA and the LAC+USC Medical Center, was recently honored by the The Hungarian Perinatology Society and The Society of Obstetrical Anesthesiology for his research and outstanding contributions to the field of neonatology and perinatology. Dr. Seri was one of three recipients presented with a 2010 Virginia Apgar Award from his native Hungary. The award is a top distinction named after the American anesthesiologist whose seminal contribution to neonatal-perinatal medicine shaped the field and served as one of the most important early contributions to improving assessment and management of newborn babies.
"I was very surprised when my name was called at the plenary session of the meeting and was asked to accept the award,” said Seri. “I had not expected it but felt the award also represented an international recognition of what our program here at CHLA and USC had contributed to neonatal-perinatal medicine over the past decade."
Dr. Seri was selected for his contributions to neonatal-perinatal medicine as a researcher and educator. He received an honorary doctorate degree “honoris causa” from Semmelweis University School of Medicine in Budapest, Hungary, in 2004, where he was also a member of the faculty from 1979 - 1991. He continues work with the University, including preparations with University scientists for research projects including a recently proposed international project with the University of Copenhagen on the role of vitamin C in central nervous system development and the development of a comprehensive neonatal hemodynamic monitoring approach. In Hungary, Dr. Seri has also contributed to courses for PhD students and neonatology fellows and faculty on neonatal hemodynamics, and has mentored trainees and faculty.
Dr. Seri’s major areas of research interest include the mechanisms of action of the cardiovascular, renal and endocrine effects of dopamine and other sympathomimetic amines; developmental-regulation of the dopaminergic system in the neonate; short-term regulation of the Na+, K+-ATPase enzyme by catecholamines; pathophysiology and management of neonatal shock; and organ blood flow and its autoregulation in the critically-ill neonate. His research has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and private agencies.
Dr. Seri has been the director of the Center for Fetal and Neonatal Medicine at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and the LAC+USC Medical Center and the medical director of the Institute for Maternal and Fetal Health (IMFH), a joint program of Children's Hospital Los Angeles and the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, since 2003. The IMFH is designed to improve health outcomes and quality of life for families with high-risk pregnancies. It is one of the comprehensive fetal diagnostic and treatment centers in the United States, with a special focus on the integration of comprehensive care provided to women with high-risk pregnancy while offering innovative, state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment options to families. Dr. Seri is also the head of the Division of Neonatal Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.
Dr. Seri is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics in neonatal-perinatal medicine.
For more information about Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, visit www.CHLA.org, or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn, and www.WeAreCHLA.org.
About Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Founded in 1901, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is one of the nation’s leading children’s hospitals and is acknowledged worldwide for its leadership in pediatric and adolescent health. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is one of only eight children’s hospitals in the nation – and the only children’s hospital on the West Coast – ranked in all 10 pediatric specialties in the U.S. News & World Report rankings and named to the magazine’s “Honor Roll” of children’s hospitals. The Saban Research Institute at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is among the largest and most productive pediatric research facilities in the United States, with 100 investigators at work on 186 laboratory studies, clinical trials and community-based research and health services. The Saban Research Institute is ranked eighth in National Institutes of Health funding among children’s hospitals in the United States. Children’s Hospital Los Angeles is a premier teaching hospital and has been affiliated with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California since 1932.
Children’s Hospital is preparing to open a $636 million, 317-bed state-of-the-art facility in July 2011 that will further expand services and capabilities at its main campus on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, Calif., as well as increase the ability to provide family-centered care to residents throughout the region.
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