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Nicole R. Dobson, MD

  • Professor of Pediatrics
  • Director, Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and UPMC Magee Women's Hospital

Nicole Radich Dobson, M.D., is a professor of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in the Division of Newborn Medicine. She is the director of the UPMC Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program and the director of simulation education for the Division of Newborn Medicine. Dobson earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Lehigh University and completed medical school at Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, New Jersey, receiving the Academic Achievement Award for graduating first in the class. She attended medical school with a 4-year scholarship from the Army Health Professions Scholarship Program. After medical school, Dobson entered Active Duty and completed her General Pediatrics Residency and Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship at the National Capital Consortium/Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, MD.

She held numerous leadership positions during her two-decade military career, including Medical Director of the Intensive Care Unit at Craig Joint Theater Hospital, Afghanistan and Chief of Neonatology, Tripler Army Medical Center, Hawaii. Prior to moving to Pittsburgh in 2021, Dobson was the Director of the National Capital Consortium Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program and Professor of Pediatrics at Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, Maryland. Dobson’s research interests include the effects of intermittent hypoxia and caffeine therapy on the developing brain. She has published over 20 manuscripts and two textbook chapters, and she has been an invited speaker at regional, national, and international meetings. She serves on the Executive Board of the American SIDS Institute and the American Association of SIDS Prevention Physicians.

Professional and Scientific Society Memberships

  • Association of Pediatric Program Directors, 2016-Present
  • Organization of Neonatal Training Program Directors, 2016-Present
  • Society for Pediatric Research, 2014-Present
  • American Association of SIDS Prevention Physicians, 2010-Present
  • American Academy of Pediatrics, Fellow,  2003-Present
  • AAP Section on Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, 2003-Present
  • AAP Section on Uniformed Services, 2003-Present

Board Certifications

  • Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
  • Pediatrics

Education & Training

  • BS, Molecular Biology, Lehigh University, 1996
  • MD, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, 2000
  • Residency in Pediatrics, National Capital Consortium, 2000-2003
  • Fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, 2003-2006

Selected Publications

 

Vereen, RJ, Dobson NR, Olsen CH, Raiciulescu S, Kuehn D, Stokes TA, Hunt CE (2020)Longitudinal Growth Changes from Birth to 8-9 Years in Preterm and Full Term Births. JNeonatal Perinatal Med,13(2):223-230. PMID: 31796687. The Known and Unknown. J Perinatol. 2021 Mar 12:1–13.PMID: 33712716.

Dobson NR, Thompson MW, Hunt CE (2021). Chapter 27: Development of Respiratory System and Control of Breathing. In Avery’s Neonatology: Pathophysiology and Management of the Newborn, 8th Edition. Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health: Medical Practice.

Erickson G, Dobson NR, Hunt, CE (2021) Immature Breathing and Apnea of Prematurity: The Known and Unknown. J Perinatol. 2021 Mar 12:1–13.PMID: 33712716.

Harrell MD, Dobson NR, Olsen C, Ahmed A, Hunt CE (2022). Inpatient comparison of wireless and wired pulse oximetry in neonates. J Neonatal Perinatal Med 2022;15(2):283-289. PMID: 35275564

Abu Jawdeh EG, Hunt CE, Eichenwald E, Corwin MJ, McEntire B, Heeren T, Crowell LM, Ikponmwonba C, Saroufim A, Kerr S and the ICAF Study Group (2022) Adverse effects of COVID-19 pandemic on a multicenter randomized controlled trial. J Perinatol, 43(5):653-658.PMID: 36581761

Erickson G, McAnulty M, Powers C, Luong WT, Dobson NR, Hunt CE (2023) Stability for 6 months and accuracy of a specific enteral caffeine base preparation for a multi-site clinical trial. Br J Clin Pharmacol, 89(8):2631-2635. PMID: 37039338. 

Stark CM, Sorensen I, Dorr M, Royall M, Brown J, Dobson N, Salzman S, Susi A, Hisle-Gorman E, Huggins BH, Nylund CM (2024). Maternal and Fetal Health Risks Among Female Military Aviation Officers. Aerosp Med Hum Perform, 95(9):675–682. PMID: 39169503

Stark CM, Sorensen I, Dorr M, Royall M, Brown J, Dobson N, Salzman S, Susi A, Hisle-Gorman E, Huggins BH, Nylund CM (2024). Neonatal Health Risks Among Children of Female Military Aviation Officers. Aerosp Med Hum Perform, 95(11):815-820. PMID: 39711346.

Savioli K, Hunt CE, Ahmed A, Olsen CH, Clark RH, Dobson NR. Association between parenteral nutrition and length of stay in late preterm and term infants: A retrospective cohort study (2025). JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40474863.

Savioli K, Hunt CE, Ahmed A, Olsen CH, Clark RH, Dobson NR. Association between late parenteral nutrition initiation and length of hospital stay in late preterm and term infants: A retrospective cohort study (2025). JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40619346

Eichenwald E, Corwin M, McEntire B, Knoblach S, Limperopoulos C, Kapse K, Kerr S, Heeren TC, Ikponmwonba C, Hunt CE; ICAF Study Group. Intermittent hypoxia and caffeine in infants born preterm: the ICAF Randomized Clinical Trial. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed (2025). Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41285561.

View MyNCBI Bibliography » 

Academic and Research Interests

  • Intermittent Hypoxia
  • Caffeine
  • Premature Infants
  • Graduate Medical Education
  • Preterm infants

Research Grants

R01HD089289-01A1, Intermittent Hypoxia and Caffeine in Infants born Preterm (ICAF), NICHD, Co-Investigator, 2017-2022, $2,300,000

Neonatal, Perinatal, and Pediatric Outcomes of Children of Female Flyers, US Air Force 711th HPW, Co-investigator, 2021-2023, $161,665