STANFORD, Calif-- Renowned physician and researcher Hugh O’Brodovich, MD, has been named chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Stanford University’s School of Medicine and chief of staff at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, the two institutions announced today. The appointment fills a vacancy left by the departure of Harvey Cohen, MD, PhD, who held the posts from 1993 until November 2006.

O’Brodovich, a pediatric respiratory specialist, is the former chair of pediatrics at the University of Toronto and pediatrician-in-chief at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children. He will assume his duties at Stanford and Packard Children’s on Jan. 3, 2008.

“Dr. Hugh O’Brodovich is a world leader in pediatrics,” said Philip Pizzo, MD, dean of the School of Medicine. “An accomplished investigator, education, clinician and scholar, he has all the requisite skills to help move Stanford and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital to the next level of excellence and beyond. Equally important, he has the passion to transform the face of academic pediatrics; to train future investigators and leaders; to promote basic, translational and clinical research; and to advance innovations in patient care.”

Chris Dawes, president and CEO of the hospital, called O’Brodovich’s appointment “an exciting milestone in the history of Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital.” Dawes added, “His extensive clinical, research and administrative experiences ensure that we will continue our trajectory toward becoming an internationally pre-eminent children’s hospital through our strong focus on excellence in clinical care and academics.”

In 2006, O’Brodovich stepped down after a 10-year tenure as the pediatrician-in-chief and chair of pediatrics at the Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto. These institutions have a mandated 10-year limit for leadership positions. During this time he became well-known for increasing the number of full-time pediatric faculty members, overseeing a significant expansion in the fellowship and postdoctoral training programs, and establishing a new division of developmental pediatrics. He also developed a novel, performance-based career development and compensation program, some of which has been adopted across Canada.

O’Brodovich’s commitment to the children of Canada runs deep. He was a founding member of Canada's National Coalition for Child and Youth Health and he is currently on the advisory board for the Canada's Institute for Human Development Child and Youth Health.

“I’ve always said that it would be tough to get me to leave Canada,” said O’Brodovich. “The Hospital for Sick Children is one of the best children’s hospitals in the world. But Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital has done a fantastic job of recruiting leading physicians and surgeons and building top-notch clinical programs during the past decade. Combined with the phenomenal research strength of Stanford University, the offer was irresistible. I’m really looking forward to starting this next phase of my career.”

O’Brodovich was trained as a pediatric respiratory specialist at Canada’s University of Manitoba before completing a research fellowship in pediatric pulmonology at Columbia University in New York. He began his faculty career at McMaster University in Ontario before moving in 1986 to the University of Toronto as an associate professor of pediatrics. He was instrumental in establishing the Medical Research Council’s Group in Lung Development, and he was the inaugural head of the lung gene-based therapy research program at the Hospital for Sick Children.

O’Brodovich’s laboratory research focuses on the relationship between ion transport in the lung epithelium, and pulmonary edema and respiratory distress syndrome in newborns. He has received multiple awards for scientific excellence and has held leadership positions in several American and Canadian pediatric societies. A believer in translational research, he practices what he preaches.

“I’ve spent my career linking fundamental scientific research and clinical care, and I very much intend to continue my efforts at Stanford and Packard Children’s,” said O’Brodovich. “If you’re not out in front, you can’t lead.”

The sentiment applies equally well to O’Brodovich’s plans for Packard Children’s. “The top four or five pediatric academic science centers in world each have at least three components—an extremely strong research base, outstanding tertiary and quaternary care, and a foundation that is fully committed to the research that develops new cures for children’s diseases and the training of future academic leaders,” he said. “This describes Packard Children’s perfectly. I believe we can be one of the top five children’s hospitals in the world within the next 10 years.”

Although O’Brodovich will be a new face at Stanford and Packard Children’s, he has collaborated with faculty members. Pediatric infectious disease specialist Charles Prober, MD, remembers O’Brodovich as a fourth-year medical student at the University of Manitoba, where Prober was a junior resident in pediatrics.

“Hugh stood out from the crowd of medical students rotating in pediatrics,” said Prober, who is now Stanford’s senior associate dean for medical education and the hospital’s Berger-Raynolds Distinguished Packard Fellow. “I was struck by his obvious connection with children and his very capable presence.”

“We are extremely fortunate to have been able to recruit Dr. O’Brodovich as the next chair of pediatrics,” agreed former chair Harvey Cohen. “I have known, worked with, and admired him for a long time. He has the scientific, clinical and personal leadership skills that will help transform the department and Packard Children’s into the best anywhere. I am both personally and professionally delighted, and looking forward to the future development of programs under his vision.”
 
About Stanford University Medical Center
Stanford University Medical Center integrates research, medical education and patient care at its three institutions - Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. For more information, please visit the Web site of the medical center's Office of Communication & Public Affairs at http://mednews.stanford.edu.
 
About Lucile Packard Children's Hospital
Ranked as one of the best pediatric hospitals in the nation by U.S.News & World Report and Child magazine, Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford is a 264-bed hospital devoted to the care of children and expectant mothers. Providing pediatric and obstetric medical and surgical services and associated with the Stanford University School of Medicine, Packard Children's offers patients locally, regionally and nationally the full range of health care programs and services — from preventive and routine care to the diagnosis and treatment of serious illness and injury. For more information, visit www.lpch.org.