Division of Neonatology
The Division of Neonatology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) is dedicated to optimizing the health of newborn infants in the MidSouth. Led by Division Chief, Dr. Ajay Talati, we provide neonatal services at the Sheldon B. Korones Newborn Center at Regional One Health and at the Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Our close collaboration with the Le Bonheur Fetal Center also helps us co-ordinate care of the baby from fetal life, including multidisciplinary review and consultations for complex fetal anomalies.
Clinical Care
Our clinical program serves the mid-south regions of Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi. Our team annually cares for 1,400-1,500 sick newborns at the Sheldon B Korones Newborn Center at Regional One Health, a Regional Perinatal Center. Over 500 complex neonates are admitted each year at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital’s NICU, the area’s only level 4 NICU.
The high-risk infants are followed in our developmental clinic, optimizing the care of infants after discharge with neurologic and developmental evaluations and appropriate referrals for interventions.
Fellowship
Our fellowship program's training balances clinical and scholarly activities. Fellows get exposed to all clinical modalities and academic activities and are allowed to pursue the area of their scholarly interest. Besides fellowship training, teaching activities include medical students, NNP students, the training of pediatric residents, as well as fellows from other sub-specialties including maternal-fetal medicine, pediatric surgery, and surgical critical care.
Research
Division faculty and fellows maintain active research programs in basic science, translational science, and clinical science. Our research program includes research on a variety of conditions including neonatal nutrition, neonatal gut microbiome and its relationship with chronic lung disease, cerebrovascular physiology , neonatal abstinence syndrome, and use of aEEG for neuromonitoring. We are also dedicated to quality improvement, collaborating with Vermont Oxford Network, Tennessee Initiative for Perinatal Quality Care, and the Children’s Hospital Neonatal Consortium.
Public Service
Our division also maintains outreach programs with our neighboring community hospitals. Through continuous interactions, these programs aim to improve the quality of care at referral hospitals to meet out targeted high health care standards.
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital also serves as the primary neonatal transport team for the regional community hospitals.
Faculty
- Ajay Talati, MD (Division Chief)
- Karis Browder, MD
- Sandeep Chilakala, MD, MPH
- Jennifer Davidson, DO
- Ramasubbareddy Dhanireddy, MD
- Megan Ann Derrer, MD
- Mohamad Elabiad, MD, MS
- Mimily Harsono, MD
- Bhuvaneshwari Jagadesan, MD, FAAP
- Ramesh Krishnan, MD, DCH, MRCPCH, FAAP
- Vineet Lamba, MD
- Massroor Pourcyrous, MD
- John Purvis, MD
- Divya Rana, MD
- Mark Weems, MD
- Keadrea Wilson, MD
- Parul Zaveri, MD
Staff
Ibby Franklin
Administrative Assistant
afrank19@uthsc.edu
Kimberly Jones
Administrative Assistant
kjones62@uthsc.edu
Ebone’ Miller
Administrative Assistant
emille82@uthsc.edu