Areas of interest

Birth asphyxia Cerebral Palsy Fetal growth restriction (FGR) Preterm birth

Research group

Fetal and Neonatal Health

Biography

Doug Blank is a Research Fellow at Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Department of Paediatrics, Monash University, and is a Consultant Neonatologist at Monash Children’s Hospital. He is the current recipient of the Victor Yu Fellowship.

Doug graduated with an MD from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in 2006 and did his basic paediatric training in Southern California from 2006-2009. His first consultant job was caring for children with HIV and preventing mother to children transmission in eSwatini from 2009-2011 with the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative, Baylor College of Medicine. He returned to Southern California from 2011-2014 for his clinical NICU fellowship at the University of California, San Diego. In 2014, he moved to Melbourne to undergo a PhD through Monash University and continue clinical training. He was awarded his PhD in 2019, entitled “Umbilical cord management at birth,” under the supervision of Professor Stuart Hooper and Associate Professor Graeme Polglase at The Ritchie Centre, and Professor Peter Davis at the Royal Women’s Hospital. In 2016, he won the School of Medicine 3MT competition and the People’s Choice Award for Monash University. He has been a consultant neonatologist at Monash Health and continued his research as a Victor Yu Fellow at Hudson Institute since 2018.

Doug is the lead investigator in the Baby DUCC trial, exploring providing resuscitation to compromised newborns during delayed cord clamping and the DOLFIN Jr trial, exploring the use of lung ultrasound to predict the need for surfactant replacement therapy, which won a grant though the GE Healthcare Bright Ideas POCUS Global Challenge in 2017. His research has also appeared in leading paediatric journals such as Resuscitation and Archives of Disease in Childhood Fetal and Neonatal Edition.

Doug’s academic interests include education and emergency management. He coordinates the teaching schedule for the junior medical officers at Monash Newborn and he has launched a quality improvement project video recording neonatal resuscitations to educate staff and trainees. Outside of work, Doug loves exploring the excellent local playgrounds and beaches with his wife and four sons.

Research interests

Doug’s research interests are neonatal resuscitation, umbilical cord management at birth, responses during clinical emergencies, and point of care ultrasound. He is currently studying ways to optimise cardiorespiratory transition at birth and early non-invasive respiratory support.

Doug is accepting students for clinical research projects (Honours and PhD).