David K. Stevenson

David Kendal Stevenson is an American neonatologist and academic leader. He is the Harold K. Faber Professor of Pediatrics at the Stanford University School of Medicine and serves as the Charles B. and Ann L. Johnson Director of the March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center at Stanford. Stevenson was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2012 and received the John Howland Award in 2019.

Early life and education Stevenson was born in Rochester, New York. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University in 1971 and a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Washington School of Medicine in 1975.

Career Stevenson joined the faculty of Stanford University School of Medicine in 1979. He progressed through the academic ranks to become Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine. In 1992, he was named the Harold K. Faber Professor of Pediatrics.

He served as Chief of the Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine from 1989 to 2007. During this period, he also directed the Johnson Center for Pregnancy and Newborn Services at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. He was Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the School of Medicine from 2001 to 2013 and Vice Dean from 2006 to 2013. From 2014 to 2024, he served as Senior Associate Dean for Maternal and Child Health and co-directed the Stanford Child Health Research Institute. He also served as Director of the March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center at Stanford.

Stevenson was President of the American Pediatric Society from 2005 to 2006.

Stevenson also held leadership roles in clinical and translational research at Stanford, including serving as co-director of the Stanford Center for Clinical and Translational Research and Education. In 2025, he was appointed Charles B. and Ann L. Johnson Director of the March of Dimes Prematurity Research Center.

Honors and awards Fellow, American Academy of Pediatrics Virginia Apgar Award in Perinatal Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 2006 Alwin C. Rambar–James B.D. Mark Award for Excellence in Patient Care, 2009 Albion Walter Hewlett Award, 2009 Elected to the National Academy of Medicine, 2012 Joseph W. St. Geme, Jr. Leadership Award, Federation of Pediatric Organizations, 2016 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2017 Frank H. Morriss Jr. Leadership Award, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, 2017 John Howland Award, American Pediatric Society, 2019 Maternal Child Health Research Institute Visionary Leadership Award, 2024 Dean’s Medal, Stanford University School of Medicine, 2024