Donna Ferriero

Donna Ferriero is Distinguished Professor, emeritus, of the Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics at the University of California-San Francisco. From 2010 to 2017, she was Chair of the Department of Pediatrics and Physician-in-Chief of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. She has published over 300 peer-reviewed publications and is an internationally recognized expert in neonatal neurology.

Early life and education Ferriero studied zoology at Rutgers University, then obtained a master's degree in immunology. She then worked as a research assistant, studying the mechanism of olfaction, before going to medical school at the University of California-San Francisco. She completed two years of pediatrics residency at Tufts and Massachusetts General Hospital, then returned to the University of California-San Francisco for three years of child neurology residency. She remained at UCSF for a two-year post-doctoral fellowship under Stephen Sagar.

Career and research When Ferriero was appointed assistant professor at UCSF, she began working with Roger P. Simon, a neurologist who had created a model of adult hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Together they created a rodent model of neonatal HIE.

Ferriero studies therapeutic hypothermia as a method of protecting the brain during the secondary phase after injury and is known for refining the technique and promoting it throughout neonatal intensive care units, including trials of isolated cooling of the head (CoolCap). She has developed a model of neonatal ischemic stroke and studies inflammation and stem cell migration in this model.

Education and Mentorship

Ferriero is known as a strong teacher and mentor.

Awards and honors Member of the National Academy of Medicine, 2005 Bernard Sachs Award, Child Neurology Society, 2006 Royer Award for Excellence in Academic Neurology, 2007 President, Child Neurology Society, 2009 Elected to the Association of American Physicians, 2011 Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2013 President, American Pediatric Society, 2014 American Pediatric Society Mary Ellen Avery Research Award, 2024 Child Neurology Society Roger and Mary Brumback Lifetime Achievement Award, 2024 Associate Editor, Pediatric Research Associate Editor, Annals of Neurology (2005–2013) Consulting Editor, Stroke (2013–2018) Editor, Swaiman's Pediatric Neurology: Principles and Practice