Dr. Donna Ferriero is internationally renowned for her incredible impact in neonatal neurology, pioneering and refining neuroprotection in the NICU, revolutionizing how we care for our smallest patients – but her most significant contribution in the field of child neurology may be her mentorship, inspiration, and support of other child neurologists.
Dr. Ferriero grew up in New Jersey and attended Rutgers University, studying zoology. She started as a scientist, pursuing a master’s degree in immunology at Rutgers and working as a research assistant under Frank Margolis, studying the mechanism of olfaction.
Dr. Ferriero then went to medical school at the University of San Francisco, where she had a fourth-year elective with Bruce Berg, one of the founders of the Child Neurology Society. Dr. Berg’s passion and curiosity sparked her interest in pediatric neurology. She completed her first year of pediatrics residency training at Tufts, her second at Massachusetts General Hospital, and then trained in child neurology at the University of California-San Francisco.
During her training, without earlier engagement or involvement in their care, Dr. Ferriero found herself called to the NICU to evaluate newborns for brain death. She realized there was a “big hole” in how we cared for these children. Ever the scientist, she saw that we not only needed interdisciplinary teams caring for the child at the bedside, but we also needed to understand the pathophysiology of early brain injury better. She remained at UCSF for a two-year post-doctoral fellowship in developmental neurobiology, working with Stephen Sagar on neuronal development in brain and retina, and sowing the initial seeds of her benchwork in hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.
Dr. Ferriero then joined the faculty at UCSF and began a collaboration with Roger Simon, a neurologist who had created a model of adult hypoxia-ischemia. Together, they created a rodent model of neonatal HIE that became the foundation for Dr. Ferriero’s research.
Over the decades, Dr. Ferriero has demonstrated that the neonatal brain, instead of being “plastic” and easily repaired, is uniquely vulnerable to certain types of injury – and this vulnerability is maturity-dependent. In a term neonate, the abundant excitatory receptors present in the deep gray matter of the brain made that area sensitive to damage from asphyxia. The developing oligodendrocytes around the periventricular white matter in a premature brain were known to be at risk for damage. Dr. Ferriero showed that subplate neurons are affected by asphyxia in premature neonates as well.
At the bench, she investigated the root of this injury. In adult animal models, overexpression of the antioxidant superoxide dismutase (SOD) could prevent injury in stroke, but paradoxically, overexpression of SOD increased injury in Dr. Ferriero’s neonatal model. This discovery started a line of research that led to the discovery that after initial injury damages cells, a secondary phase of inflammation and oxidative stress contributes strongly to cell death – and this extended period of injury could be modifiable in a way that would be highly specific to neonates.
In the lab and the hospital, Dr. Ferriero studied therapeutic hypothermia as a method of protecting the brain during the secondary phase after injury, determining which neonates might benefit from cooling, necessary duration of treatment, and outcomes. She participated in a trial of selective cooling of the brain with a CoolCap, which increased comfort for both baby and family while still protecting delicate cells.
Dr. Ferriero also developed a model of neonatal stroke, investigating inflammatory response to ischemia and the migratory response of stem cells to infection. Clinically, she studied risk factors and outcomes for neonatal stroke and recently was involved in a phase I trial of erythropoietin (a cytokine that may counteract oxidative stress during the secondary phase of injury) for neonatal stroke. In 2019, she was the first author of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association’s Scientific Statement on Management of Stroke in Neonates and Children.
Dr. Ferriero became Chief of the Division of Child Neurology at UCSF in 1998, then also took on the role of Vice Chair of the Department of Neurology in 2000. To these roles, she added Associate Dean of Academic Affairs in 2004, then Vice Dean in 2005. In 2010, she became Chair of the Department of Pediatrics and Physician-in-Chief of USCF Benioff Children’s Hospital. Dr. Ferriero is currently Distinguished Professor, Emeritus, of the Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics.
She has demonstrated her commitment to the Child Neurology Society, serving on many committees, including the Scientific Selection Committee, Finance, Legislative, the Long-Range Planning Committee, and the Nominating Committee. She has moderated sessions and served on the board as Councilor for the West in 2004 and as President in 2009. In 2006, Dr. Ferriero received the Bernard Sachs Award.
She is engaged in other societies as well, including the American Neurological Association, where she has been active in many committees; the American Academy of Neurology, where she received the Sidney Carter Award for excellence and leadership in child neurology; the Newborn Brain Society; the International Child Neurology Association; and the American Pediatric Society, where she served as President in 2014 and received the Mary Ellen Avery Research Award in 2024. Dr. Ferriero received the Royer Award for Excellence in Academic Neurology in 2007 and the Willis Lecture for outstanding contributions to stroke research in 2010. She was elected to the Association of American Physicians in 2011, and in 2013, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of Child Neurology and Pediatric Neurology, is associate editor of Pediatric Research, and has been associate editor of Annals of Neurology and consulting editor of Stroke. Dr. Ferriero has also edited three editions of the textbook Swaiman’s Pediatric Neurology: Principles and Practice.
Dr. Ferriero is still working in the lab, investigating metabolic biomarkers to determine which neonates need further treatment after initial therapeutic hypothermia. Her impact on the field of neonatal neurology – and the lives she has saved and improved through her research in HIE – cannot be measured. Her less obvious but no less meaningful legacy will be the many pediatric neurologists who credit Dr. Ferriero with introducing them to the field of child neurology, training them, and nurturing and fostering their careers. Her teaching and mentorship are legendary. She won her first teaching award as a resident at UCSF and has continued to win teaching awards for decades. She was awarded the UCSF Chancellor’s Award for the Advancement of Women and the Maureen Andrew Mentor Award from the Society for Pediatric Research. She has created a collaborative neonatal neurology community that supports its trainees and delights in the success of its colleagues.
Dr. Ferriero tells her mentees to follow their passions, take their time, and explore what drives them – sound advice from someone whose lifetime of work has truly changed the world.