I am an expert on pediatric neurology, brain injury and outcomes in infants and children including those that result from in-utero events. Much of my research has focused on brain injury and outcomes as a result of ischemic events such as stroke and with medical conditions such as severe forms of congenital heart defects. My research in the field of stroke is extensive with about 40 manuscripts on the subject. I am internationally recognized as a leader in the field of brain injury in congenital heart disease with over 50 publications (from over 200 I have authored). My research has directly led to the recognition of in-utero events, not surgery, as the major risk for brain injury in these infants (Licht JTCVS 2009, Licht JAMA 2023). The 2009 paper has been cited in the literature over 750 times and was one of the top 100 articles on congenital heart defects published since 2000 (Sew Cardiology of the Young 2021). Furthermore, my investigations have led directly to changes in the timing of surgery after birth in infants with congenital heart disease. I have received numerous awards including Master Clinician award at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Luigi Mastroianni Clinical Innovator Award from the University of Pennsylvania. My work is cited broadly (over 13,000 citations with an H-index of 64), and I am an invited speaker at national and international meetings. I am currently on the American Stroke Association advisory committee and on the scientific review committee for the Additional Ventures foundation.

My clinical expertise is as a pediatric critical care neurology expert, co-founder of the stroke program at CHOP, co-founder of the palliative care program at CHOP, founder of the fetal neurology program at CHOP, and founder of the neurovascular cutaneous clinic at CHOP. My work with infants born with heart defects has given me a profound understanding of intraoperative events, surgical complications, and significant in-utero events on neurological outcomes. The bulk of my clinical effort involved caring for infants and children with surgical needs and evaluating their neurological conditions.