Martha Sola-Visner, M.D.

Premature babies are vulnerable in a myriad ways and are at risk for short- and long-term complications.  "Preterm neonates have an anticipated lifespan greater than 70 years after being discharged from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  Thus, understanding their unique physiology and the impact of interventions such as transfusions during this period of development is of critical importance to improve their short- and long-term outcomes", said neonatologist Martha C. Sola-Visner, M.D., director of the newborn medicine clinical research program at Boston Children’s Hospital and associate professor in pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. Sola-Visner is a leading researcher in the fields of neonatal blood disorders and transfusions of platelets, cells in the blood that are required for clotting. Much of Sola-Visner’s research has focused on the causes and treatments for neonatal thrombocytopenia (low platelet counts), a clinical problem that affects 20-30 percent of babies admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. Her work has led to a better understanding of the factors that predispose neonates to develop thrombocytopenia, the differences between neonatal and adult platelets, and the risks associated with platelet transfusions given to neonates. She has published widely in the field, and her research projects have received significant funding from the National Institutes of Health. She received her medical degree from the Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Ecuador, in 1992. After moving to the United States, she did her medical residency in pediatrics and completed a fellowship in neonatal/perinatal medicine at the University of Florida, Shands Teaching Hospital, in Gainesville, Florida.  She has been at Boston Children's Hospital since 2007.

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