The members of the 12-seat Scientific Advisory Council have been carefully selected to ensure they prioritize patient-family centered care, prevention, and innovative solutions to improved NEC outcomes. Many of the Council members are internationally acclaimed, and every member has dedicated their entire career to medically fragile infants at risk of necrotizing enterocolitis. Jennifer Canvasser and Erin Umberger work hand-in-hand with the Scientific Advisory Council on all projects, content, and materials that the NEC Society produces.

We are grateful to the NEC Society’s Scientific Advisory Council:

Gail E. Besner, MD, FACS, FAAP
William Clatworthy Jr.
Professor of Surgery
Chief, Department of Pediatric Surgery
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Columbus, OH

Michael Caplan, MD
Chairman, Department of Pediatrics
Chief Scientific Officer
NorthShore University HealthSystem
Clinical Professor of Pediatrics
University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine

Samir K. Gadepalli, MD, MBA
Pediatric Surgery and Surgical Critical Care
C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

Sheila M. Gephart, RN, PhD
Assistant Professor
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Nurse Faculty Scholar
University of Arizona College of Nursing
Tucson, Arizona

Misty Good, MD, MS
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Co-Director of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship
Washington University School of Medicine
Department of Pediatrics
Division of Newborn Medicine
St. Louis Children’s Hospital

Amy Hair, MD
Assistant Professor
Program Director of Neonatal Nutrition
Program Director of NICU Intestinal Rehab Team
Section of Neonatology
Department of Pediatrics
Baylor College of Medicine
Texas Children’s Hospital

Jae Kim, MD, PhD
Professor of Clinical Pediatrics
Divisions of Neonatology &
Pediatric Gastroenterology,
Hepatology and Nutrition
Nutrition Director of Supporting Premature
Infant Nutrition (SPIN) Program
Director of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship
UC San Diego/Rady Children’s Hospital of San Diego

Troy A. Markel, MD, FACS, FAAP
Assistant Professor-Pediatric Surgery
Department of Surgery
Riley Hospital for Children
Indiana University School of Medicine

Camilia R. Martin, MD MS
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
Associate Director, NICU, Department of Neonatology
Director of Cross-Disciplinary Research Partnerships,
Division of Translational Research
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Steven J. McElroy, MD
Associate Professor
Stead Family Department of Pediatrics
Department of Microbiology
University of Iowa

Ravi Mangal Patel, MD, MSc
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Division of Neonatology
Emory University School of Medicine

Mark Underwood, MD
Chief, Division of Neonatology
Department of Pediatrics
University of California at Davis

Former Advisors: 

• Steven Abrams, MD, University of Texas at Austin
• Elizabeth Cristofalo, MD, MPH, Johns Hopkins Hospital
• Richard Ehrenkranz, MD, Yale University
• Alexander Penn, PhD, US Army Institute of Surgical Research
• Christina Valentine, MD, MS, RD, Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Please note:
All statements, actions, and materials are the sole opinion of the NEC Society and not necessarily reflective of any member’s individual institution or place of employment.