Dr. Maria Delivoria-Papadopoulos is a professor of pediatrics and physiology at Drexel University College of Medicine and Director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children.

Through her almost 60 years medical practice and groundbreaking research, she has drastically improved the lives of countless children. Her steadfast dedication to at-risk newborns has earned her recognition as a leader in the field of neonatal and perinatal medicine. Today she is considered to be the “mother of neonatology”.

She received her medical degree in 1957 at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. She continued her education at the University of Pennsylvania, where she received a post doctorate degree in physiology and spent the next 29 years as a faculty member. She has held numerous faculty and hospital appointments in the Philadelphia area throughout her distinguished career. In 2006, she was awarded the Ralph W. Brenner Chair in Pediatrics at St. Christopher’s Foundation for Children.

Since 1970, she has been a visiting professor, keynote speaker and has given Grand Rounds several times per year at universities and medical centers throughout the U.S, South America, Europe and Asia for over 35 years.

Dr. Delivoria-Papadopoulos is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the American Academy of Pediatrics Lifetime Achievement Award, and the National Lifetime Achievement Award from Castle Connolly.  She has served several terms for the National Institutes of Health, and is a member of numerous honorary and scientific societies including being the recipient of three honorary degrees from universities.

She has served on many academic and hospital committees and is a reviewer for top scientific journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine. Her clinical writings appear in over 970 publications.

She is a member of numerous professional organizations including the American Pediatric Society, the American Physiological Society, the Society for Pediatric Research, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.