Our People

The Neonatal Hemodynamics Faculty and Fellows are the heart of our program. We welcome learners, trainees, and/or observers from across the nation and throughout the world with an open-door philosophy. During your experience at Iowa, you will be exposed to cutting edge methods of evaluating the cardiovascular health of critically ill infants from some of the best clinicians, researchers, and teachers in our profession.

The hemodynamics faculty are dedicated to helping you achieve your training aims. Inpatient service expectations are well-balanced with ample learning opportunities and enthusiastic teaching. These opportunities include, but are not limited to, one-on-one settings, interactive lectures, learning with an ECHO simulator, and daily TnECHO review sessions.

Our reviews are a case-based physiology discussion with an emphasis on comprehensiveness, the unique aspects of neonatal physiology and pharmacotherapeutics. We work in close collaboration with our pediatric cardiology colleagues to ensure a breadth of exposure to red flags for congenital heart disease and ensure pediatric echocardiography lab training with co-supervision by the director of the University of Iowa Pediatric Echo Lab.

Fellows will also be exposed to ongoing research opportunities in which they will learn research methodology and participate in data acquisition and analysis. We provide personalized opportunities for you to learn career-long lessons from these dedicated professionals.

Neonatal Hemodynamics Faculty

Rachael Hyland, MD

Clinical Assistant Professor
MD, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine
BA, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri

Dr. Hyland attended medical school at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and completed her residency in Pediatrics and fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis. She then returned to Iowa to start her Neonatal Hemodynamics Fellowship in July 2022. Her research interests include the hemodynamic consequences of intrauterine growth restriction, particularly within the extremely premature neonatal population, and the hemodynamics of extra corporeal life support (ECLS/ECMO).

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Patrick McNamara, MB, BCh

Neonatology Division Director; Professor
MB, BCh, BAO, Queens University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland
MRCPCH, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
MSc, University of London, London

Through McNamara’s leadership, Iowa’s division of neonatology has become an internationally recognized leader in Neonatal Hemodynamics. In addition to his role as Founder and Chair of the Pan-American Hemodynamics Collaborative, he is the Chair of the Pediatric Academic Society Neonatal Hemodynamics Club and codirector of the Neonatal Hemodynamics Research Center. His clinical and research interests include myocardial performance in the setting of a hemodynamically significant ductus arteriosus, pulmonary hypertension and Targeted Neonatal Echocardiography.

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Adrianne Rahde Bischoff, MD

Clinical Assistant Professor
MD, Universidade Federal to Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil

Adrianne graduated from medical school at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in her hometown in South Brazil and completed a Pediatrics Residency at the Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre. She pursued her Neonatal-Perinatal training at the University of Toronto and the Hospital for Sick Children where she grew a special interest in the field of Neonatal Hemodynamics and Targeted Neonatal Echocardiography. Adrianne was the first graduate of the Neonatal Hemodynamics Fellowship Program at the University of Iowa. Her research interests include cardiovascular physiology, patent ductus arteriosus definitive closure, and the use of cardiac MRI.

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Danielle R. Rios, MD, MS

Clinical Professor
MD, University of Arizona, College of Medicine, Tucson, Arizona
MS, Clinical Investigation, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston
BS, Child Development, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona

Danielle Rios is a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Neonatology at the University of Iowa. She completed residency and neonatology fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital where she also completed a Clinical Pharmacology Fellowship. Additionally, she completed a fellowship in Targeted Neonatal Echocardiography at the University of Toronto and Hospital for Sick Children. Her areas of academic focus are the improvement of outcomes in extremely low birth weight infants through predictive analytics and the hemodynamics of neonates born prematurely.

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Amy Stanford, MD

Clinical Assistant Professor
MD, University of Iowa, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa
BS, Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa

Amy Stanford is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Neonatology at the University of Iowa. She completed residency, neonatology fellowship, and neonatal hemodynamic fellowship at University of Iowa. She is establishing our multidisciplinary outpatient Hemodynamic Follow Up Clinic. Her areas of academic focus are chronic pulmonary hypertension and long-term cardiovascular outcomes of prematurity.

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John (Jack) Wren, Jr., MD, PhD

Clinical Assistant Professor
MD, PhD, Wake Forest School of Medicine
BA, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri

Dr. Wren received his MD, PhD from Wake Forest School of Medicine and completed his residency in Pediatrics at St. Louis Children's Hospital. He went on to Washington University in St. Louis where he completed the Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship. He came to the University of Iowa in 2023 for his Neonatal Hemodynamics Fellowship and joined as faculty in July 2024. His research interests include investigating the the role of inflammatory mediators in the pathogenesis of a hemodynamically significant PDA as well as the implementation of hemodynamics-directed care for infants with CDH.

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Remembering Dr. Regan Giesinger

Regan Giesinger, MD, passed away from cancer in May of 2023 at the age of 42. In the five years she was working in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), she built a world leading neonatal hemodynamics program which has led to further improvements in survival of extremely preterm babies and a reduction in major morbidities. Regan was an exceptional young clinician scientist, who at a very early stage of her career, achieved an international reputation for her groundbreaking work in the application of targeted neonatal echocardiography to enhance clinical care through providing enhanced diagnostic and mechanistic insights. Regan’s dedication to patients and their families was second to none. She was selfless and always willing to help her colleagues.

Regan was an Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Neonatology at the Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa and Director of the world-leading neonatal hemodynamics program.

She published many original studies that focused on the complex hemodynamic physiology and response of novel therapy of critically ill newborns. Her primary research work, which characterized the relationship between right ventricular dysfunction and neurodevelopmental outcomes in term neonates with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, was precedent-setting and has laid the foundation for further investigation. Despite her young age, she published over 80 original contributions related to novel therapies in pulmonary hypertension and the use of nitric oxide in preterm infants.

In addition, Regan showed outstanding strengths, integrity, and leadership in education, training, and administrative roles, and represented the very best of academic medicine. She was a member of the Neonatal Hemodynamics Advisory at PAS and was one of the founding members of the Neonatal Hemodynamics and TNE specialty interest group (SIG) at the American Society of Echocardiography.

In 2021, Regan was appointed as Fellow of the American Society of Echocardiography (FASE), only the second neonatologist to receive this accolade. She was also a member of the writing group to update the guidelines for TNE and cardiac POCUS.

Regan has left behind a powerful legacy. In teaching the importance of physiology and diagnostic precision in cardiovascular care, she has influenced a generation of trainees and young faculty.

Dr. Patrick McNamara

Hemodynamics Program Fellows

Numra Aleem, MBBS

Dr. Numra A. Aleem grew up in Pakistan and graduated with M.B.,B.S degree from the Aga Khan University, Karachi. She completed pediatrics residency at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston and went on to the University of Iowa where she completed the Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship. Her research during fellowship has focused on developing a neonatal point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) program.

Tyler King, DO

Dr. King graduated from Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Indianapolis, Indiana. He completed Pediatrics Residency at Indiana University School of Medicine and Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri before coming to University of Iowa to begin his Neonatal Hemodynamics Fellowship in July 2024. His clinical interests include pulmonary hypertension management, PDA physiology and extreme prematurity.

Past Fellows

Stephania Cavallaro Moranta, MD

(2023-2024)
Current Institution: Children's Minnesota

John (Jack) Wren, Jr., MD, PhD

(2023-2024)
Current Institution: University of Iowa

Rachael Hyland, MD

(2022-2023)
Current Institution: University of Iowa

Angelica Vasquez, MD

(2021-2022)
Current Institution: Columbia University

Trassanee (Pearl) Chatmethakul, MD

(2021-2022)
Current Institution: University of Oklahoma

Amy Stanford, MD

(2020-2021)
Current Institution: University of Iowa

Adrianne Rahde Bischoff, MD

(2019-2020)
Current Institution: University of Iowa

Neonatal Trainees Engaged in Hemodynamics Research

Jenna Geick, MD

Dr. Jenna Geick attended medical school at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. After completing her residency at the University of Michigan, she returned to Iowa in 2024 to begin her neonatology fellowship. Dr. Geick’s project is a retrospective cohort review to develop normative data for cardiac structure and function utilizing targeted neonatal echocardiography in a relatively healthy extremely preterm population of infants less than 27 weeks of gestation. She will also investigate differences in these metrics on postnatal day 1 and postnatal day 7.

Dilara Mat, MD

Dr. Dilara Mat completed her medical degree at Istanbul University in Turkey, followed by a pediatric residency at Hacettepe University. Following residency she moved to Iowa to join the Iowa Neonatal Hemodynamics Team as a research fellow. Her primary research focuses on understanding the impact of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) shunt burden on short- and long-term outcomes in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants who have undergone PDA catheter closure. Additionally, she is studying on targeted neonatal echocardiogram measurements of to explore how maternal depression and its treatment influence cardiac outcomes in offspring.

Melanie Morris, MD

Dr. Melanie Morris went to medical school at the University of Washington School of Medicine and completed her pediatric residency at the University of Iowa. The underlying physiology of pulmonary hypertension in patients with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is complex and can include multiple etiologies such as pulmonary vascular disease, left heart failure, flow mediated disease, and pulmonary vein disease. Dr. Morris’ project is a retrospective cohort study to identify the underlying frequency of these abnormal cardiopulmonary profiles in infants born < 30 weeks gestational age with chronic pulmonary hypertension and BPD based on serial targeted neonatal echocardiography exams.

Ashley Schlapper-Sevcik, DO

After completing her residency at Iowa Methodist Blank Children’s Hospital, Dr. Schlapper-Sevick started her neonatology fellowship at the University of Iowa in 2023. She is currently studying right ventricular dysfunction in BPD patients with pulmonary hypertension or evidence of pulmonary vascular changes (BPD-RH phenotype) and BPD patients with systemic hypertension or evidence of systemic vascular changes (BPD-LH phenotype) compared to BPD without any hypertension or vascular changes compared to term controls. Hemodynamics echo results are primarily used to determine phenotypes and to determine the level of dysfunction present.