NeoNarratives

Becoming a parent while caring for babies in the NICU

For the final episode of our inaugural season of NeoNarratives, we brought on two guests: Danielle Perez Sharp, MD, MS (Class of ’25) and Sanmi Oredein, MD, MPH (Class of ‘26). While several of our fellows have kids, Danielle and Sanmi share a distinct experience in that they became first-time parents during fellowship. They discuss what it’s like balancing training with motherhood. Danielle and Sanmi share other commonalities, too. Both served as Professional Development Chairs on the GME Diversity Committee during the 2024-2025 academic year, chose to pursue fellowship research focused on health equity, and promoted improvements in the quality of care delivered to families through our NICU Health Equity Taskforce. They are also deeply invested in championing the next generation of young clinicians, and speak about the culture of friendship/mentorship that exists between our neo fellowship classes. “If this is really what you want to do, you can do this,” Danielle says. Sanmi agrees. “Don’t be afraid to reach out,” she says, “don’t be afraid to seek support or mentorship.” CONTACT US Speaking of reaching out, if you have questions for our guests, please get in touch. Email Danielle: danielle.sharp@ucsf.edu [danielle.sharp@ucsf.edu]. Email Sanmi: sanmio@stanford.edu [sanmio@stanford.edu]. Have suggestions for future recordings of NeoNarratives? Email our host Laura Hedli, Science Writer in the Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine: lhedli@stanford.edu [lhedli@stanford.edu]. Have questions about the Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program at Stanford? Email Asia Wesley, our Education Program Manager in the Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine: awesley@stanford.edu [awesley@stanford.edu]. Website: neonatology.stanford.edu [http://neonatology.stanford.edu] X: @StanfordNeo Youtube: @stanfordneo California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative: https://cpqcc.org/ [https://cpqcc.org/] CREDITS This recording was produced by Stanford Medicine’s Educational Technology Team: recording and editing by Digital Media Specialist Grace Sextro with additional support from Manager of Portfolio and Projects Michael McAuliffe. Our Neonatology Education Program Manager is Asia Wesley. Our Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program Director is Dr. Melissa Scala.

The hospitalist becomes a fellow

While the most common path to fellowship is starting a program immediately after graduating from residency, many pediatricians spend time working before choosing to pursue additional sub-specialty training. Matt Cranshaw, MD, was a hospitalist at our Level IV NICU at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford for 3 years before becoming a fellow with us. During his time as a hospitalist, Matt developed an appreciation for the rich history of neonatology at Stanford. He name-drops some luminaries in the field, like Phil Sunshine, David Stevenson, Bill Benitz, Valerie Chock—all of whom have led (or are currently leading!) our Division. “Having a culture of excellence is something I have really valued,” he says. In this episode, Matt explores many of the clinical details of our fellowship program including call requirements, NICU management, and mentorship. He describes himself as a clinician first and foremost, and had been worried he might be out of his depth in fellowship since he didn’t have much research experience or many publications to his name prior to starting training. Now a year in, he feels differently. He says our fellowship leadership is above all focused on helping each fellow become the best version of whatever it is they want to be. CONTACT US Have questions for Matt? Email him: cranshaw@stanford.edu [cranshaw@stanford.edu]. Have suggestions for future recordings of NeoNarratives? Email our host Laura Hedli, Science Writer in the Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine: lhedli@stanford.edu [lhedli@stanford.edu]. Have questions about the Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program at Stanford? Email Asia Wesley, our Education Program Manager in the Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine: awesley@stanford.edu [awesley@stanford.edu]. Website: neonatology.stanford.edu [http://neonatology.stanford.edu] X: @StanfordNeo Youtube: @stanfordneo CREDITS This recording was produced by Stanford Medicine’s Educational Technology Team: recording and editing by Digital Media Specialist Grace Sextro with additional support from Manager of Portfolio and Projects Michael McAuliffe. Our Neonatology Education Program Manager is Asia Wesley. Our Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program Director is Dr. Melissa Scala.

Toggling between the lab and the NICU

Dr. Jen Sequoia says she’s “living the dream.” Jen, an MD-PhD, is one of our newest Stanford neonatal-perinatal medicine fellowship graduates. In this episode she talks with NeoNarratives host Laura Hedli about balancing shifts in the NICU with conducting experiments in the lab, all while raising a young family in the Bay Area. Jen’s research focuses on endogenous cannabinoids, which Jen hypothesizes are protective during pregnancy and limit inflammation in the placenta. She’s particularly interested in figuring out how the dysregulation of endogenous cannabinoids may contribute to preeclampsia. This episode of NeoNarratives was recorded at the end of Jen’s third year of fellowship, and she has since joined our faculty as an instructor. She is currently part of the Department of Pediatrics’ Bridge to K Program, which will help her launch her career as an academic physician-scientist. We are thrilled she will be staying with us as an attending neonatologist at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford and a postdoctoral trainee in Dr. Virginia Winn’s laboratory. *Of note, Dr. Lance Prince is named as the Division Chief of the Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine. He has since stepped down. Dr. Valerie Chock has assumed the role of Interim Division Chief, and Drs. Alexis Davis and Nicole Yamada are Interim Co-Chiefs. CONTACT US Have questions for Jen? Email her: jsequoia@stanford.edu [jsequoia@stanford.edu]. Have suggestions for future recordings of NeoNarratives? Email our host Laura Hedli, Science Writer in the Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine: lhedli@stanford.edu [lhedli@stanford.edu]. Have questions about the Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program at Stanford? Email Asia Wesley, our Education Program Manager in the Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine: awesley@stanford.edu [awesley@stanford.edu]. Website: neonatology.stanford.edu [http://neonatology.stanford.edu] X: @StanfordNeo Youtube: @stanfordneo CREDITS This recording was produced by Stanford Medicine’s Educational Technology Team: recording by Digital Media Specialist Grace Sextro and Senior Digital Media Specialist Bindu Madhava, editing by Sextro, and additional support from Manager of Portfolio and Projects Michael McAuliffe. Our Neonatology Education Program Manager is Asia Wesley. Our Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program Director is Dr. Melissa Scala.