MIDB Member Raghu Rao Receives Midwest SPR 2023 Founders Award

Raghavendra (Raghu) Rao, MD, professor and director, Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, is the recipient of the Midwest Society for Pediatric Research (MSPR) 2023 Founders Award for Outstanding Service to Pediatric Research. The award is the highest honor given by the MSPR and recognizes contributions made in the development of the careers of academic pediatricians and in the advancement of pediatric research.

"I am honored to be selected for this award. MSPR has had a great influence on my academic career, starting from fellowship. Being recognized through this award is the ultimate peer recognition I could hope for," Rao said.

Rao will recognized as the award recipient at the 2023 MSPR meeting in Chicago this October.  

When not attending on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital, Rao is involved in research on neurodevelopment under normal and adverse perinatal conditions. His research interests include early life iron deficiency, hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia and intraventricular hemorrhage. He utilizes high-field NMR spectroscopy, molecular and histochemical analyses, and metabolomic and proteomic analyses of biofluids in his research.