Maria Delivoria-Papadopoulos died on September 11, 2020. She was a luminary in the field of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine who distinguished herself as a scientist, leader, clinician, and teacher and whose contributions helped shape the direction of neonatal medicine over the past 5 decades.
Maria was a renowned neonatologist, physiologist, and basic scientist whose research initially focused on investigating the effect of alterations of tissue oxygen delivery and more recently, on the mechanisms of hypoxic brain injury in the newborn. Her seminal work on the blood oxygen-hemoglobin equilibrium curve of preterm and term infants and how physiologic perturbations affect this curve formed the basis for defining critical tissue oxygen delivery in the newborn infant [1]. Although Maria respected the lung and its intricate functions, she became fascinated with blood as an oxygen-carrying tissue. Her subsequent investigations explored the molecular and biochemical mechanisms of brain injury in neonatal animal models, which led the future direction for prevention and attenuation of brain injury in newborn infants. However, it was her groundbreaking work in 1962 in assisted ventilation for terminal hyaline membrane disease that defined her research and unquestionably launched her career in academic medicine. As a result of Maria’s research, the academic world gained an understanding of the physiology and pathophysiology of the immature neonatal lung.
Maria Delivoria-Papadopoulos was born in Greece and received her undergraduate degree in Philosophy at the Sorbonne University and her medical degree at the National University. She completed an internship in pediatrics at St. Francis and County Hospitals, University of Kansas, in 1959, residency training at the Jewish Hospital of Brooklyn and King’s County Hospital, Downstate University, and a one-year residency in psychiatry at University of Colorado Medical Center. In 1962, Maria trained with Paul Swyer at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, then traveled to the University of Colorado for a fellowship in Neonatal and Fetal Physiology, working with Lula Lubchenko, Fred Battaglia, and Giacomo Meschia. In 1967, she was recruited to work in the physiology laboratory of Robert Foster at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine, where she was appointed as Instructor and rapidly became Professor of Pediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynecology and Professor of Physiology.
Maria’s concern for the health of the newborn and her quest for scientific advancement to improve the survival of sick infants was the driving force that convinced her to investigate the efficacy of assisted ventilation. In 1962, in collaboration with Paul Swyer, Maria was the first clinician to pioneer treatment for hyaline membrane disease using mechanical ventilation in premature infants. Maria presented her work, “An Experimental Study of the Possibility of Reversing the Biochemical Changes of Terminal Hyaline Membrane Disease by Assisted Ventilation,” at the 33rd annual meeting of the Society for Pediatric Research in Atlantic City, NJ, in 1963. In 1964, she published the landmark paper in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, entitled “Assisted Ventilation in Terminal Hyaline Membrane Disease” [2]. Maria set the stage for reassessment of the non-interventionist attitude then prevalent in the management of premature newborns with respiratory failure.
A long list of honors began in Greece, with commendations from the World Red Cross and Greek Ministry of Health for outstanding pediatric services during the polio epidemic. Dr. Delivoria-Papadopoulos was recognized in 1966 by the National Institutes of Health with the Special Research Fellowship Award followed by 46 years’ continuous funding in support of her research from the NIH. She received the President’s Achievement Award and the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Society for Gynecologic Investigation, the AAP Lifetime Achievement Award and the Apgar Award in 1997 from the American Academy of Pediatrics, and was inducted into the Philadelphia Pediatric Society Hall of Fame. International honors included recognition from China, South Korea, and France. Maria was recognized and honored with the “Legends of Neonatology” Award in 2007 at an inaugural event to establish the Neonatology Hall of Fame recognizing outstanding individuals who have contributed to the care of the neonate.
Her skill as a diagnostician and bedside teacher was recognized by numerous accolades including the Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award. She built the Fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Her NICU “Meet-the-Baby” rounds which commenced at 7 am sharp with Dr. “D” exploring the mystery and miracle of an infant’s life were well-known (Fig. 1). As Professor Emeritus of Physiology, Pediatrics, and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania, she moved her laboratory to the St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children and established the Neonatology Research Laboratory there in 1996. In 2006, Maria was appointed the Ralph Brenner Endowed Chair in Pediatrics.
Maria supported the principle that living up to one’s potential is hard work with the ultimate goal to disseminate knowledge and do good, leaving the world a better place. It is through her “academic children” that she took greatest pride as her progeny emulated her quest for preserving pediatricacademic development. Maria’s lasting impact will not only be due to her own accomplishments but also through the careers she has fostered and the individuals she nurtured to perpetuate her mission of providing humanistic and friendly clinical care.
Maria was a truly unique individual blending the wisdom of the past by connecting with the present, focusing on humanism through her commitment to the search for truth, morality, and the dignity and worth of every person. She took the road less traveled by, and this has made all the difference; she will never be forgotten.
Endla K. Anday, Philadelphia, PA
