Logistic Leadership

Melanie Gao, MD, is a current pediatric resident at New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell and hopes to pursue a fellowship in neonatology in the future. She grew up in New York City and graduated from Columbia University where she majored in Biology and History. She attended medical school at SUNY Downstate College of Medicine, where she was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. Melanie is most passionate about identifying nutritional strategies for optimal growth in term and preterm infants, with a particular interest in breastfeeding medicine. She is a certified lactation counselor. She is interested in neonatal health equity on both a global and local scale, particularly how to improve outcomes for newborns in resource-constricted areas and how to address racial and ethnic disparities in outcomes. 

Stephanie Napolitano, MD, MPH, FAAP is an Assistant Clinical Professor early career neonatologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She completed her fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Stephanie’s clinical and research interests include infant mortality reduction, neonatal health equity, safe sleep, and quality improvement. Her recent research has looked at the prevalence of implicit racial bias in prenatal care settings and its impact on infant mortality disparities. Her recent clinical work has been to improve the duration and consistency of safe sleep practices in the NICU. At NCH, Stephanie serves on the hospital wide and ICU safe sleep committees and on the Health Equity committee. In the community, Stephanie sits on the Fetal Infant Mortality Review committee. Stephanie is excited to collaborate with others passionate about Neonatal Justice across the country to eliminate health disparities for our neonates.