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Faculty

Dr. Leonard Weisman

Leonard E. Weisman, M.D.

Academic Appointments

  • Professor of Pediatrics—Neonatology

Clinical Titles

  • Director, Texas Children's Hospital Perinatal Center

Board Certifications

  • Pediatrics
  • Neonatal–Perinatal Medicine

Current Positions in Professional Organizations

  • Chair, Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) for Division of Microbiology and Infectious Disease (DMID), NIAID, NIH
  • Consultant, Glaxo Smith Kline and Data Safety Monitoring Committee for Malaria Vaccine
  • Editor, Section of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine. In: UpToDate Pediatrics. Wellesley, MA; UpToDate Inc., 2012.
  • Member, Advisory Board, Ronald McDonald House Houston
  • Member, Admissions Committee, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX
  • Member, ByLaws Committee, Texas Children's Hospital
  • Member, Bioethics Committee, Texas Children's Hospital
  • Member, Perinatal Infections Committee, World Association of Perinatal Medicine
  • Member, Committee on Maternal and Prenatal Health, Texas Medical Association
  • Member, Committee on Fetus and Newborn, Texas Pediatric Society
  • Member, Editorial Board of Infectious Diseases in Obstetrics and Gynecology
  • Member, Editorial Board of The Open Infectious Diseases Journal

Professional History

  • M.D., Baylor College of Medicine, Houston TX, 1974
  • Pediatric Intern, Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, Aurora,CO, 1974–1975
  • Pediatric Resident, Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, Aurora, CO, 1975–1977
  • Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellow, Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, Aurora, CO, 1979–1981

Academic Interests

  • Laboratory studies encompass the: development of DNA vaccines for common perinatal pathogens; effects of neonatal neutrophil, immunoglobulin (parenteral, enteral, or transplacental), polyclonal antibody, monoclonal antibody, antibiotic, antibacterial, or immune modulator  function on common infectious agents (e.g., Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Enterococcus, Ureaplasma, respiratory syncytial virus, and fungi) in perinatal animal models.
  • Current clinical studies include: (1) determining if maternal group B streptococcal colonization increases the neonate's risk for early-onset respiratory distress unrelated to infection (epidemiological multi-center), (2) evaluating the effectiveness of antistaphylococcal antibodies (clinical multi-center), (3) staphylococcal infections (epidemiological single-center and multi-center), (4) ureaplasma infection and the development of chronic lung disease (translational, clinical multi-center), (5) ureaplasma infection and the development of preterm labor (translational, epidemiological multi-center), (6) the natural history of ureaplasma colonization/infection in the pregnant woman (epidemiological multi-center, clinical multi-center), (7) development of a rapid diagnostic process for identifying common perinatal infections (clinical single center).

Recent Publications

  1. Placencia FX, Kong L, Weisman LE. Treatment of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Neonates : Lysostaphin versus Vancomycin. Pediatric Research. 2009 65(4):420-4.
  2. Walls SA, Kong L, Leeming HA, Placencia FX, Popek EJ, Weisman LE. Antibiotic Prophylaxis Improves Ureaplasma Associated Lung Disease. Pediatric Research. 2009 66(2):197-201
  3. Weisman LE,Thackray HM, Steinhorn R, Walsh W, Lassiter HA, Dhanireddy R, Brozanski BS, Palmer K, Trautman M, Escobedo M, Meissner CH, Sasidharan P, Fretz J, Kokai-Kun JF, Kramer WG, Fischer GW, Mond JJ. A randomized study of a monoclonal antibody (pagibaximab) to prevent staphylococcal sepsis in premature infants. Pediatrics 2011 Aug;128(2):271-9.
  4. Lin FYC, Weisman LE, Azimi P, Young AE, Chang K, Cielo M, Moyer P, Troendle J, Schneerson R, Robbins JB. Limitations of the National Guidelines for Prevention of Perinatal Group B Streptococcal Disease. Journal of Pediatric Infectious Diseases 2011 30(9): 759-63.
  5. Weisman LE, Leeming AH, Kong L. Appropriate Antibiotic Therapy Improves Ureaplasma Sepsis in the neonatal Mouse. Pediatric Research 2012 (in press)