UPMC Newborn Medicine Program New Faculty Member - Adriana Phillips, MD

Adriana Phillips, MD, joined the UPMC Newborn Medicine Program as an assistant professor of Pediatrics after completing both of her residency and fellowship training at UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Phillips will split her clinical time between the neonatal intensive care units (NICU) at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, while continuing her academic collaboration with division faculty on extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO)-related research she began during fellowship and early-career leadership development.

Having trained and worked at UPMC since beginning her pediatric residency, Dr. Phillips brings a level of continuity, institutional awareness, and clinical experience to her new faculty role as an attending physician.

An Early Experience with the NICU

Dr. Phillips’ travels into specializing in neonatal/perinatal medicine began with a degree of hesitation rather than immediate attraction. As an undergraduate at the University of Virginia, she had the opportunity to shadow a neonatologist, an early mentor who introduced her to the NICU environment.

“I remember actually thinking at the time, ‘I’m not sure this is the kind of clinical work that I would like to do,’” says Dr. Phillips. “Coming into the NICU for the first time was a somewhat unsettling experience. There was just so much happening that it was a bit overwhelming and hard to take in also see how I might be able to practice this kind of medicine in the future. It was a pretty foreign experience at the time but imagine not all that uncommon.”

However, as a medical student, also at the University of Virginia, Dr. Phillips was encouraged by another mentor to complete an acting internship in the NICU, not because of a specific clinical interest, but because it was considered an excellent educational experience. That month of exposure to the world of the NICU reshaped Dr. Phillips perspective on neonatal/perinatal medicine entirely.

“I loved it. I thought it was incredibly interesting. I had already decided on pediatrics, but that experience made me realize even before starting residency that neonatology was where I wanted to be,” says Dr. Phillips.

Training and Clinical Exposure at UPMC

Dr. Phillips completed both her pediatric residency and fellowship in neonatal–perinatal medicine at UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and chose to stay on as faculty after completing her training. While her decision to come to Pittsburgh was initially driven in part by personal ties, her choice to remain was influenced by the clinical strength of the program, the clinical opportunities it provides, and the relationships she had formed within the UPMC Newborn Medicine Program.

“When we [Dr. Phillips, and her husband, who is an anesthesiologist] came here, the plan was just to do residency and then go somewhere else for our fellowships. But the training was so strong and the clinical volume so impressive we realized this was where we wanted to stay,” says Dr. Phillips.

Dr. Phillips did explore other options when applying for fellowships, interviewing at several institutions within driving distance of Pittsburgh. That process only reinforced her confidence in the program at UPMC.

“The sheer volume of patients here is unmatched, even compared to similarly sized hospitals and training programs,” says Dr. Phillips. “Our catchment area is huge. We care for babies from all over Pennsylvania, nearby states, and even internationally. That breadth of exposure was invaluable in my training as a doctor.”

A particular strength of the program highlighted by Dr. Phillips is the neonatal transport program, which gives fellows direct experience with outborn neonates and insights into the challenges faced by community hospitals with limited resources caring for extremely medically fragile neonates.

“Being on transports and seeing what people are managing in other settings really shaped my understanding of neonatal care,” says Dr. Phillips. “It’s one of the most unique and eye-opening parts of the training here.”

Clinical Interests in ECMO and Transport Medicine

Dr. Phillips will be primarily focused on clinical patient care as an attending physician, but she will continue her research project started as a fellow with the neonatal ECMO team, and specifically neonatal ECMO program director Burhan Mahmood, MD, FAAP. Dr. Phillips main clinical interests include ECMO management, neonatal transport medicine, and also the family/patient/doctor communication dynamic in the NICU.

“I have a particular interest in ECMO and the management of those patients,” says Dr. Phillips. “But one of the parts of the job I value most is communication with families —explaining what’s going on in a way they can truly understand.”

For Dr. Phillips, communication is not a soft skill relegated to just one’s bedside manner but is an essential and trainable aspect of clinical practice, especially in neonatology, where families and clinicians are often faced with the clinical uncertainties and accompanying stressors that are inherent in caring for very ill and medically fragile newborns.

“I feel very fortunate that I had strong communication training during both residency and fellowship,” says Dr. Phillips. “One of our former fellows developed a curriculum specifically for neonatal and maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) trainees, focused on conversations with families facing preterm labor or other serious complications. That kind of preparation makes a big difference.”

For Dr. Phillips, effective communication at the bedside is not just about delivering difficult news or navigating the clinical unknowns and often rapid changes in status and health that can occur in neonates. It’s also about building trust and clarity with families, even in less complex or medically fraught situations.

“Sometimes it’s just about reducing the families’ level of anxiety by helping them understand what’s happening with their newborn at every stage of their care, which can change rapidly,” says Dr. Phillips. “It’s one of the most satisfying parts of the work that I get to do.”

Advanced ECMO Training: A Broader View of the Care Team

During fellowship, Dr. Phillips elected to complete the optional advanced ECMO fellowship offered within the UPMC Newborn Medicine Program, which gave her extended experience working with perfusionists, nurses, and operating room teams beyond the traditional physician role in ECMO care.

“I spent most of the elective with the perfusion team, trying to understand how they think, how they manage the circuit, and what their challenges are,” says Dr. Phillips. “That cross-disciplinary exposure was incredibly valuable and not something you can find in most training programs.”

Dr. Phillips also spent time observing cardiac bypass surgeries, gaining perspective on how perfusion in the OR relates to neonatal ECMO. In addition, she participated in scenario-based training for emergency situations that can occur with patients on ECMO.

“My biggest takeaway was just a deep respect for how much expertise lives in every member of the ECMO team,” says Dr. Phillips. “When you’re in a critical situation, having rehearsed those scenarios in training is immensely helpful. It gives you a logical framework to fall back on when things are moving quickly and you need to react without hesitation.”

Though confident in her training, Dr. Phillips emphasizes the complexity of ECMO and her ongoing desire to continue learning throughout her career.

“There’s no end to the training in ECMO,” says Dr. Phillips. “It’s something I’ll continue to build on for years to come.”

Research in Anticoagulation and ECMO Outcomes

Dr. Phillips’ primary research project during fellowship was focused on anticoagulation strategies for neonatal ECMO patients. The project evaluated patient outcomes before and after the UPMC Children’s adopted anti-Xa-based monitoring for heparin dosing, moving away from the traditional reliance on PTT alone.

“Managing anticoagulation in neonates is especially challenging because of their immature hemostatic systems,” says Dr. Phillips.

The retrospective analysis demonstrated that, despite higher anti-Xa levels and overall heparin dosing, patients managed under the new protocol experienced fewer bleeding and thrombotic complications.

“The results reinforced that PTT is not a reliable guide in this population, and that anti-Xa monitoring leads to better outcomes,” says Dr. Phillips.

Dr. Phillips has presented her research at several national and international meetings, including the 2025 Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) meeting in Honolulu, EuroELSO in Poland, and the 2024 Children’s Hospital’s Neonatal Consortium (CHNC) meeting in Denver.

Long-Term Vision

While she is not currently in a formal administrative role, Dr. Phillips is in early discussions about pursuing future leadership opportunities in neonatal transport medicine, an area where she has already gained significant experience during her residency and fellowship training at UPMC.

She is also continuing her research with Dr. Mahmood and staying closely involved in the clinical ECMO program.

“I’m very excited to be staying at UPMC as an attending,” says Dr. Phillips. “I’ve built strong relationships across the system and I’m looking forward to continuing those collaborations. Having spent six years training within UPMC, I think there’s real value in the continuity. I know the people. I know the system. That makes collaboration and continuity of care a lot easier.”