The Legends of Neonatology Award recognizes an extraordinary clinician who has dedicated his or her life to improving the care and outcomes of our smallest patients.
Dr. Timothy Biela NEO Conference Course Director
Legends of Neonatology
The Legends of Neonatology Hall of Fame was established to celebrate the remarkable individuals — the “legends” — whose clinical contributions have helped forge new ground in neonatal medicine.
2026 Awardee
Waldemar Carlo, M.D.
Edwin M. Dixon Endowed Chair in Neonatology, Professor
The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Dr. Carlo’s main research interest is in clinical research, including the design, implementation, data analysis and reporting of neonatal and childhood studies conducted in developing countries and the United States. These include single-center trials and multicenter trials such as the First Breath Trial, the BRAIN-HIT Trial and the SUPPORT Trial. Dr. Carlo leads the UAB sites of the NIH-funded networks, including the Global Network for Women’s and Children’s Health Research and the Neonatal Research Network. He has successfully implemented two large-scale multicenter studies in six developing countries, enrolling over 190,000 babies and resulting in a large and significant reduction in neonatal and perinatal mortality. He developed innovative devices, including a high-frequency ventilator, a flow interrupter for pulmonary function testing and a low-cost oxygen air blender. Dr. Carlo is focused on reducing mortality and major morbidities during early childhood in the US and NIH-funded developing countries.
Previous Honorees
2025
David Stevenson M.D.
2024
Wanda D. Barfield, M.D., MPH
2023
Barbara Schmidt, M.D.
2022
Jeffrey B. Gould, M.D., MPH
2021
Robert D. Christensen, M.D.
2020
Vermont Oxford Network
2019
Reese Clark, M.D.
2018
Eduardo Bancalari, M.D.
Richard J. Martin, M.D.
2017
Alan H. Jobe, M.D., Ph.D.
Richard Polin, M.D.
2016
Vinod Bhutani, M.D.
Ronald Bloom, M.D.
Catherine Cropley, R.N.
Dharmapuri Vidyasagar, M.D.
2015
John Kattwinkel, M.D.
Philip Sunshine, M.D.
2014
Frederick Battaglia, M.D.
Joseph Volpe, M.D.
Alan Spitzer, M.D.
2013
Lilly Dubowitz, M.D., MRCP, FRCP
M. Jeffrey Maisels, M.B., BCh, DSc
Jen-Tien Wung, M.D., FCCM
2012
William Oh, M.D.
Abraham Rudolph, M.D.
2011
Forrest Bird, M.D., Ph.D., Sc.D.
Stanley Dudrick, M.D.
2010
John Clements, M.D.
George Gregory, M.D.
2009
Robert Bartlett, M.D., FACS
William Norwood, M.D.
2008
Marshall Klaus, M.D.
Jerold Lucey, M.D.
Avroy Fanaroff, M.D.
2007
Mary Ellen Avery, M.D.
Lucille Ann Papile, M.D.
Virginia Apgar, M.D.
Maria Delivoria-Papadopoulos, M.D.
Mildred Stahlman, M.D.