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412-641-1834 Phone
412-641-5313 Fax

Jon Watchko, MD

Job Title Professor of Pediatrics and of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Job Title Senior Scientist, Magee-Womens Research Institute, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
UPMC Newborn Medicine Program
300 Halket St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412-641-1834 Phone
412-641-5313 Fax
Email jwatchko@mail.magee.edu
Patient Appointment Information

Education and Training

Medical School:

1980 University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA
 

Residency:

1983 Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse, NY
 

Fellowship:

1986 University of Washington, Seattle, WA
 

Memberships

  • American Pediatric Society
  • Perinatal Research Society
  • Midwest Society for Pediatric Research
  • Society for Pediatric Research
  • American Physiological Society

Board Certifications

  • American Board of Pediatrics, Neonatal Perinatal Medicine
  • American Board of Pediatrics, Pediatrics
  • National Board of Medical Examiners, Diplomat

Awards

  • 2011 Honored as the 2011 Medical Honoree by the March of Dimes in appreciation of research and clinical work during the last 25 years to enhance the care of newborns

Publications

  • Watchko JF. Kernicterus and the molecular mechanisms of bilirubin-induced CNS injury in newborns. Neuromolecular Med. 2006;8(4):513-29.
  • Watchko JF, Lin Z, Clark RH, et al. The complex multifactorial nature of significant hyperbilirubinemia in neonates. Pediatrics 124:e868-e877, 2009.
  • Daood MJ, McDonagh AF, Watchko JF. Calculated free bilirubin levels and neurotoxicity. J Perinatol  29:S14-S19, 2009.
  • Watchko JF, Lin Z. Exploring the genetic architecture of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Semin Fetal Neonatal Med (in press), 2010.

    View Dr. Watchko's full list of publications from PubMed.

Biography Summary

Jon Watchko, MD, is a member of the UPMC Newborn Medicine Program at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and Magee-Womens Hospital. Until November 2004, he was chief of the division. He is a Professor of Pediatrics and of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. In addition, Dr. Watchko is a senior scientist at the Magee-Womens Research Institute.

Dr. Watchko earned his medical degree at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He completed his residency in pediatrics at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, N.Y., and his fellowship at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Dr. Watchko’s laboratory studies the mechanisms of bilirubin-induced brain injury, novel pharmacologic neuroprotective strategies to prevent kernicterus, and the genetics of neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.  His laboratory also serves as a physiology core for the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Research Center of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

 

Active Research Projects / Grants

  • NIH RO1: Neonatal Bilirubin Neurotoxicity and P-glycoprotein (principal investigator)
  • NIH: AAV Mini-ddystrophin Vectors for DMD Gene Therapy (co-investigator)
  • Department of Defense: Advanced Technology Based on Adult-Derived Muscle Stem Cells to Enhance Muscle Regeneration and Repair (co-investigator)
Last Update
November 22, 2011
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Last Update
November 22, 2011
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