Paul earns national award for work on behalf of infants and their families

A Penn State Health pediatrician and researcher has earned national recognition for his contributions to the health of infants, mothers, children and others.

The Maternal and Child Health Bureau has presented Dr. Ian Paul with its 2019 Director’s Award. The bureau is part of the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.

Dr. Sarah Iriana, acting chair of pediatrics at Penn State Children’s Hospital, nominated Paul for the award, praising him as “driven to find solutions to common problems facing infants and their families.”

Paul has received funding for a range of research, including studies testing interventions to prevent childhood obesity, those examining methods to improve post-hospital care for newborns and mothers, and those designed to support breastfeeding mothers and their infants. That work includes research used to inform the Newborn Weight Tool (NEWT), which Paul led. NEWT is now in clinical use worldwide.

The National Institutes of Health have funded Paul’s research throughout his 18-year career at Penn State College of Medicine, and he has received grants from several other federal agencies during that time.