Louis Gluck (1924–1997) was an American

neonatologist Neonatology is a subspecialty of pediatrics that consists of the medical care of newborn infants, especially the ill or premature newborn. It is a hospital-based specialty, and is usually practised in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The ...

who made many important contributions to the care of

newborn An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

s, and who is considered "the father of neonatology."

Career overview

Gluck designed the modern neonatal intensive care unit (NICU); developed protocols which reduced spread of serious

bacterial infection Pathogenic bacteria are bacteria that can cause disease. This article focuses on the bacteria that are pathogenic to humans. Most species of bacteria are harmless and are often beneficial but others can cause infectious diseases. The number ...

s in newborns; and developed a laboratory test, called the L/S ratio, which accurately predicted the chance that a newborn would develop

infant respiratory distress syndrome Infantile respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS), also called respiratory distress syndrome of newborn, or increasingly surfactant deficiency disorder (SDD), and previously called hyaline membrane disease (HMD), is a syndrome in premature infants ...

. He received over 35 national and international awards for his work in the field of neonatology. He is a member of the

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

Hall of Distinguished Alumni.

References

American neonatologists 1924 births 1997 deaths {{US-physician-stub