Neelam Kler is an Indian neonatologist, known for her pioneering work on neonatal intensive care and ventilation. She is credited with developing neonatal care to better the survival rate of extremely tiny preterm babies (less than 1000 grams) to 90 percent. The Government of India honoured her with the third-highest civilian award, Padmabhushan, in 2014, for her services to the fields of medicine and

neonatology 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). Th ...

Biography

Neelam Kler was born in Srinagar, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India and had her schooling in the Presentation Convent School in Srinagar. Opting for the medical profession, she obtained a master's degree in

Paediatrics Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...

from the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, (PIGMER) Chandigarh and continued there for further training in neonatology. Later, she went to Copenhagen, Denmark, on a fellowship in neonatology from the Copenhagen University for advanced studies on the subject.

Professional career

After returning from Copenhagen, Kler started her professional career in India by joining Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, on 31 May 1988. During a career spanning 26 years, Kler launched the department of neonatology at the hospital, presently holding the position of the Chairperson. She has also worked as a visiting consultant at King Fahd University Hospital, Gizan, Saudi Arabia and as a fellow in neonatology at the Milwaukee Children Hospital,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, USA. Presently she holds the following offices: * President of the National Neonatology Forum. * Advisor on CNAG (Cell of Nutrition Advisory Group) on line service on Nutrition queries. * Editor -Journal of Neonatology'' a quarterly journal published by National Neonatology Forum. * Organising Chairperson of FAOPS (Federation of Asia and Oceania Perinatal Societies) 2010 * Member –

WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...

Expert Committee on prevention of birth defects in South East Asia. * Master trainer,

American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is the largest professional association of pediatricians in the United States. It is headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, and maintains an office in Washington, D.C. The AAP has published hundreds of poli ...

– Baby's Breath assistance. * Member – ''Global Neonatal Nutrition Consensus Group'' for the development of international guidelines on feeding the preterm infants She has, at various points, collaborated with

United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children ...

, and

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

, on various matters related to neonatological care. She is also a panel member of the ''Newborn and child health strategy'' of the

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) is an Government of India, Indian government Ministry (government department), ministry charged with health policy in India. It is also responsible for all government programs relating to family ...

. On the social front, Dr. Kler chairs the ''Health Care'' a
ALL Ladies League

Legacy

Neelam Kler is known for the development of neonatal care, especially the care of preterm babies, is considered a pioneer in

intensive care Intensive care medicine, usually called critical care medicine, is a medical specialty that deals with seriously or critically ill patients who have, are at risk of, or are recovering from conditions that may be life-threatening. It includes p ...

and

ventilation Ventilation may refer to: * Ventilation (physiology), the movement of air between the environment and the lungs via inhalation and exhalation ** Mechanical ventilation, in medicine, using artificial methods to assist breathing *** Respirator, a ma ...

. She is credited with developing the department of neonatology at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi to a state of the art facility with modern high frequency ventilation with

Nitric Oxide Nitric oxide (nitrogen oxide, nitrogen monooxide, or nitrogen monoxide) is a colorless gas with the formula . It is one of the principal oxides of nitrogen. Nitric oxide is a free radical: it has an unpaired electron, which is sometimes den ...

delivery and bedside cerebral function monitoring. Statistical data has shown that, under Dr. Kler, the survival rate of preterm babies, weighing less than 1000 grams, have improved to 90 per cent and the infection rate was brought down to 9.8 per 1000 inpatients. She has also contributed in initiating a three-year doctoral program in neonatology by the National Board of Examinations.

Awards and recognitions

* Padmabhushan – 2014 – the sole recipient for ''medicine category'' to be awarded in 2014.

Publications

Neelam Kler has published several articles in national and international books on paediatrics, some of them are: * ''Meconium Aspiration Syndrome (MAS)'', in collaboration with Pankaj Garg, in ''Recent Advances in Paediatrics'' * ''Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder in Late Preterm and Term infants with Severe Jaundice'' with Satish Saluja, Asha Agarwal and Sanjiv Amin * ''Chapter 011 Follow-up of Preterm Baby'' with Anita Singh * ''Chapter-004 Parenteral Nutrition in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit'' with Choudhury Vivek and Navin Gupta * ''Chapter-62 Neonatal Transport'' with Sony Arun and Navin Gupta * ''Chapter-005 Parenteral Nutrition in Newborn'' with Sony Arun * ''Chapter-64 Neonatal Respiratory Disorders'' with Sony Arun and Satish Saluja * ''Selected Macro/Micronutrient Needs of the Routine Preterm Infant'' with Jatinder Bhatia, Ian Griffin, Diane Anderson and Magnus Domelleof

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kler, Neelam Living people Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in medicine People from Srinagar Indian neonatologists Family and parenting writers Child care Medical doctors from Jammu and Kashmir 20th-century Indian women scientists 20th-century Indian medical doctors Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Indian women medical doctors