Rita Ryan, M.D., became MUSC's new chair of the Department of Pediatrics July 1, coming from the Women & Children's Hospital of Buffalo, State University of New York (SUNY) where she served as chief of the Division of Neonatology, director of the Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program and director of the center for Developmental Biology of the Lung.

Born in Tennessee and raised in the Bronx in New York City, Ryan received her bachelor's degree in mathematical science from The Johns Hopkins University. She completed her medical degree and pediatrics residency from SUNY – Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse and a fellowship in neonatal-perinatal medicine at the University of Cincinnati-Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

She has an extensive research background and is principal investigator of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)-funded Prematurity and Respiratory Outcomes Program and site principal investigator of the NHLBI-funded Trial of Late Surfactant.

What attracted you to MUSC?
Strong pediatric academic program and quality of faculty all on one campus, and the very strong relationship between the hospital and the academic departments.

Dr. Rita Ryan enjoys an artistic moment with Kaylee Edwards, 3.

As chair of the Department of Pediatrics, where do you see MUSC heading?
We have several areas in which we have just recruited faculty, including pediatric hematology-oncology and pediatric endocrinology, and we are planning to recruit in pediatric pulmonology, genetics and child abuse.  We will be recruiting for academic faculty whenever possible. I hope that our department will continue to grow in doing research and continue to have a strong pediatric residency program and fellowship programs in neonatology, pediatric cardiology, general academic pediatrics, rheumatology, developmental-behavioral pediatrics, pediatric emergency medicine and pediatric hematology-oncology.

What research are you excited about?
I am a lung researcher—I am particularly interested in the effects of high oxygen levels and how this can hurt the lung and lead to a disease called bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a chronic lung disease of premature babies.  I am also interested in some of the research done in our department that involves how to protect the neonatal brain from injury, and what are the effects of a low vitamin D level in pregnant mothers. There are some really terrific MUSC research projects about which I am learning, both within and outside of the Department of Pediatrics, and I look forward to hearing about every one.

As the mother of three, how do you balance your professional and personal life?
I have a wonderful spouse and that really helps. This year is especially hard for me because my family has remained in the Buffalo area due to my middle child, Conor, 17, being a rising senior. My daughter Brenna, 15, will be a high school sophomore. My oldest, Liam, 19, is coming to visit so I am very much looking forward to that.

Ryan with her family: Brenna, Liam, husband Gary and Conor Sleggs.

What are your proudest accomplishments?
Well what self-respecting pediatrician wouldn't answer this way: my three children, of course. But if you mean professionally, I would have to say developing a strong neonatal resuscitation research group in Buffalo, very much a collaborative effort, but something that is really making a contribution to how we think about neonatal resuscitation. Any time any one of my former fellows or faculty has a success, that is something about which I feel very good.

Do you have a favorite anecdote that captures a moment for you - where you felt you really were making a difference? 
There is nothing more fun for a neonatologist than going to the "DR" (the delivery room), seeing a baby who is not breathing, or having some kind of problem, and intervening to help them breathe better.

My biggest clinical successes have probably been later on in my career, playing more of an overseer role as the attending physician-neonatologist and seeing a more long-term treatment work for a baby. I remember a baby from many years ago whose lungs had been hurt from our ventilators, and oxygen, and from just being so premature, and because this baby had had so many periods of hypoxia, or low oxygen, the previous team was thinking of just letting go and not really aggressively trying to continue intensive care. So I looked at the baby and she seemed normal from a neurologic, or brain, standpoint. I got an EEG, a brain wave test, which was normal, and she had not had any bleeding in the brain problems so common in premature infants, so I did not think we should not be aggressive just because of bad lungs.

The lung has an amazing ability to repair itself, if given enough time. She ultimately had a tracheostomy for home ventilation, and I lost track of her until my pediatric pulmonary colleague showed me a series of Christmas cards from her family – all grown up and doing OK (getting a little extra help in school). There was a similar situation in which another little baby girl, ex-premie with bad lungs, was thought to be beyond saving who I started to care for and who also made it and walked back into the unit at 18 months of age, quite short but otherwise doing pretty well. Patients like these two reinforce that hope is an important part of being a clinician.

What are your hobbies?
I play the guitar, read.

What's your favorite quote or mantra in life?
"Once I was sad because I had no shoes, then I met a man who had no feet."