We are saddened to report that our friend and colleague Dr. Ira Gewolb passed away on October 20, 2021.
Dr. Gewolb was an internationally recognized leader in the field of neonatology and served as a tenured Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Human Development in the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University and Chief of the Division of Neonatology from 2004 until his retirement in 2019.
Ira earned his B.S. in biology summa cum laude at Yale University, trained in Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital then returned to Yale for his neonatology fellowship. Before coming to MSU, Dr. Gewolb had been an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Director of Newborn Services at Jacobi Hospital. Ira was a member of the American Pediatric Society and the Society for Pediatric Research and had served as President of the Eastern Society for Pediatric Research. Dr. Gewolb received many national awards during his career, including the Basil O’Connor Award from the March of Dimes and the Young Investigator Award from the New England Perinatal Society.
At MSU and in the Regional Newborn Intensive Care Unit at Sparrow Hospital, Ira was a tireless advocate for the wellbeing of newborns. Dr. Gewolb’s legacy will live on in the hundreds of medical students, pediatric residents and neonatology fellows he trained.
Thank you, Ira.
- B. Keith English, MD, Professor and Chair