Krystle Perez, MD, MPH

Dr. Krystle Perez is a passionate neonatologist affiliated with the University of Washington (UW) and Seattle Children’s Hospital, where she is well-regarded as an Associate Program Director of the Pediatric Residency Program and as lead of the UW Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD) team. She is a dedicated core member of the Washington State Perinatal Collaborative and valued by leaders in the Washington State Department of Health as a member. Driven by a profound commitment to justice in health and compassionate, evidence-based care, Dr. Perez has led statewide advocacy efforts—most notably her instrumental role in the drafting and passage of Washington State’s donor milk legislation (RCW 48.43.815), ensuring inpatient insurance coverage for medically necessary donor human milk to support goals of exclusive human milk diets by many families across the state. Her work also spans statewide initiatives to address Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders and addressing systematic barriers to lactation support.  Beyond state advocacy, Dr. Perez’s research portfolio also illustrates her commitment to research, quality improvement and clinical innovation. Most recently, she has co-authored several publications which explore the influence of early nutrition, weight and fluid management on later outcomes among premature newborns. She is actively exploring these associations both in the United States and in Ethiopia, acknowledging the severe limitations in resources and how that may affect outcomes. Stemming from her earlier work examining sildenafil use and BPD in the NICU, Dr. Perez is also active with ongoing development of the UW BPD Team program with data collection ongoing to better inform institutional practices and guidelines to prevent BPD, treat BPD, and support families whose infant(s) have BPD in the inpatient to outpatient transition. Her commitment to patients with BPD and their families is evidenced by recent invitations to speak about BPD management at the Pacific Northwest Association of Neonatal Nursing. Her international collaborations in Nicaragua, Ethiopia, and other low-resource settings have advanced newborn care delivery and highlighted additional social factors influencing maternal–infant outcomes. Additionally, she continues in her efforts to foster important innovations to care for newborns in low resource settings, mentoring several engineering students.    Together, her research and advocacy endeavors underscore Dr. Perez’s mission: to foster healthier beginnings for all newborns and their families—locally and globally.