Lara Leijser, MD, MSc, PhD

Dr. Lara Leijser, MD PhD MSc, Neonatologist, is a clinician-scientist in Neonatology and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Calgary, with clinical and research expertise in neonatal neurology, neuro-imaging and child development. After completing a PhD on ‘Imaging the preterm infant’s brain’ (The Netherlands and United Kingdom) and residency training in Pediatrics, Dr. Leijser graduated from Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine and Neonatal Neurology fellowship programs in Utrecht (The Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital, The Netherlands) and Toronto (The Hospital for Sick Children, Canada), respectively. She joined the Calgary section of Neonatology at the end of 2018.

Dr. Leijser provides clinical care in three Neonatal Intensive Care Units across Calgary (level II-IV) and is a consultant on the Calgary Newborn Neuro-Intensive Critical Care team, striving for excellence in neuroprotective care. Her research program focuses on advancing the understanding of preterm brain injury and development and the relation with long-term neurodevelopmental and behavioral outcomes. Through the use of multi-modality neuro-monitoring and imaging and the identification of early clinical and biochemical prediction markers, Dr. Leijser’s multidisciplinary research team aims to inform new neuroprotective strategies to improve brain health and functioning of preterm infants across the lifespan. To date, her work has resulted in multiple peer-reviewed publications, book chapters and UpToDate sections, and has provided the evidence for clinical care advances that are improving preterm outcomes. Dr. Leijser is a lecturer on international courses on neonatal cranial ultrasound and regularly invited speaker on neonatal neuro-imaging and the management of post-hemorrhagic ventricular dilatation (PHVD). In addition, she is the chair of a Canadian task force (Canadian Neonatal Network – Brain Health Group) to standardize management and outcomes for preterm infants with PHVD across Canada, and serves on the international Newborn Brain Society Guidelines and Publications Committee.