Rachel Louise Leon, MD
Neonatologist
Assistant Professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center
- Languages Spoken:
- English
Education and Training
- Medical School
- West Virginia University School of Medicine (2013)
- Residency
- Indiana University School of Medicine (2016), Pediatrics
- Fellowship
- Indiana University School of Medicine (2019), Neonatology
- Graduate School
- West Virginia University School of Medicine (2013)
- Board Certification
- American Board of Pediatrics/Neonatal-Perinatal
Conditions
- Abdominal masses
- Achondroplasia (dwarfism)
- Ambiguous genitalia
- Anencephaly
- Anorectal malformation (imperforate anus or ARM)
- Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs)
- Biliary atresia
- Bladder exstrophy
- Bladder outlet obstruction
- Bowel atresia
- Brachydactyly (symbrachydactyly)
- Chronic lung disease (CLD)
- Cloacal exstrophy
- Colon atresia
- Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH)
- Congenital heart disease
- Congenital infections
- Congenital lung lesions
- Congenital pulmonary airway malformation (CPAM)
- Craniosynostosis
- Cystic fibrosis (CF)
- Cytomegalovirus (CMV)
- Down syndrome
- Duodenal aresia
- Edema
- Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS or elastic skin)
- Encephalocele
- Encephalopathy (encephalitis)
- Enteroviruses
- Esophageal atresia (EA)
- Feeding disorder (PFD)
- First unprovoked seizure
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- Gastroschisis
- Goldenhar syndrome (oculo-auriculo-vertebral dysplasia or OAV)
- Head and neck lumps
- Hemophilia
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Hirschsprung's disease
- Hydrocephalus
- Hydronephrosis
- Hydrops
- Hyperbilirubinemia (jaundice)
- Hypotonia (floppy muscle syndrome)
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (intrapartum asphyxia - HIE)
- Intestinal disorders
- Intraventricular hemorrhage and stroke
- Isolated craniosynostosis
- Jejunal and ileal atresia
- Laryngomalacia
- Lordosis (sway back)
- Low birth weight
- Low blood pressure (hypotension)
- Meconium aspiration
- Mediastinal mass
- Metabolic diseases
- Muscular dystrophy (MD)
- Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC)
- Neonatal diabetes
- Newborn tumors
- Noonan syndrome (NS)
- Omphalocele
- Open neural tube defects (ONTDs)
- Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI)
- Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA)
- Persistent pulmonary hypertension
- Pierre Robin syndrome (PRS)
- Pleural effusion
- Poland syndrome (Poland sequence)
- Prematurity
- Prenatal drug and alcohol exposure
- Pulmonary sequestration
- Pyloric stenosis
- Renal malformation
- Respiratory distress syndrome (RDS)
- Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP)
- Rubella (German measles)
- Sepsis and meningitis
- Short bowel syndrome (SBS)
- Skeletal dysplasias and abnormalities
- Spina bifida
- Syndromic craniosynostosis
- Syphilis
- Tay-Sachs
- Toxoplasmosis
- Tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF)
- VATER syndrome (VACTERL association)
Departments and Programs
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Research Interests
- Connections between neonatal cerebral blood flow/ autoregulation, placental pathology, and brain development.
- Neuroprotection and neurodevelopmental outcomes in neonates with congenital heart disease, stroke, HIE, and prematurity.
- Placental connections to fetal health, and specifically, placental influences on fetal brain development, a new field called neuroplacentology.
- Using advanced magnetic resonance imaging techniques and analysis, she is investigating placental perfusion and oxygenation, and how this vital organ supports fetal brain development.
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Publications
- Interdependence of placenta and fetal cardiac development. Leon RL, Bitar L, Rajagopalan V, Spong CY, Prenat Diagn 2024 Apr
- Postnatal Cerebral Hemodynamics and Placental Vascular Malperfusion Lesions in Neonates With Congenital Heart Disease. Leon RL, Bitar L, Sharma K, Mir IN, Chalak LF, Pediatr Neurol 2024 Apr 156 72-78
- Placental pathology associated with lenticulostriate vasculopathy (LSV) in preterm infants. Sisman J, Leon RL, Payton BW, Brown LS, Mir IN, J Perinatol 2023 May 43 5 568-572
- Practice variations for fetal and neonatal congenital heart disease within the Children's Hospitals Neonatal Consortium. Leon RL, Levy PT, Hu J, Yallpragada SG, Hamrick SEG, Ball MK, Pediatr Res 2022 Sep
- Placental clearance not synthesis tempers exaggerated pro-inflammatory cytokine response in neonates exposed to chorioamnionitis. Mir IN, Uddin N, Liao J, Brown LS, Leon R, Chalak LF, Savani RC, Rosenfeld CR, Pediatr Res 2022 Jun
- Wavelet-based neurovascular coupling can predict brain abnormalities in neonatal encephalopathy. Das Y, Leon RL, Liu H, Kota S, Liu Y, Wang X, Zhang R, Chalak LF, Neuroimage Clin 2021 Oct 32 102856
- Intravoxel incoherent motion MR imaging analysis for diagnosis of placenta accrete spectrum disorders: A pilot feasibility study. León RL, Brown BP, Persohn SA, Norris CD, Steinhardt NP, Lin C, Territo PR, Magn Reson Imaging 2021 Jul 80 26-32
- Neuroplacentology in congenital heart disease: placental connections to neurodevelopmental outcomes. Leon RL, Mir IN, Herrera CL, Sharma K, Spong CY, Twickler DM, Chalak LF, Pediatr Res 2021 Apr
- Therapeutic Hypothermia in Transport Permits Earlier Treatment Regardless of Transfer Distance. Leon RL, Krause KE, Sides RS, Koch MB, Trautman MS, Mietzsch U, Am J Perinatol 2020 Oct
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Professional Activities
- American Academy of Pediatrics (2013)
- American Medical Association (2009)
- Cardiac Neurodevelopment Outcomes Collaborative and Developing Brain SIG (2020)
- Children's Hospitals neonatal Consortium Cardiac Focus Group (2020)
- Conquering CHD (2021)
- International Society for Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism (2020)
- Newborn Brain Society (2021)
- Society for Pediatric Research (2018)
- Texas Pediatric Society (2020)
- Trainees and Early Career Neonatologists, Member (2016)
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Awards and Honors
- Southern Society for Pediatric Research Young Faculty Award (2022)
- UT-FOCUS Award -UT Southwestern Medical Center (2021)
- Nalepa Fellowship Award Finalist - Indiana University Dept. of Pediatrics (2019)
- Joyce Victoria McRobbie Pediatric Fellowship Award - Indiana University Dept. Pediatrics (2017)
- Presentation/Travel Award - E.J. Van Liere Memorial Convocation (2010)
- Scholarship, T32 Behavioral and Biomedical Sciences Training Grant - West Virginia University (2009)
- Travel Award - American Academy of Neurology (2007)
- Beta Beta Beta Biology Honor Society (2005)
- Departmental Honors, Biology Department - Guilford College (2005)
- High Honors, Bachelor of Science Degree - Guilford College (2005)
- Poster Award - Meredith College Undergraduate Research Conference (2005)
- Women in Science Scholarship - GlaxoSmithKline (2003-2005)
- Honors Program Scholarship - Guilford College (2001-2005)