Professional interests
Ola Didrik Saugstad is a Norwegian pediatrician and neonatologist, who is internationally recognized for his research on resuscitation of newborn children. Since 1991, he has been Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Oslo and Director of the Department of Pediatric Research at the National Hospital.
He is a "world renowned expert in neonatal medicine", particularly on hypoxia and purine metabolism, hypoxia-reoxygenation injury, the effect and mechanisms of oxygen radicals in the neonatal period, mechanisms of lung injury and newborn resuscitation. In 2010, international guidelines for newborn resuscitation were amended, based on the research of Saugstad and his colleagues, to recommend the use of air in place of pure oxygen, a discovery that is estimated to save the lives of 200,000 newborn children each year.
Career
- 2010 - major discovery of the dangers of using 100% oxygen, resulting in the amendment of the international guidelines for newborn resuscitation in 2010 based on the research of Saugstad and his team. It is estimated that his discovery can save the lives of 200,000 children each year.
- 2002 - 2004 - President of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine
- 2001 - 2004 - a board member of the International Pediatric Foundation
- 1991 - Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Oslo and Director of the Department of Pediatric Research at the National Hospital
- 1987 - 1990 - a board member of the European Society of Pediatric Research
- 1986 - appointed consultant in newborn medicine
- late 1980s - sammen med Rooth published a seminal article questioning the use of 100% oxygen in the resuscitation of newborn children
- 1973 - Saugstad graduated with the cand. med. degree the University of Oslo and worked as a research fellow at Uppsala University Hospital and The National Hospital in Norway
- the first to demonstrate that oxygenation after a period of asphyxia could result in an explosive increase in oxygen radicals
Awards and Recognitions
- 2014 - Honorary doctorate, University of Athens, Honorary Professor, Moscow State University
- 2012 - SalusAnsvar Nordic Medical Award
- 2011 - Honorary member of the American Pediatric Society, Märta Philipson AwardAmerican Academy of Pediatrics Landmark Award, TheBjørnson Prize
- 2010 - Knight First Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, for Progress in Pediatrics (University of Stockholm)
- 2007 - The Human Protection Award (Livsvernprisen)
- 2006 - Honorary member of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine
- 2005 - Honorary member of the Finnish Perinatal Society
- 2001 - Honorary member of the Norwegian Perinatal Society, The Virginia Apgar Prize
- 2000 - Honorary member of the Hungarian Paediatric Association
- 1997 - The Arvo Ylppö Medal in Neonatology (University of Helsinki), Fellow, Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh
- 1995 - The Laerdal Award in Acute Medicine (University of Oslo)
- Member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
Education
Ola Didrik provides a general education in Paediatrics for medical students at the University of Oslo. He has held several lectures in pediatrics around the world as Honorary Professor and held more than 300 lectures at all major Conventions.