[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 1431]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING DR. EDMUND FRANCIS LA GAMMA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NITA M. LOWEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 28, 2015

  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. Edmund Francis La 
Gamma for his receipt of the ``Mentor of the Year'' Award from the 
Eastern Society for Pediatric Research in recognition of his 
outstanding contributions to the care and treatment of our most 
vulnerable citizens--our newborns.
  For almost four decades, Dr. La Gamma has committed himself to 
improving our understanding of diseases which affect premature babies 
and advancing their care. He has served as a Professor of Pediatrics, 
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at New York Medical College and 
Director of both the Division of Newborn Medicine and the Neonatal-
Perinatal Fellowship Program at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital. In 
these roles, he has been responsible for the care of infants at over 10 
regional affiliate hospitals which span an area the size of the state 
of Delaware. In that time, he has transformed neonatal intensive care 
at Westchester Medical Center into one of the state's most recognized 
neonatal intensive care units, earning New York's highest designation 
of care and national admiration.
  In addition, his work as a scientist has contributed greatly to the 
field of neonatology. Working with some of the most prominent doctors 
in his field, Dr. La Gamma has expanded our understanding of neonatal 
development and improved our ability to treat deadly diseases in 
newborn infants. Moreover, throughout his career he has remained 
focused on ensuring his research be shared with the scientific 
community to advance neonatal care, and has published over 150 peer-
reviewed research articles, including 25 book chapters. From this work, 
neonatologists across the country have benefitted from his insights on 
caring for premature and critically-ill newborns.
  As head of one of the largest neonatal fellowship programs in the 
nation, he has helped shape the future of pediatric and neonatology 
through his mentorship of students, junior pediatricians, junior 
neonatologists and academic faculty. He has directly mentored almost 
100 fellows in his career, and he has also shared his knowledge in 
hundreds of invited lectures around the world.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Dr. La Gamma for his lifelong 
dedication to newborn health, his over 15 years of dedication to 
neonatal intensive care in my district, New York State, and the nation. 
I urge my colleagues to join me in congratulating him for his well-
deserved ``Mentor of the Year'' award, and applaud his tremendous 
accomplishments.

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