Pediatric Neonatal Continuing Care Program Neonatal Medicine

Department: Department of Pediatrics

Karen D. Hendricks-Muñoz, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.P. was  selected as this year’s award recipient from a field of 11 outstanding nominations. Her success as a physician, leader, mentor, teacher, and scholar make it difficult to adequately portray her career in a few short paragraphs, but we hope to capture the highlights.

Dr. Hendricks-Muñoz received her medical degree and masters of public health from Yale University Schools of Medicine and Public Health, respectively. She completed her residency at Yale and a neonatal-perinatal fellowship at the University of Rochester. In 1990, Dr. Hendricks-Muñoz became Chief of the Neonatology Division at New York University (NYU) prior to being recruited in 2012 to serve at VCU as the Inaugural William Tate Graham Professor of Neonatal Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital of Richmond (CHoR). Over the ensuing decade, Dr. Hendricks-Muñoz’s academic appointments included Professor with Tenure (Pediatrics, Division of Neonatal Medicine and Obstetrics and Gynecology); Training Program Director, Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine; Deputy Director and Interim Executive Director, VCU Center on Health Disparities; Interim Chair, Department of Pediatrics; and Interim Division Chair, Division of Gastroenterology.

Dr. Hendricks-Muñoz is known to be passionate about providing care to underserved populations. She founded and directs the Neonatal Continuing Care Follow-up Program at CHoR, created to assure access to needed health care for high risk infants. She also founded and directs the JACKS Neonatology Summer Scholars Program for undergraduate and medical students to work with NICU fellows and staff on quality improvement projects. Dr. Hendricks-Muñoz directs the CHoR neonatology fellowship training program, with many trainees subsequently assuming leadership roles at the NIH and in the fields of neonatology and pediatric medicine.

Dr. Hendricks-Muñoz has received countless scientific, clinical and special awards and honors, such as the VCU Presidential Excellence Award and being inducted into the American Pediatric Society, the highest honor in Pediatrics. As an internationally known leader in neonatal medicine, she has been invited to present at several hundred lectures/ symposia across the United States and abroad. Her bibliography includes hundreds of original articles, published abstracts presented at national meetings, book chapters, editorials, and articles. The VCU Center for Health Disparities website succinctly states, Dr. Hendricks-Muñoz “is nationally recognized for her advocacy of maternal-infant skin-to-skin contact, called ‘Kangaroo mother care’ and obtained NIH funding to study the implications of infant stress reduction on early childhood microbiome development.... As a research scientist  she  has  multiple appointments, committee memberships, reviews and advisory activities at the NIH and other national and regional levels.”

While Dr. Hendricks-Muñoz’s professional achievements are extraordinary, her impact on those with whom she interacts is immeasurable. She is known to lead by example with “calm grit and grace” during challenging times. Tiffany Kimbrough, M.D., Associate Professor General Pediatrics and Medical Director Mother Infant Unit, notes that Dr. Hendricks-Muñoz “demonstrates the rare ability of being able to advocate for her convictions while respecting differing opinions and helping groups to develop a shared mental model in order to move forward with singular vision.”

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