Esther Speer, MD

Dr. Speer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology at Sony Brook University. She is a board-certified neonatologist with expertise in treating health problems of term and preterm newborn babies. Transitioning to life in the outside world can be problematic for some newborns and can impact the future health and well-being of your baby and the entire family as well. Neonatologists, like Dr. Speer and her colleagues, are specifically trained to prevent, support, and treat your newborn during this precious transition, to give you and your baby the best possible start of life. The ability of the immune system to fight infections is underdeveloped at the time of birth, putting term and preterm newborns at high risk for severe bacterial infections and organ injury caused by these infections. 

Dr. Speer is particularly interested in the treatment of bacterial infections in term and preterm newborns and the protection of the babies’ organs from such infections. She conducts laboratory and clinical research to better understand how infections in newborns can lead to injury of the brain, kidney, and other organs. Through her studies, she aims to develop novel therapies that may help to prevent or ameliorate infection-induced organ injury among term and preterm newborns.

Role of single nucleotide polymorphisms of cytokine genes in spontaneous preterm delivery. Speer EM, Gentile DA, Zeevi A, Pillage G, Huo D, Skoner DP; Human immunology, 2006 Nov