Andrew G. L. Whitelaw

Andrew G. L. Whitelaw (born 31 August 1946) is a British neonatologist and academic, known for his work on treating conditions affecting newborn babies. He holds the position of Emeritus Professor at Bristol Medical School, associated with Bristol Neuroscience.

Whitelaw is a member of the Royal College of Physicians and a Fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. He also served as the president of the Neonatal Society.

Whitelaw research has over 15,553 citations across 9,919 documents. Additionally, his h-index stands at 61.

Early life
Whitelaw was born in West Fife, Scotland to Robert and Cicely Whitelaw.

Whitelaw received early education at Commercial Primary School.

Intraventricular Haemorrhage (IVH) and Hydrocephalus in Premature Babies
One of Whitelaw's notable findings is the efficacy of ventricular lavage in reducing brain injury and disability in post-haemorrhagic hydrocephalus. Ventricular lavage removes toxic substances, such as free iron and pro-inflammatory cytokines, released by old blood.

Hypoxic-Ischaemic Injury in Full-Term Babies
Whitelaw's research has involved prevention and treatment of hypoxic-ischaemic injury in full-term newborns. He has been one of the pioneers developing and testing cooling by only a few degrees as a therapeutic approach for neonatal hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy. This intervention (therapeutic hypothermia) has been shown to improve the odds of survival without neurological impairment at 18 months of age.

Awards

 * Raymond Horton-Smith Prize for the best medical thesis of the year (1978).
 * President of the Neonatal Society (2006)
 * Elected member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (2016)