Thomas Diacovo, MD is the Vice Chair of Research and Chief of Neonatology for the Department of Pediatrics at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital. Dr. Diacovo is a graduate of McGill University, completed residency in pediatrics at Texas Children’s Hospital and neonatology and research fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital. He comes to Stony Brook from the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh where he was the Chief of Neonatology, the Director of Neonatal Cardiovascular Research at the Heart Institute.
Dr. Diacovo has received multiple awards for his scientific achievements including the Kenneth M. Brinkhous Young Investigator Prize in Thrombosis (American Heart Institute), Lewis Katz Prize in Cardiovascular Medicine for outstanding basic science research in cardiovascular medicine (Columbia University), NYS Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation Award (NYSTAR), Columbia–Coulter Translational Research Partnership Program Award and most recently the New York Fund for Innovation in Research and Scientific Talent. Dr. Diacovo has also served on several local, national, and international committees aimed at improving healthcare for critically ill neonates. These include the Pediatric Cardiovascular Think Tank sponsored by the Duke University Clinical Research Institute, the International Neonatal Consortium, the Arterial Thromboembolism working group for the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH), as well as the genomics and neonatal cardiovascular focus groups as part of the Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Consortium (CHNC).
Over the past several years, Dr. Diacovo has been PI-, co-PI, or collaborator on the following translation and clinical studies: Rapid whole genomic sequencing on critically-ill NICU patients to identify genetic disorders / conditions that may be amenable to treatment; a phase 2b / 3 trial to the determine the PK / PD and efficacy of apixaban in the treatment of venous thrombosis in neonatal patients; a preclinical trial to determine the value of microfluidic technology in assessing the efficacy of antiplatelet / anticoagulant therapies in neonatal cardiac patients; a lab based research project aimed at elucidating the mechanism of action and potential clinical efficacy of a novel platelet substitute; and a phase I clinical to the determine the PK / PD of the P2Y12 inhibitor cangrelor in post-operative patients requiring a systemic to pulmonary artery shunt.
