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Michel Mikhael

Michel Mikhael

•Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of California Irvine (UCI)
•Medical Director, CHOC Small Baby Unit

Biography

Michel Mikhael, M.D., FAAP, is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California Irvine and Medical Director of the CHOC Small Baby Unit at Children's Hospital of Orange County. He received his M.B., B.Ch. from Cairo University School of Medicine and completed his fellowship training in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Mikhael is co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Nicolette Inc., a healthcare information technology company, and holds a patent for a portable device for visualizing data from medical monitoring equipment.

Mikhael's research focuses on bronchopulmonary dysplasia, neonatal sepsis, and the application of machine learning algorithms to predict clinical outcomes in preterm infants. He has published over 25 peer-reviewed articles in journals including Pediatrics, Journal of Perinatology, and Pediatric Pulmonology. His work on birth tourism and neonatal intensive care was featured in the American Academy of Pediatrics press release and multiple media outlets. He serves as local principal investigator for the Tiny Baby Collaborative and co-investigator on studies examining machine learning applications in neonatal care.

Mikhael has held multiple leadership positions within the California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative, serving as Chair of the Data Interface and Opportunities Committee from 2022 to 2024. He previously served as Associate Program Director and CHOC Site Director for the UCI Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Program and has been Site Sponsor for the Children's Hospitals Neonatal Consortium since 2017. He is a member of the Society for Pediatric Research and serves as an ad hoc reviewer for multiple journals including Pediatrics, Journal of Perinatology, and The Journal of Pediatrics.

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Education

  • M.B., B.Ch. in Medicine and Surgery, Cairo University School of Medicine, 2002
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Distinctions

  • Best Presentation, Children's Hospitals Neonatal Consortium Symposium, 2018-2019
  • Fellow, American Academy of Pediatrics (FAAP), 2012
  • The Sassine Rahi Award for Excellence in Neonatology, 2009
  • Orange County Medical Association Physicians of Excellence Award, 2018
  • Honor Degree of Excellence, 2003
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Areas of Expertise

  • Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
  • Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Prevention
  • Early Onset Sepsis Diagnosis
  • Necrotizing Enterocolitis Management
  • Machine Learning Predictive Models
  • Quality Improvement Initiatives
  • Extremely Preterm Infant Outcomes

Recent Publications

  • Gates Q, Ehwerhemuepha L, Janardhan S, Joshi R, Mikhael M, “Early Prediction of Mechanical Ventilation Needs in Very Preterm Neonates Using Machine Learning”, Pediatr Pulmonol, 2025.
  • Adiletta N, Denslow A, Martinez R, Walti B, Fridolfsson P, Rockey J, Tirol D 3rd, Kierulff K, Bhakta KY, Mikhael M, “Finding treasure in the journey: a single center quality improvement bundle to reduce bronchopulmonary dysplasia”, J Perinatol, 2024.
  • Moroze M, Morphew T, Sayrs LW, Eghbal A, Holmes W, Shafer G, Mikhael M, “Blood absolute monocyte count trends in preterm infants with suspected necrotizing enterocolitis: an adjunct tool for diagnosis?”, J Perinatol, 2024.
  • House M, Lagoski M, DiGeronimo R, Eldredge LC, Manimtim W, Baker CD, Coghill C, Fernandes CJ, Griffiths P, Ibrahim J, Kielt MJ, Lagatta J, Machry JS, Mikhael M, Vyas-Read S, Weems MF, Yallapragada SG, Murthy K, Nelin LD, “Interdisciplinary clinical bronchopulmonary dysplasia programs: development, evolution, and maturation”, J Perinatol, 2024.
  • Bhandari V, Black R, Gandhi B, Hogue S, Kakkilaya V, Mikhael M, Moya F, Pezzano C, Read P, Roberts KD, Ryan RM, Stanford RH, Wright CJ, “RDS-NExT Workshop: Consensus Statements for the Use of Surfactant in Preterm Neonates with RDS”, J Perinatol, 2023.
  • Moreno T, Ehwerhemuepha L, Devin J, Feaster W, Mikhael M, “Birthweight and Gestational Age as Modifiers of Rehospitalization after NICU Admission”, Am J Perinatol, 2023.
  • Shafer GJ, Abdenur J, Dhar V, Mikhael M, “Misdiagnosis of Total Parental Nutrition-Related Riboflavin Deficiency: Three Case Reports of Diagnostic Error”, AJP Rep, 2023.
  • The American Academy of Pediatrics NPC-19 Registry Investigators, “Maternal and Newborn Hospital Outcomes of Perinatal SARS-CoV-2 Infection: A National Registry”, Pediatrics, 2023.
  • Yao W, Jensen I, Claussen M, Dandurand K, Buffington B, Fuentes D, Mikhael M, “Health Economics of Selective Early Rescue Surfactant Administration and Standard Surfactant Administration for Newborns with Respiratory Distress Syndrome”, J Pediatr Pharmacol Ther, 2022.
  • Devin J, Marano R, Mikhael M, Feaster W, Sanger T, Ehwerhemuepha L, “Epidemiology of Neonatal COVID-19 in the United States”, Pediatrics, 2022.
  • Chang B, Keating S, Mikhael M, Lim J, “Osteogenesis Imperfecta: Multidisciplinary and Goal Centered Care”, AJP Rep, 2022.
  • Beltran C, Boyer M, Denslow A, Mikhael M, Abdenur J, “Riboflavin Deficiency Due to Vitamin Shortage in Neonates with Parenteral Nutrition Dependence”, Molecular Genetics and Metabolism, 2022.
  • Mikhael M, Cleary J, Zaniletti I, Truog W, Ibrahim J, DiGeronimo R, Cuna A, Kielt M, Coghill C, Vyas S, Yallapragada S, Engle W, Savani R, Murthy K, Lagatta J, “Chronic Lung Disease in Full-Term Infants: Characteristics and Neonatal Intensive Care Outcomes in Infants Referred to Children's Hospitals”, Pediatr Pulmonol, 2022.
  • Pham B, Denslow A, Mikhael M, Lim J, “A Case of an Extremely Low Birth Weight Infant with Morganella morganii Bacteremia and Peritonitis”, AJP Rep, 2021.
  • Cuna A, Lagatta J, Savani R, Vyas S, Engle W, Rose R, DiGeronimo R, Logan J, Mikhael M, Girija Natarajan G, Truog W, Kielt M, Murthy K, Zaniletti I, Lewis T, “Association of Time of First Corticosteroid Treatment with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia in Preterm Infants”, Pediatr Pulmonol, 2021.
  • Vyas S, Logan J, Cuna A, Machry J, Leeman K, Rose R, Mikhael M, Wymore E, Ibrahim J, R DiGeronimo, Yallapragada S, Haberman B, Padula M, Porta N, Murthy K, Nelin L, Coghill C, Zaniletti I, Savani R, Truog W, et al., “A Comparison of Newer Classifications of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia: Findings from the Children's Hospitals Neonatal Consortium Severe BPD Group”, J Perinatol, 2021.
  • Kurihara C, Zhang L, Mikhael M, “Newer Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Definitions and Prediction of Health Economics Impacts in Very Preterm Infants”, Pediatr Pulmonol, 2020.
  • Lim J, Sun W, Zhang L, Mikhael M, “Birth Tourism is Associated with Fewer Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Admissions: a Healthy Migrant Effect?”, Am J Perinatol, 2020.
  • Curran M, Mikhael M, Sun W, Lim J, Leung A, Morchi G, Chmait R, “Perinatal Management of Bart's Hemoglobinopathy: Paradoxical Effects of Intrauterine, Transplacental, and Partial Exchange Transfusions”, AJP Rep, 2020.
  • Mikhael M, Bronson C, Zhang L, Curran M, Rodriguez H, Bhakta KY, “Lack of Evidence for Time or Dose Relationship between Antenatal Magnesium Sulfate and Intestinal Injury in Extremely Preterm Neonates”, Neonatology, 2019.
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Contact Information

Email: mikhaem1@uci.edu

Phone: (714) 509-4373

Address: 1201 W. LaVeta Ave., Orange, CA 92868

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This profile was created with the help of AI.

Last updated on 3/24/2026.