Kristen L. Benninger, MD

Kristen L. Benninger, MD, MSc, is a neonatologist and principal investigator in the Center for Perinatal Research and Ohio Perinatal Research Network at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Dr. Benninger completed her Pediatrics residency and Neonatal-Perinatal medicine fellowship at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Benninger is committed to longitudinal follow-up and improvement of neurodevelopmental outcomes in infants and children affected by prematurity and perinatal brain injury. She is the physician lead of the OPRN BRAIN (Brain Research and Innovation in Neonates) Team, a group of clinical research coordinators and developmental therapists, managing follow-up for more than 15 different studies.

Dr. Benninger's clinical and research interests focus on identifying changes in early brain structure and function resulting from in-utero substance exposure and correlation with later neurodevelopment. Her ultimate goal is to collaborate with caregivers and community stakeholders to design interventions targeting modifiable clinical or environmental factors that promote optimal neurodevelopment in children affected by in-utero substance exposure.