Patrick Gallagher, MD

Patrick Gallagher, MD, is the director of the Center for Perinatal Research in the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital and Professor of Pediatrics, Physiology and Cell Biology at Ohio State University. Dr. Gallagher’s research is focused on numerous fields of medicine, including perinatology, neonatology, genetics and hematology. His unique combination of experience and expertise benefits our patients and families here and throughout the world. Genetics of inherited blood disorders, especially those presenting in the fetus and newborn, have played a major role in Dr. Gallagher’s research and clinical interests. His work has identified several novel genetic mechanisms of human disease, serving as paradigms to better understand other inherited diseases. Using complex genetic and molecular biology techniques, he identified the cause of severe recessive hereditary spherocytosis, a type of severe anemia, which led to better diagnosis and treatment of these patients. Genomics work from Dr. Gallagher’s group has provided many insights into developmental erythropoiesis.

Dr. Gallagher is an active member of the Section of Neonatal/Perinatal Medicine American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Society of Hematology. He frequently serves on and chairs grant review panels including those for the National Institute of Health. Dr. Gallagher is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Perinatology, the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Neonatal Perinatal Medicine. He is a member of the editorial boards for several journals, including the American Journal of Hematology and Blood Cells, Molecules, and Diseases. He served on the Editorial Board of Blood and the Journal of Biological Chemistry. 

Throughout his career, Dr. Gallagher has mentored numerous undergraduate, graduate, and medical students, postdoctoral fellows, and sabbatical faculty. He frequently presents at national and international meetings and has published over three hundred peer-reviewed articles, reviews, chapters, and books. He is currently a principal investigator or co-principal investigator on several NIH grants.

Dr. Gallagher received his undergraduate degree from the College of Biological Sciences at Ohio State University and his medical degree from Northeastern Ohio Medical University. He completed his internship and residency, including serving as Chief Resident, at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. He completed fellowships in neonatal-perinatal medicine and molecular hematology at Yale University School of Medicine.

Prior to joining Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Ohio State, Dr. Gallagher was tenured Professor of Pediatrics, Pathology, and Genetics at Yale University School of Medicine. At Yale, he was a member of the Stem Cell Center, Director of the Yale Hemophilia Treatment Center, and Co-Director, of the Yale Cooperative Center of Excellence in Hematology.