Divisions & Faculty

Background

• Medical School: University of Kansas
• Residency:  University of Connecticut
• Fellowship:  University of Connecticut

Board Certifications

• American Board of Pediatrics
• Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine

Research Interests

Long-standing interest in salt-water transport by lung epithelia supported by a NIH Clinical Investigator Award led to the novel observation that lipophilic apoprotein(s) SP-C and/or SP-B from human pulmonary surfactant inserts monovalent cation channels in lipid bilayers. Clinical correlation with the effective treatment of neonatal meconium aspiration pneumonitis by surfactant led to a series of investigations regarding the interaction of surfactant apoproteins with neutrophils ¾ the primary cells of inflammation. We find that pulmonary surfactants limit the activation of neutrophils by various stimulants.

Other clinical interests surrounding the management of sick newborns stimulates collaboration with local scientists to develop noninvasive, diagnostic devices employing light. A prior collaboration with this focus led to the commercial development of a device for measuring skin bilirubin. 

Honors and Awards

• NIH Clinical Investigator Award from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute,
• Who's Who in the World, 1992-present
• State of the Art Lecture - Southern Society for pediatric Research, February 1999
• Hospital del Nino Visiting professor, La Paz, Bolivia, 1999
• Art Hardy Memorial Lecture, Medical College of Georgia Visiting Professor, 1999
• Pediatric Expert Panel - United States Pharmacopeia, 2000-2005
• Midwest Research Institute Speakers' Bureau

Professional Affiliations

• American Academy of Pediatrics
• Southern Society of Pediatrics Research -

Selected Publications

• Intestinal absorption of bile acid glucuronides in rats. Digest. Dis. Sciences. 33:1110-1116, 1988.
• Oelberg DG, Wang LB, Sackman JW, Adcock EW, Lester R, and Dubinsky WP: Bile salt-induced calcium fluxes in artificial phospholipid vesicles. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 937:289-299, 1988.
• Oelberg DG, Dubinsky WP, Sackman JW, Wang LB, Adcock EW, and Lester R. Bile salts induce calcium uptake in vitro by human erythrocytes. Hepatology 7:245-252, 1987.
• Oelberg DG, Dubinsky WP, Adcock EW, and Lester R: Calcium binding by lithocholic and derivatives. Amer. J. Physiol. 245:G112-G115, 1984.
• Oelberg DG, Chari MV, Little LM, Adcock EW, and Lester R: Lithocholate glucuronide is a cholestatic agent. J. Clin. Invest. 73:1507-1514, 1984.