Robin K. Ohls

Robin K. Ohls, MD

Languages spoken: English

Clinical Locations

Eccles Primary Children's Outpatient Services Building

801-581-7052

  • Dr. Ohls has been active in clinical/translational research for over 25 years. She is the PI of an NHLBI-funded multicenter study evaluating neurodevelopmental effects of darbepoetin in preterm infants, currently being performed through the NICHD Neonatal Research Network. In addition she serves on the Executive Committee for the PENUT Study. Dr. Ohls' translational and clinical studies evaluating the interaction of erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESAs) with the developing human brain provided insights into mechanisms of neuroprotection, and were the first to report improved developmental outcomes of preterm infants administered ESAs during their initial hospitalization. She is thrilled to be back at the University of Utah, and is excited to work with students, residents, fellows and colleagues at the U.

    Specialties

    Board Certification

    American Board of Pediatrics (Sub: Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine)

  • Dr. Ohls has been active in clinical/translational research for over 25 years. She is the PI of an NHLBI-funded multicenter study evaluating neurodevelopmental effects of darbepoetin in preterm infants, currently being performed through the NICHD Neonatal Research Network. In addition she serves on the Executive Committee for the PENUT Study. Dr. Ohls' translational and clinical studies evaluating the interaction of erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESAs) with the developing human brain provided insights into mechanisms of neuroprotection, and were the first to report improved developmental outcomes of preterm infants administered ESAs during their initial hospitalization. She is thrilled to be back at the University of Utah, and is excited to work with students, residents, fellows and colleagues at the U.

    Board Certification and Academic Information

    Academic Departments Pediatrics -Primary
    Academic Divisions Neonatology
    Board Certification
    American Board of Pediatrics (Sub: Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine)

    Education history

    Fellowship Neonatology - University of Utah School of Medicine Fellow
    Pediatrics - University of Utah School of Medicine Resident
    Professional Medical Medicine - University of Utah School of Medicine M.D.
    Medicine - University of Southern California School of Medicine
    Undergraduate Human Biology - Stanford University B.A.

    Selected Publications

    Journal Article

    1. Bahr TM, Christensen TR, Henry E, Astin M, Ilstrup SJ, Ohls RK, Christensen RD (2023). Platelet Transfusions in a Multi-NICU Healthcare Organization Before And After Publication of the PlaNeT-2 Clinical Trial. J Pediatr.
    2. Tweddell SM, Bahr TM, Henry E, Page JM, Ilstrup SJ, Ohls RK, Christensen RD (2023). Placental abruption and neonatal anemia. J Perinatol.
    3. Ohls RK, Lowe J, Yeo RA, Patel S, Winter S, Campbell RA, Baker S, Phillips J (2022). Longitudinal Assessment of Preterm Infants Treated with Erythropoiesis Stimulating Agents. Curr Pediatr Rev, 19(4), 417-424.
    4. Bahr TM, Christensen TR, Henry E, Judkins AJ, Bennett ST, Pysher TJ, Lawrence SM, Ohls RK, Christensen RD (2022). Fragmented red blood cell counts of neonates with new-onset gastrointestinal disturbances. J Perinatol.
    5. Christensen TR, Bahr TM, Henry E, Ling CY, Hanton TH, Page JM, Ilstrup SJ, Carr NR, Ohls RK, Christensen RD (2022). Neonatal subgaleal hemorrhage: twenty years of trends in incidence, associations, and outcomes. J Perinatol.
    6. Bahr TM, Ohls RK, Baserga MC, Lawrence SM, Winter SL, Christensen RD (2022). Implications of an Elevated Nucleated Red Blood Cell Count in Neonates with Moderate to Severe Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy. J Pediatr, 246, 12-18.e2.
    7. Bahr TM, Lawrence SM, Henry E, Ohls RK, Li S, Christensen RD (2022). Severe Anemia at Birth-Incidence and Implications. J Pediatr, 248, 39-45.e2.
    8. Chock VY, Smith E, Tan S, Ball MB, Das A, Hintz SR, Kirpalani H, Bell EF, Chalak LF, Carlo WA, Cotten CM, Widness JA, Kennedy KA, Ohls RK, Seabrook RB, Patel RM, Laptook AR, Mancini T, Sokol GM, Walsh MC, Yoder BA, Poindexter BB, Chawla S, DAngio CT, Higgins RD, Van Meurs KP, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network (2022). Early brain and abdominal oxygenation in extremely low birth weight infants. Pediatr Res, 92(4), 1034-1041.
    9. Bahr TM, Christensen TR, Henry E, Wilkes J, Ohls RK, Bennett ST, Ward DM, Pysher TJ, Christensen RD (2021). Neonatal Reference Intervals for the Complete Blood Count Parameters MicroR and HYPO-He: Sensitivity Beyond the Red Cell Indices for Identifying Microcytic and Hypochromic Disorders. J Pediatr, 239, 95-100.e2.
    10. German KR, Vu PT, Comstock BA, Ohls RK, Heagerty PJ, Mayock DE, Georgieff M, Rao R, Juul SE, PENUT Consortium (2021). Enteral Iron Supplementation in Infants Born Extremely Preterm and its Positive Correlation with Neurodevelopment; Post Hoc Analysis of the Preterm Erythropoietin Neuroprotection Trial Randomized Controlled Trial. J Pediatr, 238, 102-109.e8.
    11. Carr NR, Henry E, Bahr TM, Ohls RK, Page JM, Ilstrup SJ, Christensen RD (2021). Fetomaternal hemorrhage: Evidence from a multihospital healthcare system that up to 40% of severe cases are missed. Transfusion, 62, 60-70.
    12. Blakely ML, Tyson JE, Lally KP, Hintz SR, Eggleston B, Stevenson DK, Besner GE, Das A, Ohls RK, Truog WE, Nelin LD, Poindexter BB, Pedroza C, Walsh MC, Stoll BJ, Geller R, Kennedy KA, Dimmitt RA, Carlo WA, Cotten CM, Laptook AR, Van Meurs KP, Calkins KL, Sokol GM, Sanchez PJ, Wyckoff MH, Patel RM, Frantz ID 3rd, Shankaran S, DAngio CT, Yoder BA, Bell EF, Watterberg KL, Martin CA, Harmon CM, Rice H, Kurkchubasche AG, Sylvester K, Dunn JCY, Markel TA, Diesen DL, Bhatia AM, Flake A, Chwals WJ, Brown R, Bass KD, St Peter SD, Shanti CM, Pegoli W Jr, Skarda D, Shilyansky J, Lemon DG, Mosquera RA, Peralta-Carcelen M, Goldstein RF, Vohr BR, Purdy IB, Hines AC, Maitre NL, Heyne RJ, DeMauro SB, McGowan EC, Yolton K, Kilbride HW, Natarajan G, Yost K, Winter S, Colaizy TT, Laughon MM, Lakshminrusimha S, Higgins RD, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health Human Development Neonatal Research Network (2022). Initial Laparotomy Versus Peritoneal Drainage in Extremely Low Birthweight Infants With Surgical Necrotizing Enterocolitis or Isolated Intestinal Perforation: A Multicenter Randomized Clinical Trial. Ann Surg, 274(4), e370-e380.
    13. Pakdeeto S, Christensen TR, Bahr TM, Gerday E, Sheffield MJ, Christensen KS, Supapannachart S, Nuntnarumit P, Sukwiset S, Ohls RK, Christensen RD (2021). Reference intervals for end-tidal carbon monoxide of preterm neonates. J Perinatol, 42, 116-120.
    14. Bahr TM, Carr NR, Christensen TR, Wilkes J, OBrien EA, German KR, Ohls RK, Ward DM, Christensen RD (2021). Early iron supplementation and iron sufficiency at one month of age in NICU patients at-risk for iron deficiency. Blood Cells Mol Dis, 90, 102575.
    15. Vu PT, Ohls RK, Mayock DE, German KR, Comstock BA, Heagerty PJ, Juul SE, PENUT Consortium (2021). Transfusions and neurodevelopmental outcomes in extremely low gestation neonates enrolled in the PENUT Trial: a randomized clinical trial. Pediatr Res, 90(1), 109-116.
    16. Ahmad KA, Bennett MM, Juul SE, Ohls RK, Clark RH, Tolia VN (2019). Utilization of Erythropoietin within the United States Neonatal Intensive Care Units from 2008 to 2017. Am J Perinatol, 38(7), 734-740.
    17. Gerday E, Brereton JB, Bahr TM, Elmont JO, Fullmer S, Middleton BA, Ward DM, Ohls RK, Christensen RD (2020). Urinary ferritin; a potential noninvasive way to screen NICU patients for iron deficiency. J Perinatol, 41(6), 1419-1425.
    18. Shah P, Cannon DC, Lowe JR, Phillips J, Christensen RD, Kamath-Rayne B, Rosenberg A, Wiedmeier S, Patel S, Winter S, Baker S, Ohls RK (2021). Effect of blood transfusions on cognitive development in very low birth weight infants. J Perinatol, 41(6), 1412-1418.
    19. DuPont TL, Baserga M, Lowe J, Zamora T, Beauman S, Ohls RK (2021). Darbepoetin as a neuroprotective agent in mild neonatal encephalopathy: a randomized, placebo-controlled, feasibility trial. J Perinatol, 41(6), 1339-1346.
    20. Bahr TM, Ward DM, Jia X, Ohls RK, German KR, Christensen RD (2021). Is the erythropoietin-erythroferrone-hepcidin axis intact in human neonates? Blood Cells Mol Dis, 88, 102536.
    21. Wiedmeier SE, Bahr TM, Ohls RK, Christensen TR, Baer VL, Ilstrup SJ, Cail K, Christensen RD (2020). Exchange transfusion for hemolytic hyperbilirubinemia: could some be averted by emergent administration of an inhibitor of bilirubin production? J Perinatol, 41(4), 860-864.
    22. Bahr TM, Baer VL, Ohls RK, Christensen TR, Ward DM, Bennett ST, Christensen RD (2020). Reconciling markedly discordant values of serum ferritin versus reticulocyte hemoglobin content. J Perinatol, 41(3), 619-626.
    23. Kirpalani H, Bell EF, Hintz SR, Tan S, Schmidt B, Chaudhary AS, Johnson KJ, Crawford MM, Newman JE, Vohr BR, Carlo WA, DAngio CT, Kennedy KA, Ohls RK, Poindexter BB, Schibler K, Whyte RK, Widness JA, Zupancic JAF, Wyckoff MH, Truog WE, Walsh MC, Chock VY, Laptook AR, Sokol GM, Yoder BA, Patel RM, Cotten CM, Carmen MF, Devaskar U, Chawla S, Seabrook R, Higgins RD, Das A, Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHD Neonatal Research Network (2020). Higher or Lower Hemoglobin Transfusion Thresholds for Preterm Infants. N Engl J Med, 383(27), 2639-2651.
    24. Juul SE, Vu PT, Comstock BA, Wadhawan R, Mayock DE, Courtney SE, Robinson T, Ahmad KA, Bendel-Stenzel E, Baserga M, LaGamma EF, Downey LC, OShea M, Rao R, Fahim N, Lampland A, Frantz ID 3rd, Khan J, Weiss M, Gilmore MM, Ohls R, Srinivasan N, Perez JE, McKay V, Heagerty PJ, Preterm Erythropoietin Neuroprotection Trial Consortium (2020). Effect of High-Dose Erythropoietin on Blood Transfusions in Extremely Low Gestational Age Neonates: Post Hoc Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Pediatr, 174(10), 933-943.
    25. Hulse W, Bahr TM, Fredrickson L, Canfield CM, Friddle K, Pysher TJ, Ilstrup SJ, Ohls RK, Christensen RD (2020). Warming blood products for transfusion to neonates: In vitro assessments. Transfusion, 60(9), 1924-1928.
    26. Juul SE, Comstock BA, Wadhawan R, Mayock DE, Courtney SE, Robinson T, Ahmad KA, Bendel-Stenzel E, Baserga M, LaGamma EF, Downey LC, Rao R, Fahim N, Lampland A, Frantz Iii ID, Khan JY, Weiss M, Gilmore MM, Ohls RK, Srinivasan N, Perez JE, McKay V, Vu PT, Lowe J, Kuban K, OShea TM, Hartman AL, Heagerty PJ, PENUT Trial Consortium (2020). A Randomized Trial of Erythropoietin for Neuroprotection in Preterm Infants. N Engl J Med, 382(3), 233-243.
    27. Maxwell JR, Ohls RK (2019). Update on Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents Administered to Neonates for Neuroprotection. Neoreviews, 20(11), e622-e635.
    28. Mbius MA, Freund D, Vadivel A, Koss S, McConaghy S, Ohls RK, Rdiger M, Thbaud B (2018). Oxygen Disrupts Human Fetal Lung Mesenchymal Cells. Implications for Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol, 60(5), 592-600.
    29. Charlton JR, Boohaker L, Askenazi D, Brophy PD, DAngio C, Fuloria M, Gien J, Griffin R, Hingorani S, Ingraham S, Mian A, Ohls RK, Rastogi S, Rhee CJ, Revenis M, Sarkar S, Smith A, Starr M, Kent AL, Neonatal Kidney Collaborative (2019). Incidence and Risk Factors of Early Onset Neonatal AKI. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol, 14(2), 184-195.
    30. Charlton JR, Boohaker L, Askenazi D, Brophy PD, Fuloria M, Gien J, Griffin R, Hingorani S, Ingraham S, Mian A, Ohls RK, Rastogi S, Rhee CJ, Revenis M, Sarkar S, Starr M, Kent AL, Neonatal Kidney Collaborative NKC (2018). Late onset neonatal acute kidney injury: results from the AWAKEN Study. Pediatr Res, 85(3), 339-348.
    31. Shankaran S, Bell EF, Laptook AR, Saha S, Newman NS, Kazzi SNJ, Barks J, Stoll BJ, Bara R, Gabrio J, Childs K, Das A, Higgins RD, Carlo WA, Snchez PJ, Carlton DP, Pavageau L, Malcolm WF, DAngio CT, Ohls RK, Poindexter BB, Sokol GM, Van Meurs KP, Colaizy TT, Khmour A, Puopolo KM, Garg M, Walsh MC, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network (2018). Weaning of Moderately Preterm Infants from the Incubator to the Crib: A Randomized Clinical Trial. J Pediatr, 204, 96-102.e4.

    Review

    1. Wyckoff MH, Sawyer T, Lakshminrusimha S, Collins A, Ohls RK, Leone TA (2021). Resuscitation 2020: Proceedings From the NeoHeart 2020 International Conference. [Review]. World J Pediatr Congenit Heart Surg, 13(1), 77-88.

    Case Report

    1. Bahr TM, Knudsen MC, Lozano-Chinga M, Agarwal AM, Meznarich JA, Ohls RK, Christensen RD (2020). Infantile Pyknocytosis: End-Tidal CO, %Micro-R Measurements, Next-Generation Sequencing, and Transfusion Avoidance with Darbepoetin. Biomed Hub, 5(3), 227-234.

    Letter

    1. Bahr TM, Benson AE, Kling PJ, Ohls RK, Ward DM, Christensen RD (2021). Maternal obesity and impaired offspring neurodevelopment: could fetal iron deficiency be a pathogenic link? [Letter to the editor]. J Perinatol, 41(5), 1199-1200.