Fern Hauck | A life commitment to Infants and Refugees

Fern R. Hauck, is the Spencer P. Bass, MD Twenty-First Century Professor of Family Medicine and Professor of Public Health Sciences at the University of Virginia. Fern’s research is focused on risk factors and protective factors for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and other causes of sleep-related sudden infant death, including pacifier use, infant sleep location including bedsharing, and infant feeding, with particular attention to racial-ethnic disparities. She serves as an advisor to numerous federal agencies and SIDS organizations to assist in SIDS and infant mortality related projects and she is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on SIDS, which develops evidence-based guidelines for safe infant sleep and prevention of SIDS and other sleep-related infant deaths. She founded and directs the University of Virginia International Family Medicine Clinic, which cares for several thousand refugees who resettled in Central Virginia from around the world. In addition to comprehensive primary healthcare, the IFMC team provides educational programming for residents and medical students, conducts quality improvement and research projects, and collaborates with community partners.