Neonatologist and President, Fairfax Neonatal Associates, PC
Medical School
Louisiana State University
Fellowship
Shands Hospital, University of Florida
Children’s National Medical Center
Residency
Arkansas Children’s Hospital
Board Certifications
Neonatal and Perinatal Medicine
Pediatrics
Professional Affiliations
Fellow, American Academy of Pediatrics
Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Virginia
Specialties & Hospital Affiliations
Biography
Dr. Baker has dedicated his entire professional career to enhance the care and well being of newborn infants and their parents. For over 30 years, he and his partners at FNA have worked tirelessly to analyze the care they deliver while always searching for ways to improve. The ability to have an effect on thousands of infants in the FNA NICU at ICH is taken seriously by Dr. Baker or his partners. They fully believe that “The beginning is the most important part” and their care has lifelong effects. In his free time, he loves to play tennis, run, swim, travel and spend time with his family. “You can’t beat a good SEC football game in the fall for entertainment”. He is also an active board member of the March of Dimes National Capital Region.
Professional Interests
Genetics of Prematurity, respiratory distress of the Newborn, pulmonary hypertension, follow-up of the premature newborn, and research.
Publications
Publications (2009 and newer):
Baron, I.S., Erickson, K., Ahronovich, M. D., Coulehan, K., Baker, R., and Litman, F. R. (2009) Visuospatial and Verbal Fluency Relative Deficits in ‘Complicated’ Late-Preterm Preschool Children. Early Human Development, 85, 751-754.
Baron, I.S., Erickson, K., Ahronovich, M. D., Baker, R., and Litman, F. R. (2011) Neuropsychological and Behavioral Outcomes of Extremely Low Birth Weight at Age Three. Developmental Neuropsychology, 36, 5-21.
Baron, I.S., Erickson, K., Ahronovich, M. D., Baker, R., and Litman, F. R. (2011), Cognitive Deficit in Preschoolers Born Late-preterm. Early Human Development, 87, 115-119.
Gidley Larson, J. C., Baron, I.S., Erickson, K., Ahronovich, M. D., Baker, R., and Litman, F. R. (2011) Neuromotor Outcomes at School Age of Extremely Preterm Birth: Early Detection of Subtle Signs, Neuropsychology, 25, 66-75.
Crotty, K., Ahronovich, M. D., Baron, I.S., Baker, R., Erickson, K., and Litman, F. R. (2011) Neuropsychological and Behavioral Outcomes of Postnatal Dexamethasone in Extremely Low Birth Weight Preterm Children at Early School-Age. Journal of Perinatology, 5 May 2011: doi: 10.1038/jp/2011.62.
Baron, I. S., Brandt, J., Erickson, K., Ahronovich, M. D., Baker, R., Litman, F. R. (2011) Selective Deficit in Spatial Location Memory in Extremely Low Birth Weight Children at Age Six, Child Neuropsychology, 18, 299-311. DOI: 10.1080/09297049.2011.613815
Baron, I. S., Litman, F.R., Ahronovich, M.D., and Baker, R. (2012) Late preterm birth: A review of medical and neuropsychological childhood outcomes, Neuropsychology Review. 22, 311–312. DOI 10.1007/s11065-012-9210-5.
Berry, K.A., Baron, I.S., Weiss, B.A., Baker, R., Ahronovich, M.D., & Litman, F.R. (2013, October). In vitro fertilization and late preterm preschoolers’ neuropsychological outcomes: The PETIT study. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 209(4), 356.e1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2013.06.041
Baron, I.S., Weiss, B.A., Baker, R., Khoury, A., Remsburg, I., Thermolice, J.W., Litman, F.R., & Ahronovich, M.D. (2014). Subtle adverse effects of late preterm birth: A cautionary note. Neuropsychology, 28(1), 11-18. https://doi.org/10.1037/neu0000018
Baron, I.S., Weiss, B.A., Litman, F.R., Ahronovich, M.D., & Baker, R. (2014). Latent mean differences in executive function in at-risk preterm children: The delay-deficit dilemma. Neuropsychology, 28(4), 541-551. https://doi.org/10.1037/neu0000076
Bodian, D.L., Solomon, B.D., Khromykh, A., Thach, D.C., Iyer, R.K., Link, K., Baker, R.L., Baveja, R., Vockley, J.G., & Niederhuber, J.E. (2014, November). Diagnosis of an imprinted‐gene syndrome by a novel bioinformatics analysis of whole‐genome sequences from a family trio. Molecular Genetics & Genomic Medicine, 2(6), 530-538. https://doi.org/10.1002/mgg3.107
Higgins, R.D., Saade, G., Polin, R.A., Grobman, W.A., Buhimschi, I.A., Watterberg, K., Silver, R.M., Raju, T.N.K., & Chorioamnionitis Workshop Participants (2016, March). Evaluation and Management of Women and Newborns With a Maternal Diagnosis of Chorioamnionitis: Summary of a Workshop. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 127(3), 426-436. https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000001246
Baron IS, Weiss BA, Baker R, Ahronovich MD, Litman FR, Baveja R. Neuropsychological Outcomes in Extremely Preterm Preschoolers Exposed to Tiered Low Oxygen Targets: An Observational Study. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2016 Mar;22(3):322-31. doi: 10.1017/S1355617715001186.
Hourigan SK, Subramanian P, Hasan NA, Ta A, Klein E, Chettout N, Huddleston K, Deopujari V, Levy S, Baveja R, Clemency NC, Baker RL, Niederhuber JE, Colwell RR..Comparison of Infant Gut and Skin Microbiota, Resistome and Virulome Between Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Environments. Front Microbiol. 2018 Jun 25;9:1361.
Mulkey SB, Kota S, Swisher CB, Hitchings L, Metzler M, Wang Y, Maxwell GL, Baker R, du Plessis AJ, Govindan R. Autonomic nervous system depression at term in neurologically normal premature infants. Early Hum Dev, 2018; 123: 11-6.
Mulkey SB, Govindan R, Metzler M, Swisher CB, Hitchings L, Wang Y, Baker R, Larry Maxwell G, Krishnan A, du Plessis AJ. Heart rate variability is depressed in the early transitional period for newborns with complex congenital heart disease. Clin Auton Res, 2019a.
Mulkey SB, Kota S, Govindan RB, Al-Shargabi T, Swisher CB, Eze A, Jr., Hitchings L, Russo S, Herrera N, McCarter R, Maxwell GL, Baker R, du Plessis AJ. The effect of labor and delivery mode on electrocortical and brainstem autonomic function during neonatal transition. Sci Rep, 2019b; 9: 11020.
Theo A. Knijnenburg, Joseph G. Vockley, Nyasha Chambwe, David L. Gibbs, Crystal Humphries, Kathi C. Huddleston, Elisabeth Klein, Prachi Kothiyal, Ryan Tasseff, Varsha Dhankani, Dale L. Bodian, Wendy S. W. Wong, Gustavo Glusman, Denise E. Mauldin, Michael Miller, Joseph Slagel, Summer Elasady, Jared C. Roach, Roger Kramer, Kalle Leinonen, Jasper Linthorst, Rajiv Baveja, Robin Baker, Benjamin D. Solomon, Greg Eley, Ramaswamy K. Iyer, George L. Maxwell, Brady Bernard, Ilya Shmulevich, Leroy Hood, and John E. Niederhuber. Genomic and molecular characterization of preterm birth PNAS March 19, 2019 116 (12) 5819-5827.
Hourigan, S. K., Moutinho, T. J., Jr, Berenz, A., Papin, J., Guha, P., Bangiolo, L., Oliphant, S., Provenzano, M., Baveja, R., Baker, R., Vilboux, T., Levy, S., Deopujari, V., Nataro, J. P., Niederhuber, J. E., & Moore, S. R. (2020). Gram-negative Microbiota Blooms in Premature Twins Discordant for Parenteral Nutrition-associated Cholestasis. Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition, 70(5), 640–644. https://doi.org/10.1097/MPG.0000000000002617
Wong WSW, Sabu P, Deopujari V, Levy S, Shah AA, Clemency N, Provenzano M, Saadoon R, Munagala A, Baker R, Baveja R, Mueller NT, Dominguez-Bello MG, Huddleston K, Niederhuber JE, Hourigan SK. Prenatal and Peripartum Exposure to Antibiotics and Cesarean Section Delivery Are Associated with Differences in Diversity and Composition of the Infant Meconium Microbiome. Microorganisms. 2020; 8(2):179. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms8020179
Laura Sanapo MD, Tareq Al‐Shargabi MS, Homa K. Ahmadzia MD, MPH, David N. Schidlow MD, MMus, Mary T. Donofrio MD, Laura Hitchings BScM, Alfred Khoury MD, G. Larry Maxwell MD, Robin Baker MD, Dorothy I. Bulas MD, Luis M. Gomez MD, MScE, Adre J. Du Plessis MBChB Fetal acute cerebral vasoreactivity to maternal hyperoxia in low‐risk pregnancies: a cross‐sectional study. Prenatal Diagnosis, April 2020
Sarah B Mulkey, Rathinaswamy B Govindan, Laura Hitchings, Tareq Al-Shargabi, Nicole Herrera, Christopher B Swisher, Augustine Eze Jr, Stephanie Russo, Sarah D Schlatterer, Marni B Jacobs, Robert McCarter, Alex Kline, G Larry Maxwell, Robin Baker, Adre J du Plessis Autonomic nervous system maturation in the premature extrauterine milieu Pediatr Res 2020 May 12.
Sarah D Schlatterer, Rathinaswamy B Govindan, Scott D Barnett, Tareq Al-Shargabi, Daniel A Reich, Sneha Iyer, Laura Hitchings, G Larry Maxwell, Robin Baker, Adre J du Plessis, Sarah B Mulkey Autonomic Development in Preterm Infants is Associated with Morbidity of Prematurity Pediatr Res 2021 Mar 2:1-7
Mulkey SB, Hitchings L, Persaud R, Kota S, Maxwell GL, Baker R, du Plessis A, Govindan R. Cerebral cortical autonomic connectivity in low-risk term newborns. Clin Auton Res. 2021 Jun;31(3):415-424.
Chirumamila, V., Hitchings, L., Mulkey, S., Anwar, T., Baker, R., Maxwell, G. L., De Asis-Cruz, J., Kapse, K., Limperopoulos C., du Plessis, A., & Govindan, R. B. Electroencephalogram in low-risk term newborns predicts neurodevelopmental metrics at age two years. Clinical Neurophysiology. 2022.
Moutinho, TJ., Powers, DA., Hanson, GF., Levy S., Baveja R., Hefner, I., Mohamed, M., Abdelghani, A., Baker, RL., Papin JA., Moore ,SR., Hourigan, SK. Fecal sphingolipids predict parenteral nutrition–associated cholestasis in the neonatal intensive care unit. J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2022; 46: 1903- 1913. doi:10.1002/jpen.2374
Posters/abstracts (2010 and newer):
Crotty, K., Baron, I.S., Erickson, K., Scharaga, E., Ahronovich, MD, Baker, R., & Litman, F. Emergence of Auditory/Verbal Working Memory Deficit at Age 9 in ELBW Children. Poster accepted for the 2010 Pediatric Academic Societies’ Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC, Canada, May 2, 2010.
Baron, I.S., Erickson, K., Ahronovich, MD, Baker, R., Scharaga, E., & Litman, F. Complicated and Uncomplicated Late-Preterm Cognitive Impairment Rates at Ag Three. Platform presentation accepted for the 2010 Pediatric Academic Societies’ Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC, Canada, May 4, 2010.
Ahronovich, M., Erickson, K., Baron, I.S., Baker, R., and Litman, F. Long-course, but not short-course, dexamethasone treatment in ELBW infants results in higher impairment rates at preschool age, Poster talk accepted for the European Academy of Paediatric Societies Meeting, Copenhagen, Denmark, October 23-26, 2010.
Litman, F., Ahronovich, M., Baron, I.S., Erickson, K., and Baker, R. Neurocognitive Outcome of Birth at 23 Weeks Gestation, Poster accepted for the European Academy of Paediatric Societies Meeting, Copenhagen, Denmark, October 23-26, 2010.
Baveja, R., Beck, R.Q., Litman, F.R., Ahronovich, M.D., Baron, I.S., Erickson, K., and Baker, R. Implementation of a Quality Improvement Initiative to Reduce ROP Incidence and Severity. Poster accepted, 2011 Pediatric Academic Societies’ Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, May 2011.
Ahronovich, M.D., Baron, I.S., Erickson, K., Litman, F.R. and Baker, R.L. Behavioral Outcomes in Dexamethasone-treated ELBW Children at Age 3, Poster accepted, 2011 Pediatric Academic Societies’/ASPR Joint Meeting, Denver, CO, May 2011.
Hornack, S., Smith, M., McCann, J., Baker, R., Litman, F. R., Ahronovich, M.D. & Baron, I.S. Occipitofrontal Circumference Predicts General Cognition While Medical Risk Predicts Executive Function in Extremely Low Birth Weight Children at Age Six: Evidence from the PETIT Study, 40th Annual International Neuropsychological Society Meeting, Montreal, Quebec, CA, February 2012.
Luong-Tran, C., Ahronovich, M.D., Litman, F. R., Baker, R., & Baron, I.S.. Small for Gestational Age v. Appropriate for Gestational Age Late Preterm Birth: Neuropsychological and Behavioral Outcomes at Age Three: The PETIT Study, 40th Annual International Neuropsychological Society Meeting, Montreal, Quebec, CA, February 2012.
Berry, K. A., Litman, F. R., Ahronovich, M.D., Baker, R., & Baron, I.S. Neuropsychological and Behavioral Outcomes at Age Three of In Vitro Fertilization and Late Preterm Birth: The PETIT Study, 40th Annual International Neuropsychological Society Meeting, Montreal, Quebec, CA, February 2012.
Ahronovich, M.D. Baron, I. S., Baker, R., Hopp, C. & Litman, F. R. Subtle Neuropsychological Differences in a Preschool Late-Preterm Cohort: The PETIT Study. Platform Presentation Accepted for 2012 Pediatric Academic Societies’ Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, April 2012.
Baron, I. S., Weiss, B. A., Hopp, C., Litman, F., Baker, R. L., and Ahronovich, M.D. Latent Mean Differences in Executive Function in At-Risk Preterm Preschoolers”, abstract #756254 accepted for the 2013 Pediatric Academic Societies’ Annual Meeting, May 4-7, in Washington, DC.
Ahronovich, M. D. Hopp, C., Weiss, B., Baker, R. L., Litman, R. and Baron, I. S. Late-Preterm Preschoolers: Developmental Coordination Disorder or Delay?”, abstract #756223 accepted for the 2013 Pediatric Academic Societies’ Annual Meeting, May 4-7, in Washington, DC
Ahronovich, M.D., Baron, I. S., Baker, R. L., Hopp, C., Weiss, B. A., and Litman, F. R. Neurocognitive Effects of Birth at 23-25 Weeks’ Gestation at Preschool and School Age: PETIT Study Outcomes, Poster # 756026, at the 2015 Pediatric Academic Societies’ Annual Meeting, April 26, 2015, San Diego, CA.
Suchitra K Hourigan, Allison Ta, Elisabeth Klein, Nassim Chettout, Rajiv Baveja, Nicole Clemency, Colin Heberling, Poorani Subramanian, Nur A Hasan, Robin Baker, John E Niederhuber, Rita R Colwell. Differences in the Stool and Skin Microbiome, Virulence Factor and Antimicrobial Resistance Genes in a Private Room versus a Shared Space Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
-Digestive Disease Week. Chicago, May 2017. Oral Presentation.
-The Association of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition Nurses Annual Meeting. Las Vegas, November 2017. Poster.
Marina Metzler, Rathinaswamy Govindan, Sarah Mulkey, Christopher Swisher, Laura Hitchings, Yunfei Wang, Robin Baker, MD, G. Larry Maxwell, MD, Anita Krishnan, and Adre du Plessis Reduced heart rate variability in neonates with congenital heart disease
-The Pediatric Academic Societies’ Annual Meeting. Toronto May 2018. Poster.
-Children’s National Research Institute, Children’s National Research Week. Washington, D.C. April 2018
Sarah B. Mulkey, MD, PhD, Srinivas Kota, PhD, Christopher Swisher, BS, Laura Hitchings, CNM, Marina Metzler, BS, Yunfei Wang, DrPH, Robin Baker, MD, G. Larry Maxwell, MD, Adre du Plessis, MBChB, MPH, Rathinaswamy Govindan, PhD Autonomic nervous system development in a prematurely extrauterine environment is impaired despite normal brain imaging
-The Pediatric Academic Societies’ Annual Meeting. Toronto May 2018. Poster.
-Children’s National Research Institute, Children’s National Research Week. Washington, D.C. April 2018
Suchitra Hourigan, Thomas Moutinho Jr, Andrew Berenz, Pallabi Guha, Jason Papin, Sandra Oliphant, Raj Baveja, Robin Baker, Thierry Vilboux, Shira Levy, Varsha Deopujari, James Nataro, John Niederhuber, Sean Moore Microbiome changes associated with total parenteral nutrition induced cholestasis in neonatal intensive care unit patients.
-Digestive Disease Week. Washington DC, June 2018. Oral Presentation.
-The Pediatric Academic Societies’ Annual Meeting. Toronto May 2018. Poster.