Rate My Professor De Waal

Koert de Waal is a Conjoint Associate Professor in the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle, Australia, specializing in neonatology. He earned his Medical Doctor degree from the University of Groningen, Netherlands, in 1995, followed by qualifications as a Paediatrician in 2002 and Neonatologist in 2004 from the Dutch Society for Paediatrics (NVK). He obtained Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP) in neonatology and perinatology in 2010 and completed a PhD from the University of Amsterdam in 2011 on central blood flow measurements in newborn infants. His career began with neonatology residency and consultancy roles in the Netherlands at Emma Children's Hospital AMC, Amsterdam, and Isala Clinics, Zwolle. Since 2005, he has worked in Australia, including as Post Graduate Fellow at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, and since 2008 as Consultant Neonatologist and Senior Staff Specialist at John Hunter Children’s Hospital, Newcastle.

De Waal's research focuses on neonatal hemodynamics, cardiac ultrasound, septic shock, diastolic heart failure, patent ductus arteriosus, pulmonary hypertension, and point-of-care ultrasound techniques. Notable publications include 'Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction and Diastolic Heart Failure in Preterm Infants' (Pediatric Cardiology, 2019), 'Patent ductus arteriosus management and the drift towards therapeutic nihilism - What is the evidence?' (Seminars in Fetal & Neonatal Medicine, 2021), 'The association between patterns of early respiratory disease and diastolic dysfunction in preterm infants' (Journal of Perinatology, 2023), and 'A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Pilot Trial of Early Targeted Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs in Preterm Infants with a Patent Ductus Arteriosus' (Journal of Pediatrics, 2021). He has authored over 50 peer-reviewed papers, presented more than 60 abstracts, and delivered over 50 invited lectures internationally on topics such as neonatal septic shock and diastolic heart failure. De Waal serves on the executive committee of the Australian and New Zealand Neonatal Network since 2012, steering committee of Paediatric Trials Network Australia since 2016, and reviews 10-15 manuscripts annually for leading neonatology and echocardiography journals. In 2017, he received the Hunter Children's Research Foundation Award for research into children's terminal illnesses.