Hugh O'Brodovich MD, is chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine and the Adalyn Jay Physician in Chief at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. He assumed these positions in January 2008.

He attended the University of Manitoba where he obtained his medical degree and training in pediatrics and pediatric respiratory medicine. He subsequently completed a three-year pulmonary research fellowship at Columbia University in New York before returning to Canada in 1981 as an assistant professor at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. In 1986 he moved to SickKids where he subsequently became a senior scientist, Division Chief of Respiratory Medicine, and Head of the SickKids Research Institute's Division of Respiratory Research. From 1996-2006 he was the Chair of Paediatrics at the University of Toronto and the Paediatrician in Chief at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids).

Dr. O'Brodovich wishes to develop new therapies to prevent and treat the respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and its sequelae, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). In the pursuit of this goal his laboratory has conducted research on how the lung’s airspaces become fluid filled (mechanisms of pulmonary edema) and how airspace fluid is cleared under both physiologic (fetal lung liquid at birth) and pathophysiologic (pulmonary edema) conditions. Since the rate limiting step in airspace fluid clearance is the active transport of Na+ by distal lung epithelium, his lab has studied the effect of lung maturity, mediators and hormones on the pre- and post-translational regulation of the epithelial Na+ channel (ENaC). His current research involves a population-based study to discover the genetic influences on the development of BPD. 

Throughout his career in Canada he was continuously funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC) of Canada (presently Canadian Institutes of Health Research-CIHR) and the Heart and Stroke Foundation. He was awarded career investigator awards by the MRC and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. Currently, he is the Principal Investigator on a “Grand Opportunity” (GO Grant) from the NIH.    

He has published 19 book chapters and 160 peer reviewed manuscripts, and holds two patents. Dr. O'Brodovich has been the Associate Editor of the American Review of Respiratory Disease, Editor of Pediatric Research, a member of the editorial board of the American Journal of Physiology and served as a member of the Advisory Board of the Institute of Human Development Child and Youth Health of the CIHR.  

Dr. O'Brodovich has been the Chairman of the Pediatric Pulmonology Sub-Board of American Board of Pediatrics and Vice-Chair for Respiratory Medicine Examinations Royal College Physicians & Surgeons of Canada. He is serves on the Committees of the North American wide Pediatric Scientist Development Program and has served on the Executive committee of the Association of Medical Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs, Inc. He was the inaugural President of the Pediatric Chairs of Canada and has been elected as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.