Stephen W. Patrick, MD, MPH, MS, FAAP

Stephen W. Patrick, MD, MPH, MS, is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Health Policy at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and an attending neonatologist at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. He is a graduate of the University of Florida, Florida State University College of Medicine and Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Patrick completed his training in pediatrics, neonatology and health services research as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Patrick joined the faculty of Vanderbilt University in 2013. His research focuses on improving outcomes for opioid-exposed infants and women with substance-use disorder and evaluating state and federal drug control policies. He previously served as Senior Science Policy Advisor to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and has testified before Congress on the rising numbers of newborns being diagnosed with opioid withdrawal after birth. He currently serves as an expert consultant for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s development of a Guide to the Management of Opioid-Dependent Pregnant and Parenting Women and Their Children, as a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Substance Abuse and as a board member on the US Office of Personnel Management’s Multi-State Plan Program Advisory Board. Dr. Patrick’s awards include the American Medical Association Foundation Excellence in Medicine Leadership Award and the Academic Pediatric Association Fellow Research Award. His research has been published in leading scientific journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Pediatrics and Health Affairs.