Ayman El-Mohandes, MBBCh, MD, MPH

Ayman El-Mohandes is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Prevention and Community Health. He is jointly appointed in the Department of Pediatrics at GW's School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

• Phone: (202) 416-0415
• Fax: (202) 416-0433
• Email: sphaxe@gwumc.edu

After 20 years as an academic practicing pediatrician, Professor El-Mohandes shifted to a career in public health, where he continues to build bridges between medical care and public health practice. Many of Professor El-Mohandes's research and service activities focus on interventions designed to improve maternal and infant health, especially in developing countries and among minority populations in the United States. As principal investigator on DC H.O.P.E.'s Healthy Outcomes of Pregnancy Education, he helped to evaluate an integrated intervention on smoking and psychosocial risk during pregnancy that involved 1,800 women; currently, he serves as PI of a $3.5 million NICHD initiative to reduce smoking among pregnant minority women.

Born and raised in Egypt, Dr. El-Mohandes was educated on three continents and has been involved in medical and public health programs around the world, including the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Europe. He speaks English, French and Arabic fluently, and has a keen interest in the history of Egypt and a passion for authentic African art, especially ceramics, which he keeps on display in his office.

Education

Bachelor of Arts (Premedical Science), Cairo University, 1969
Medical Bachelor and Bachelor of Chirurgie, Cairo University, 1974
Master of Science (Pediatrics), Cairo University, 1978
Doctor of Medicine (Pediatrics), Cairo University, 1981
Master of Public Health (Epidemiology/Biostatistics), The George Washington University, 1991

Teaching

Advanced Maternal and Child Health, Department of Prevention and Community Health
Biological Basis of Public Health, Department of Prevention and Community Health

Research

Professor El-Mohandes's main research interests include: improving clinical practices in the care of the newborn infant; creating programs to reduce reproductive morbidity and mortality in developing economies; understanding the interface between biological, psychosocial and behavioral risk factors as they affect maternal and infant health; developing community-based interventions to deal with risks during pregnancy and the first year of life; developing interventions to deal with smoking during pregnancy among minority populations; and investigating the risks of hospital-based labor that may result in significant maternal morbidity and mortality.

Community Service

As a consultant to the USAID-funded Healthy Mother/Healthy Child Results Package, Dr. El-Mohandes has helped to develop a national perinatal regionalization plan in Egypt that includes creating an evaluation tool for 139 neonatal centers. He has also consulted with the Asia Development Bank on perinatal morbidity in Kyrgyzstan and served on the Interagency Agreement advisory panel, helping to coordinate to coordinate maternal/ child health activities for WHO, UNICEF, USAID and the World Bank, among others.

Departments

• Prevention and Community Health

Institutes & Centers

• Prevention Research Center

Research Activities

• Alcohol in Pregnancy Among Minority Women
• NIH/DC Initiative to Reduce Infant Mortality
• Optimization of a Scoring System for Near-Miss Morbidity

Community Activities

• Alcohol in Pregnancy Among Minority Women
• NIH/DC Initiative to Reduce Infant Mortality

Publications

• Is it safer to intubate premature infants in the delivery room?
  Aly H, Massaro AN, Patel K, El-Mohandes AE. Is it safer to intubate premature infants in the delivery room? Pediatrics 2005;115:1660-5.
• The trend of maternal mortality in Egypt from 1992-2000: an emphasis on regional differences.
  Campbell O, Gipson R, El-Mohandes A, Issa AH, Matta N , El Deeb B , Mansour E. The trend of maternal mortality in Egypt from 1992-2000: an emphasis on regional differences. Matern Child Health J 2005;9:71-82.
• Is blood stream infection preventable in premature infants: a tale of two cities.
  Aly H, Herson V, Dunkan A, Herr J, Bender J, Patel K, El-Mohandes A. Is blood stream infection preventable in premature infants: a tale of two cities. Pediatrics 2005;115:1513-18.
• National maternal mortality ratio in Egypt halved between 1992-93 and 2000.
  Campbell O, Gipson R, Issa AH, Matta N, El-Deeb B, El-Mohandes A, et al. National maternal mortality ratio in Egypt halved between 1992-93 and 2000. World Health Organization Bulletin; May 2005.
• Does gender affect neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in low birth weight infants.
  Tioseco JA, Aly H, Milner J, Patel K, El-Mohandes A. Does gender affect neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in low birth weight infants. Pediatr Crit Care Med 2005;6:171-4.
• Preventive health care of infants: parental beliefs attitudes and behaviors.
  Atiyeh GN, El-Mohandes AE. Preventive health care of infants: parental beliefs attitudes and behaviors. Matern Child Health J 2005;9:83-9.
• The Egypt national perinatal/neonatal mortality study 2000.
  Campbell O, Gipson R, El Mohandes A, Issa AH, Matta N , Mohsen L , et al. The Egypt national perinatal/neonatal mortality study 2000. J Perinatol 2004;24:284-9.
• Does the experience with the use of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) improve over time in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants?
  Aly H, Milner JD, Patel K, El-Mohandes AE. Does the experience with the use of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) improve over time in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants? Pediatrics 2004;114:697-702.
• Partial pressure of carbon dioxide in extremely low birth weight infant supported by nasal prongs continuous positive airway pressure.
  Nguyen A, Aly H, Milner J, Patel K, El-Mohandes AE. Partial pressure of carbon dioxide in extremely low birth weight infant supported by nasal prongs continuous positive airway pressure. Pediatrics 2003;112:E208.
• Health beliefs and parenting attitudes influence breast feeding patterns among low income African American women.
  Sharps P, El-Mohandes AE, El-Khorazaty MN, Kiely M, Walker T. Health beliefs and parenting attitudes influence breast feeding patterns among low income African American women. J Perinatol 2003;23:414-19.
• The effect of a parenting intervention on the use of preventive pediatric health care services among low income, minority mothers: a randomized clinical trial.
  El-Mohandes AE, Katz K, El-Khorazaty N, McNeely Johnson D, Sharps P, Jarrett MH, et al. The effect of a parenting intervention on the use of preventive pediatric health care services among low income, minority mothers: a randomized clinical trial. Pediatrics 2003;111:1324-32.
• Does elevated peak bilirubin protect from retinopathy of prematurity in very low birth weight infants?
  Milner JD, Aly HZ, Ward LB, El-Mohandes AE. Does elevated peak bilirubin protect from retinopathy of prematurity in very low birthweight infants? J Perinatol 2003;23:208-11.
• Prenatal care reduces the impact of illicit substance use during pregnancy on perinatal morbidity.
  El-Mohandes AE, Herman AA, El-Khorazaty MN, Katta PS, White D, Grylack L, Young M. Prenatal care reduces the impact of illicit substance use during pregnancy on perinatal morbidity. J Perinatol 2003;23:345-60.
• Interaction and intervention modeling: predicting and extrapolating the impact of multiple interventions.
  Riegelman R, Verme D, Rochon J, El-Mohandes A. Interaction and intervention modeling: predicting and extrapolating the impact of multiple interventions. Ann Epidemiol 2002;12(3):151-6.
• Attrition of low income mothers in a parenting intervention study.
  Katz KS, El-Mohandes AE, McNeely Johnson D, Jarrett M, Rose A, Cober M. Attrition of low income mothers in a parenting intervention study. J Commun Health 2001;26:203-18.
• Group intervention as one facet of a multi-component intervention with high risk mothers and their babies.
  Jarrett MH, Diamond L, El-Mohandes AE. Group intervention as one facet of a multi-component intervention with high risk mothers and their babies. Infants Young Children 2000;13:15-24.
• A comparison of neonatal mortality risk prediction models in very low birth weight infants.
  Pollack M, Koch MA, Bartel DA, Rappaport I, Dhanireddy R, El-Mohandes AE, et al. A comparison of neonatal mortality risk prediction models in very low birth weight infants. Pediatrics 2000;105:1051-7.