Meet the Chief

Catherine Y. Spong, M.D.

Catherine Y. Spong, M.D., is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Chief of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Her clinical responsibilities are in the Parkland Health and Hospital System where she continues to be an advocate for inclusion of under-represented groups in clinical research.

Dr. Spong received her medical degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1991. After serving as Chief Resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, she began her career at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) as a Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellow, which also included clinical work at Georgetown University. Then, she became a Clinical Associate and Senior Staff Fellow at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the NICHD’s intramural research program. There, she directed a lab – the Unit on Perinatal and Developmental Neurobiology – that focused on neuroprotective peptides and fetal development utilizing models of fetal alcohol syndrome and Down syndrome. Following a 23-year career at the NIH, she joined the faculty at UT Southwestern in 2018.

Among Dr. Spong’s areas of expertise are maternal and child health, emphasizing prematurity, fetal complications, and improving child outcomes. One of her major research interests has been the developing fetus. She holds several patents for neuroprotective agents that help prevent fetal injury. Other research interests include improving the understanding of stillbirth, fetal surgery for myelomeningocele, zika in pregnancy, and the human placenta.