Jerold Francis Lucey (1926–2017)
Jerold Francis Lucey (March 26, 1926 – December 10, 2017) was a pioneering American pediatrician and influential journal editor. A specialist in neonatology, Lucey is credited with transforming neonatal care in the United States by introducing critical therapies into mainstream practice, including phototherapy for jaundice, transcutaneous oxygen monitoring, and the use of pulmonary surfactant.
Born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, in 1926, Lucey began his academic journey at Dartmouth College, where he studied zoology and graduated in 1948. He went on to earn his Doctor of Medicine degree from the New York University College of Medicine in 1952.
Lucey’s postgraduate training included an internship at Bellevue Hospital and a residency at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. He subsequently completed a research fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, where he focused on jaundice in newborns.
In 1956, Lucey joined the faculty at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. He rose to the rank of professor by 1967 and was appointed the Harry Wallace Professor of Neonatology in 1995, a position he held until his retirement in 2009.
Lucey was instrumental in adopting and validating several life-saving technologies for infants:
- Phototherapy: While the technique existed previously, Lucey conducted the first major trial proving its effectiveness, subsequently introducing it to the U.S. as a standard treatment for neonatal jaundice.
- Pulmonary Surfactant: He led the first randomized controlled trial of pulmonary surfactant to treat infant respiratory distress syndrome, which led to its widespread adoption for premature infants.
- Oxygen Monitoring: After observing the technology in Germany, he successfully promoted the use of transcutaneous oxygen saturation monitoring for newborns in the United States.
- Vermont-Oxford Network, which now includes over 1200 NICUs throughout the world, was another innovation of Dr. Lucey’s. It supports the sharing of data and collaboration on randomized trials.
Beyond his clinical contributions, Lucey served as the editor-in-chief of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, for 35 years (1974–2008). In 1980, he created the annual conference “Hot Topics in Neonatology,” which continues to this day.
In recognition of his lifetime of service and impact on the field, he was presented with the John Howland Award in 2009, the highest honor bestowed by the American Pediatric Society, and was inducted into the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.
Dr. Lucey passed away at home in Osprey, Florida, on December 10, 2017. He was 91.
Last Updated on 01/14/26