Susanne Martin Herz, MD, PhD
Professor
Pediatrics
School of Medicine

susanne.martinherz@ucsf.edu 415-502-1338

Dr. Susanne Martin Herz is Professor and Transbay Medical Director in the Division of Developmental Medicine, Department Pediatrics at University of California San Francisco (UCSF), and Affiliate Faculty in the UCSF Institute for Global Health Sciences and the UCSF Program in Bioethics.

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Dr. Martin Herz' scholarly focus is on the prevention/amelioration of neonatal brain injury and developmental disability, early childhood development, neurodevelopmental assessment across global contexts, and the epidemiology of developmental disabilities in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). She additionally has extensive experience in health systems strengthening and quality improvement, including projects to reduce disparities in access to neurodevelopmental evaluation and services in several global regions (Eastern, Central and Southern Africa; Eastern and Southern Caribbean; Abu Dhabi) and the United States. She has been a consultant/subject matter expert with multiple global organization including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and USAID Applying Science to Strengthen and Improve Systems (ASSIST) project and the World Health Organization. She is currently a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics' (AAP) Global Early Childhood Development Project Advisory Committee (GECD-PAC) and the World Health Organization’s Technical Consultative Group on the Follow-up Care of the Small and Sick Newborn.

Dr. Martin Herz recently received $1.6 million in grant funding as Principal Investigator leading the only North American site of the 12-country, 16-site Global Scales for Early Development Norms & Standards study. She is also a Co-Investigator on an NIH funded national study investigating health and developmental outcomes of children exposed to SARS-CoV-2 in utero. Globally, Dr. Martin Herz is Principal Investigator on three studies in Zimbabwe, one evaluating neurodevelopmental assessment tools for earlier detection of disability/disability risk, one investigating early biomarkers of developmental needs, and the third a qualitative study of caregiver experience of raising a child with disability in this context. She is also Co-Investigator on a study of improved neonatal resuscitation impact on newborn survival, fresh stillbirth and rates of cerebral palsy and adverse neurodevelopmental outcome in urban Harare, Zimbabwe and a participant in the Zimbabwe Children's Rehabilitation Units cerebral palsy and developmental disability register program. Dr. Martin Herz is also Co-Principal Investigator on a study of the long-term health and neurodevelopment of infants born preterm or low birth weight in rural western Kenya, (nested within the recently completed Preterm Birth Initiative East Africa cohort) and Co-Investigator on neurodevelopmental follow-up of infants who received nutrition intervention in the first months of life in Kampala, Uganda. She has more than 20 years’ experience with early childhood development (ECD)/education (ECE) programs in Zimbabwe.

In her administrative and clinical roles, Dr. Martin Herz is the Transbay Medical Director for the 3 clinical sites at which Division providers are active. She served as the Division's Associate Director of Clinical Services until 2020. Her clinical effort is currently in both the Intensive Care Nursery Follow-up Program at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco and its satellites, and at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, where she is active in the assessment and management of young children with developmental delay, concern for autism spectrum disorder or behavior concerns.

Dr. Martin Herz completed medical school at Stanford University School of Medicine and residency in Pediatrics at Seattle Children's Hospital and UCSF. She completed a fellowship in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics at Seattle Children's Hospital, a PhD in Psychology at the University of Washington and a Clinical Fellowship in Pediatric Bioethics at the Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics in 2011. She joined the faculty at UCSF in 2014.

Education & Training

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  • Fellowship in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Seattle Children's Hospital 12/2011
  • Clinical Fellowship in Pediatric Bioethics Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics, Seattle Children's Hospital 06/2011
  • Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disability (LEND) Long-term Trainee University of Washington 06/2011
  • PhD Psychology (Child Clinical area) University of Washington 06/2011
  • Residency in Pediatrics (R3) University of California San Francisco 06/2007
  • MD Medicine Stanford University School of Medicine 05/2003
  • Residency in Pediatrics (R1/R2) Seattle Children's Hospital/University of Washington
  • BS Psychology University of Pennsylvania

Interests

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  • parenting. Clinical Interests: autism spectrum disorder early diagnosis
  • global early child development (ECD) and early childhood education (ECE)
  • neurodevelopment in low and middle income settings
  • developmental delay
  • impact of trauma and chronic stress on early childhood behavior and development
  • preschooler disruptive behavior

Publications (30)

Top publication keywords:
Zika VirusPrimary Health CareTertiary Care CentersPediatriciansDevelopmental DisabilitiesChild Health ServicesReferral and ConsultationRefugeesMalnutritionZika Virus InfectionChild Behavior DisordersAcademic SuccessChild DevelopmentProblem BehaviorBehavioral Symptoms

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