Lab Members

Michelle L. Baack, MD
Principal Investigator

Dr. Baack obtained her B.S. in Pharmacy from South Dakota State University in 1991, her M.D. from the University of South Dakota-School of Medicine in 1995, her Pediatric Residency Training from the University of Nebraska Medical Center-Creighton Joint Pediatric Residency Program in 1999.  She practiced as a general pediatrician in rural South Dakota for ten years and later returned to academics to obtain her Fellowship in Neonatal and Perinatal Medicine at the University of Iowa in 2008 where she began an academic career leading to research interests in the following areas:

  • The Role of Long Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Growth, Development and Health of Premature Infants:  Narrowing the Gap through Nutritional Provision.
  • The Role of Long Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Fetal Origins of Disease in Offspring of Diabetic and Obese Mothers.
  • Late Gestation Hyperglycemia Induced Alterations in Placental Fatty Acid Transport.

She is currently board certified in Pediatrics and eligible for sub-specialty certification in Neonatal and Perinatal Medicine.  She is a clinical neonatologist at Sanford Children’s Hospital, an Assistant Professor through the Sanford School of Medicine of the University of South Dakota and a Principal Investigator at the Sanford Children’s Health Research Center in Sioux Falls, SD.