Renée Shellhaas, MD, MS, was installed as the David T. Blasingame Professor on Monday, June 8. The ceremony included remarks from David H. Perlmutter, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and the George and Carol Bauer Dean of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and Jin-Moo Lee, MD, PhD, head of the WashU Medicine Department of Neurology.
Shellhaas is professor of neurology and senior associate dean for faculty promotions and career development at WashU Medicine. She earned her MD from the University of Michigan and completed her residency in pediatric neurology and fellowship in clinical neurophysiology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Following her fellowship, Shellhaas joined the faculty at the University of Michigan and completed a master’s degree in clinical research design and statistical analysis at the UM School of Public Health. She transitioned to her senior leadership position at WashU Medicine in 2022.
Shellhaas’s research programs, funded by PCORI and NIH, center on three interconnected areas: neonatal seizures and brain monitoring, sleep in at-risk infants and early-life epilepsy. Across all three areas, patient- and family-centered co-production of research has been integral to her approach. Her research has led to impactful changes in practice by demonstrating the safety of early discontinuation of antiseizure medications after resolution of acute neonatal seizures; the high prevalence of abnormal sleep physiology, including sleep-disordered breathing, among neonates who require intensive care; and the definition of evidence-based evaluations and treatments for infantile spasms and other early-life epilepsies.
In her role as senior associate dean, Shellhaas has led initiatives such as the revision of the appointment and promotion guidelines for the School of Medicine and the Executive Faculty Task Force on Climate and Culture. She also launched the Office of Faculty Promotions & Career Development, with extensive programs to serve WashU Medicine’s approximately 3,000 faculty.
Shellhaas is currently a member of the American Epilepsy Society Board of Directors and serves as president of the Pediatric Epilepsy Research Foundation. Her honors include the Michigan Medicine Alumni Society Early Distinguished Career Award, the American Academy of Neurology Sleep Science Award and the Child Neurology Society Hower Award.
About David T. Blasingame, BA ’69, MBA ’71
The David T. Blasingame Professorship was created in 2019 to honor the extraordinary contributions of David T. Blasingame, who led the institution’s University Advancement office for 28 years.
A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Blasingame came to St. Louis in 1965 as a WashU freshman. He earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1969 and an MBA from Olin Business School in 1971. After serving as an officer in the U.S. Army, he returned to WashU in 1974 as associate director of alumni relations in Alumni & Development Programs, now known as University Advancement. He was director of development for Olin Business School from 1978 to 1985 and later named associate vice chancellor for alumni and development programs. In 1990, he was appointed vice chancellor, and in 2004, he became executive vice chancellor. He retired in 2018.
Blasingame’s career honors include the 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals St. Louis chapter and the 2011 Circle of Excellence Award from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. WashU recognized his achievements with the Arts & Sciences 2004 Dean’s Medal and the Olin Business School 2005 Distinguished Alumni Award. Blasingame has been an Eliot Society member since 1986 and is recognized as a Lifetime Member.
