Dusica Bajic

Dusica Bajic is an Associate Professor of Anaesthesia at Harvard Medical School and a board-certified staff anesthesiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital. Her research bridges pediatric anesthesiology and developmental neuroscience, focusing on the long-term neurodevelopmental effects of prolonged sedation and opioid exposure in critically ill infants, particularly those with esophageal atresia. She has received major NIH funding, including a K08 and R21 award, supporting her translational work using neuroimaging and animal models.

• MD, University of Belgrade School of Medicine, 1994
• PhD, Pharmacology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2000
• Anesthesia Residency, Yale New Haven Hospital, 2007
• Pediatric Anesthesia Fellowship, Boston Children’s Hospital, 2008

Dr. Bajic’s research interests include pediatric anesthesiology, neurodevelopmental outcomes, opioid pharmacology, and neuroimaging in infants. Her work investigates how early-life sedation impacts brain structure and function, employing both human clinical studies and rodent models. She has made significant contributions to the understanding of morphine’s effects on developing brain circuits.

Her recent publications demonstrate a consistent focus on the impact of surgical and critical care interventions on infant brain development. Using structural and functional MRI, her studies analyze changes in brain volume, connectivity, and maturation, particularly in the corpus callosum and forebrain. She also contributes to methodological advances, as seen in her co-authorship of the first MRI atlas of the infant rat brain, enabling precise segmentation in preclinical research.

Scientific awards include:

• NIH Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award (K08), 2013–2018
• NIH Developmental Research Award (R21), 2023–2025

Dr. Bajic has been continuously funded and actively publishing, indicating strong mentorship and grant leadership. While specific advisees are not listed, her NIH K08 and R21 awards suggest a trajectory of mentored and independent research. She is embedded in a multidisciplinary research environment at Boston Children’s Hospital, collaborating across neuroscience, radiology, and pediatric surgery. Her future work likely involves expanding longitudinal neurodevelopmental assessments and refining clinical sedation protocols to improve infant outcomes.