Michael R. DeBaun, M.D., M.P.H.

DEPARTMENT OF Pediatrics
Keywords: sickle cell disease, stroke, silent infarct, cancer genetics

Dr. DeBaun is an attending physician in hematology/oncology and general pediatrics and is board-certified in pediatrics and pediatric hematology/oncology. He is considered an expert in sickle cell disease and genetic cancer predisposition syndromes.

Dr. DeBaun is director of the Sickle Cell Medical Treatment and Education Center at St. Louis Children's Hospital. The center is a regional referral center for children with sickle cell disease and provides multidisciplinary medical care and education to more than 350 children and their families. Dr. DeBaun is nationally recognized for his research on treatment and management of overt and silent strokes in sickle cell disease.

Dr. DeBaun's other research area is the genetic epidemiology of overgrowth cancer predisposition syndromes, namely Beckwith Wiedemann syndrome (BWS), Simpson-Golabi-Behmel syndrome (SGBS) and idiopathic hemihypertrophy (IH). Dr. DeBaun and his colleagues at Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis Children's Hospital have established an Overgrowth Center of Excellence focused on better defining the natural history and biological basis of malformation and cancer in these overgrowth syndromes. The Overgrowth Center has established international registries for BWS, SGBS and IH patients. The registries include an epidemiologic database and biologic repository for ongoing clinical and molecular investigation, as well as an annual multidisciplinary clinic where children with each syndrome are evaluated by a team of specialists.