Edward Hurley, MD

Hurley is a neonatologist who cares for sick babies at the neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and UPMC Magee Womens Hospital. Academically, he is a basic scientist interested in liver physiology and pathology. As a fellow at Brown University, he studied how the liver adapts around birth. He also developed a model of growth restriction. Baby born small for their gestational age are at increased risk for illness around birth and there is growing evidence such people are at increased risk for adult disease.  

Hurley was recruited to Pitt from Brown University to continue his liver research with Dr. Satdarshan (Paul) Monga, MD, the director of the Pittsburgh Liver Research Center and UPMC Endowed Chair for Experimental Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh. Babies born small for gestational age or early are at risk for hepatoblastoma, the most common pediatric liver cancer. The Monga lab has developed an innovative mouse model of hepatoblastoma that Hurley is using to study novel ways to modify tumor growth. Currently, toddlers and other young children with hepatoblastoma are treated with surgery and traditional chemotherapy. Patients with very large tumors may require liver transplantation. Hurley’s goal is to develop novel hepatoblastoma-specific therapies that are more effective with less side effects.

Professional and Scientific Society Memberships

• Eastern Society for Pediatric Research, 2018-Present 
• Society for Pediatric Research, 2015-Present 
• American Academy of Pediatrics, 2012-Present