Susanne Martin Herz, MD, PhD

Dr. Susanne Martin Herz is Professor and Transbay Medical Director in the Division of Developmental Medicine, Department Pediatrics at University of California San Francisco (UCSF), and Affiliate Faculty in the UCSF Institute for Global Health Sciences and the UCSF Program in Bioethics.

Dr. Martin Herz' scholarly focus is on the prevention/amelioration of neonatal brain injury and developmental disability, early childhood development, neurodevelopmental assessment across global contexts, and the epidemiology of developmental disabilities in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). She additionally has extensive experience in health systems strengthening and quality improvement, including projects to reduce disparities in access to neurodevelopmental evaluation and services in several global regions (Eastern, Central and Southern Africa; Eastern and Southern Caribbean; Abu Dhabi) and the United States. She has been a consultant/subject matter expert with multiple global organization including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and USAID Applying Science to Strengthen and Improve Systems (ASSIST) project and the World Health Organization. She is currently a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics' (AAP) Global Early Childhood Development Project Advisory Committee (GECD-PAC) and the World Health Organization’s Technical Consultative Group on the Follow-up Care of the Small and Sick Newborn.

Dr. Martin Herz recently received $1.6 million in grant funding as Principal Investigator leading the only North American site of the 12-country, 16-site Global Scales for Early Development Norms & Standards study. She is also a Co-Investigator on an NIH funded national study investigating health and developmental outcomes of children exposed to SARS-CoV-2 in utero.
Globally, Dr. Martin Herz is Principal Investigator on three studies in Zimbabwe, one evaluating neurodevelopmental assessment tools for earlier detection of disability/disability risk, one investigating early biomarkers of developmental needs, and the third a qualitative study of caregiver experience of raising a child with disability in this context. She is also Co-Investigator on a study of improved neonatal resuscitation impact on newborn survival, fresh stillbirth and rates of cerebral palsy and adverse neurodevelopmental outcome in urban Harare, Zimbabwe and a participant in the Zimbabwe Children's Rehabilitation Units cerebral palsy and developmental disability register program. Dr. Martin Herz is also Co-Principal Investigator on a study of the long-term health and neurodevelopment of infants born preterm or low birth weight in rural western Kenya, (nested within the recently completed Preterm Birth Initiative East Africa cohort) and Co-Investigator on neurodevelopmental follow-up of infants who received nutrition intervention in the first months of life in Kampala, Uganda. She has more than 20 years’ experience with early childhood development (ECD)/education (ECE) programs in Zimbabwe.

In her administrative and clinical roles, Dr. Martin Herz is the Transbay Medical Director for the 3 clinical sites at which Division providers are active. She served as the Division's Associate Director of Clinical Services until 2020. Her clinical effort is currently in both the Intensive Care Nursery Follow-up Program at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco and its satellites, and at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, where she is active in the assessment and management of young children with developmental delay, concern for autism spectrum disorder or behavior concerns.

Dr. Martin Herz completed medical school at Stanford University School of Medicine and residency in Pediatrics at Seattle Children's Hospital and UCSF. She completed a fellowship in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics at Seattle Children's Hospital, a PhD in Psychology at the University of Washington and a Clinical Fellowship in Pediatric Bioethics at the Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics in 2011. She joined the faculty at UCSF in 2014.
Education
12/2011 - Fellowship in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Seattle Children's Hospital
06/2011 - Clinical Fellowship in Pediatric Bioethics, Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics, Seattle Children's Hospital
06/2011 - Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disability (LEND) Long-term Trainee, University of Washington
PhD, 06/2011 - Psychology (Child Clinical area), University of Washington
06/2007 - Residency in Pediatrics (R3), University of California San Francisco
MD, 05/2003 - Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine
- Residency in Pediatrics (R1/R2), Seattle Children's Hospital/University of Washington
BS, - Psychology, University of Pennsylvania

  1. Culver JN, Martin Herz SP, Guzman A, Aguayo J, Marbin J, Martinez K, James J.. Caregiver Experiences of Racialization While Accessing Early Intervention (EI) Services for their Children Topics in Early Childhood Special Education 2024. PMID:


  2. Co R, Nankabirwa V, Bale C, de Sa AB, Martin-Herz SP, Blair E, Pollack L, Laleau V, Flaherman V, Ginsburg AS. Weight change in the first 30 days among infants born less than 2000 grams in Guinea-Bissau and Uganda. Scientific Reports 2024. PMID: 38745098


  3. Zheng C, Martin-Herz SP, Abath CB, Scharf RJ. Motor Impairment Referrals to an International Child Development Clinic: It is Not Always Cerebral Palsy. Pediatric neurology 2024. PMID: 38663153


  4. Metz TD, Clifton RG, Gallagher R, Gross RS, Horwitz LI, Jacoby VL, Martin-Herz SP, Peralta-Carcelen M, Reeder HT, Beamon CJ, Chan J, Chang AA, Costantine MM, Fitzgerald ML, Foulkes AS, Gibson KS, Güthe N, Habli M, Hackney DN, Hoffman MK, Hoffman MC, Hughes BL, Katz SD, Laleau V, Mallett G, Mendez-Figueroa H, Monzon V, Palatnik A, Palomares KTS, Parry S, Pettker CM, Plunkett BA, Poppas A, Reddy UM, Rouse DJ, Saade GR, Sandoval GJ, Schlater SM, Sciurba FC, Simhan HN, Skupski DW, Sowles A, Thaweethai T, Thomas GL, Thorp JM, Tita AT, Weiner SJ, Weigand S, Yee LM, Flaherman VJ, RECOVER Initiative. Researching COVID to enhance recovery (RECOVER) pregnancy study: Rationale, objectives and design. PloS one 2023. PMID: 38128008


  5. Waldman MR, Raikes A, Hepworth K, Black MM, Cavallera V, Dua T, Janus M, Martin-Herz SP, McCoy DC, Weber AM. Psychometrics of psychosocial behavior items under age 6 years: Evidence from Nebraska, USA. Infant Mental Health Journal 2023. PMID: 38053329


  6. Martin-Herz SP, Otieno P, Laanoi GM, Moshi V, Olieng'o Okoth G, Santos N, Walker D. Growth and neurodevelopmental outcomes of preterm and low birth weight infants in rural Kenya: a cross-sectional study. BMJ open 2023. PMID: 37652593


  7. Metz TD, Clifton RG, Gallagher R, Gross RS, Horwitz LI, Jacoby VL, Martin-Herz SP, Peralta-Carcelen M, Reeder HT, Beamon CJ, Bind MA, Chan J, Chang AA, Chibnik LB, Costantine MM, Fitzgerald ML, Foulkes AS, Gibson KS, Güthe N, Habli M, Hackney DN, Hoffman MK, Hoffman MC, Hughes BL, Katz SD, Laleau V, Mallett G, Figueroa HM, Monzon V, Palatnik A, Palomares KTS, Parry S, Peralta-Carcelen M, Pettker CM, Plunkett BA, Poppas A, Reddy UM, Rouse DJ, Saade GR, Sandoval GJ, Schlater SM, Sciurba FC, Simhan HN, Skupski DW, Sowles A, Thaweethai T, Thomas GL, Thorp JM, Tita AT, Weiner SJ, Weigand S, Yee LM, Flaherman VJ. Researching COVID to enhance recovery (RECOVER) pregnancy study: Rationale, objectives and design. medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences 2023. PMID: 37162923


  8. Crotty JE, Martin-Herz SP, Scharf RJ. Cognitive Development. Pediatrics in review 2023. PMID: 36720678


  9. Jeung J, Talgo J, Sparks A, Martin-Herz SP. Expanding Developmental and Behavioral Health Capacity in Pediatric Primary Care. Clinical pediatrics 2023. PMID: 36609195


  10. McNelis K, Prasanphanich N, Martin-Herz SP, Carter T, Merchant HF, Patterson J, Hager S, Chitashvili T, Jarvis SB, Kamath-Rayne BD. Adaptation of Essential Care for Every Baby educational program to improve infant outcomes in the context of Zika. BMC pediatrics 2022. PMID: 36404307


  11. Martin-Herz SP, Haggerty K, Neilands TB, Sterling M, Christakis DA. Factors Associated with Trajectories of Externalizing Behavior in Preschoolers. 2021. PMID: 34963654


  12. Martin-Herz SP, McMahon RJ, Malzyner S, Chiang N, Zatzick DF. Impact of posttraumatic stress disorder and depressive symptoms on quality of life in adolescents after general traumatic injury. 2021. PMID: 34861072


  13. AlRasheed RM, Martin-Herz SP, Glidden DV, Okumura MJ. Adherence to Child Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Treatment Guidelines in Medical Homes-Results from a National Survey. Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP 2021. PMID: 34034294


  14. Scharf RJ, Zheng C, Briscoe Abath C, Martin-Herz SP. Developmental Concerns in Children Coming to the United States as Refugees. 2021. PMID: 34011635


  15. Koly KN, Martin-Herz SP, Islam MS, Sharmin N, Blencowe H, Naheed A. Parent mediated intervention programmes for children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders in South Asia: A systematic review. 2021. PMID: 33705420


  16. Isquith-Dicker LN, Kwist A, Black D, Hawes SE, Slyker J, Bergquist S, Martin-Herz SP. Early Child Development Assessments and Their Associations with Long-Term Academic and Economic Outcomes: A Systematic Review. 2021. PMID: 33562795


  17. Martin-Herz SP, Buysse CA, DeBattista A, Feldman HM. Colocated Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics in Primary Care: Improved Outcome Across Settings. Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP 2020. PMID: 32108124


  18. Punatar R, Martin-Herz SP. Improving Access to Developmental Evaluations Through Novel Models of Care: A Pilot Study. Clinical pediatrics 2019. PMID: 31165639


  19. Kelley MC, Brazg T, Wilfond BS, Lengua LJ, Rivin BE, Martin-Herz SP, Diekema DS. Ethical challenges in research with orphans and vulnerable children: a qualitative study of researcher experiences. International health 2016. PMID: 27178675


  20. Martin-Herz SP, Zatzick DF, McMahon RJ. Health-related quality of life in children and adolescents following traumatic injury: a review. Clinical child and family psychology review 2012. PMID: 22527775


  21. Martin-Herz SP, Rivara FP, Wang J, Russo J, Zatzick DF. Predictors of parental posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in the year after adolescent traumatic injury. Academic pediatrics 2012. PMID: 22475821


  22. Johnston BD, Martin-Herz SP. Correlates of reinjury risk in sibling groups: a prospective observational study. Pediatrics 2010. PMID: 20123764


  23. Martin-Herz SP, Shetty AK, Bassett MT, Ley C, Mhazo M, Moyo S, Herz AM, Katzenstein D. Perceived risks and benefits of HIV testing, and predictors of acceptance of HIV counselling and testing among pregnant women in Zimbabwe. International journal of STD & AIDS 2006. PMID: 17212862


  24. Smith MS, Martin-Herz SP, Womack WM, Marsigan JL. Comparative study of anxiety, depression, somatization, functional disability, and illness attribution in adolescents with chronic fatigue or migraine. Pediatrics 2003. PMID: 12671155


  25. Martin-Herz SP, Patterson DR, Honari S, Gibbons J, Gibran N, Heimbach DM. Pediatric pain control practices of North American Burn Centers. The Journal of burn care & rehabilitation 2003. PMID: 12543988


  26. Boeve SA, Aaron LA, Martin-Herz SP, Peterson A, Cain V, Heimbach DM, Patterson DR. Sleep disturbance after burn injury. The Journal of burn care & rehabilitation 2002. PMID: 11803310


  27. Martin-Herz SP, Thurber CA, Patterson DR. Psychological principles of burn wound pain in children. II: Treatment applications. The Journal of burn care & rehabilitation 2000. PMID: 11020055


  28. Thurber CA, Martin-Herz SP, Patterson DR. Psychological principles of burn wound pain in children. I: theoretical framework. The Journal of burn care & rehabilitation 2000. PMID: 10935822


  29. Smith MS, Martin-Herz SP, Womack WM, McMahon RJ. Recurrent headache in adolescents: nonreferred versus clinic population. Headache 1999. PMID: 11279957


  30. Honari S, Patterson DR, Gibbons J, Martin-Herz SP, Mann R, Gibran NS, Heimbach DM. Comparison of pain control medication in three age groups of elderly patients. The Journal of burn care & rehabilitation 1997. PMID: 9404983