Elsie S. Mainali, MD, PhD, began her career in clinical neonatology, or newborn care, at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she secured excellent experience as an academic clinical scientist. With a diverse skill set and varied body of work to her credit, Dr. Mainali also held management positions in the clinical neonatology arena from 2007 to 2023. She focused heavily on coaching intensivists and neonatologists, building cohesive teams to improve patient safety and ensure the best outcomes. Dr. Mainali considers her ability to modify group behavior and culture to create productive and effective teams to be among her most meaningful achievements to date.
Foundationally, in 1984, Dr. Mainali graduated from Manila Central University with a Doctor of Medicine. Following this accomplishment, she continued to excel in higher education at Texas A&M University, where she studied medical science from 1989 to 1992 and earned a Doctor of Philosophy with a focus in immunology. Dr. Mainali went on to complete her residency in pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York before pursuing additional, impressive, postgraduate coursework in neonatology at the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Serious about staying current and active in her profession, she maintains affiliations with the American Academy of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics section on community pediatrics.
Dr. Mainali’s desire as a neonatologist is to direct her efforts to places that require assistance in her specialty to improve health care and accessibility of care for babies. She especially works to enhance the quality of life for individuals in the local communities she serves. Crediting her wins to perseverance and experiencing great opportunities in the United States, Dr. Mainali believes that, despite obstacles, if individuals put their hearts and minds into their career pursuits, they will be rewarded. She is most grateful for the trust of her patients and their families, who recognize her sincerity and passion. She believes that anyone can achieve success through hard work and proper training, although she acknowledges that the path is not always easy. To aspiring physicians and other professionals, she stresses the importance of seizing chances to challenge themselves and to be aware of their unique potential.
Heeding her own advice, Dr. Mainali continues to expand her work and her reach. Recently, she and Indonesian neonatologist Dr. Toto Wisnu Hendrarto collaborated and founded a blog and podcast focused on neonatology in the language of Bahasa Indonesia. She encourages the public to visit https://neonatali.com/. It is the first and only digital education specific to newborn care in Indonesia. Further emphasizing the need, Dr. Mainali shared, based on 2024 government statistics cited at https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/infant-mortality-rate/country-comparison/, that in Indonesia, a very large archipelago-country with 17,000 islands and more than 277 million people, there is a 2.15 birth rate per woman and neonatal mortality rate of 18.9 per 1000 live births. Recalling when, about 20 years ago, she traveled to Indonesia to share some basic education in neonatology, Dr. Mainali urges that the effort continues there today with about 600 pediatricians who practice exclusively with newborns. She feels strongly that the new neonatology blog and podcast will effectively reach the practicing providers in a very direct and inexpensive way. The hope of Dr. Mainali and Dr. Hendrarto is to expand the knowledge of the highly skilled newborn providers exponentially in the near future.
As an academician, clinician, and administrator for many years, she knows the importance of teamwork. She acquired invaluable skills through a yearlong, formal medical director preparation program at a well-known nationwide physicians’ group, and team coach training as part of leadership training titled “Leading Organizations to Health” provided by the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC). She has been constantly sharing her wealth of clinical experience, and especially the skill of team building, re-stating her goal to produce a more cohesive clinical team with improved safety and outcomes for their patients and their families. The AAMC has equipped Dr. Mainali and colleagues to directly confront the need for transformation in the health care system, including successful organizational change in the delivery and quality of health outcomes.
With eyes on the future, Dr. Mainali is launching her own nonprofit organization with the mission of helping youth. She will focus on the country of Nepal, which, she says, is facing many difficulties in providing opportunities for young people. Inspired by the work ethic and creativity of Nepal’s people, she hopes to support local organizations by financing youth training and, thereby providing these young people with the skills to be financially self-sufficient—and curb the need to be separated from their families for overseas sources of living to maintain the family unit, while, at the same time, preserving Nepal’s culture.