Thomas Heygi, MD

Thomas Hegyi is Professor, Emeritus, of Pediatrics at RWJMS. After completing his undergraduate degree at Columbia University and his MD at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Dr. Hegyi continued his training at the same institution, where he pursued residency training in Pediatrics under the direction of Harry Gordon, Henry Barnett, Lawrence Gartner, and Dominick Purpura. He then moved to Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he completed a fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine under the supervision of L. Stanley James, John Driscoll, and Richard Polin. During his training, he helped develop the transcutaneous oxygen monitor, a key device in the management of high-risk infants in today’s NICUs. 

Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia

Over the last five decades, Dr. Hegyi has made important research contributions in areas ranging from transcutaneous bilirubinometry and phototherapy to bilirubin as an antioxidant and to unbound bilirubin.

• Studied and developed transcutaneous bilirubinometry
• Identified various light therapies to treat neonatal jaundice
• Participated in the invention, development, and study of the UBCHeck monitor for the point-of-care measurement of unbound bilirubin

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

As Director of the SIDS Center of New Jersey since 1988, Dr. Hegyi has provided research leadership into the investigation of multiple aspects of sudden infant death

Dr. Hegyi’s research spans clinical and basic science investigations in neonatal care, with a focus on neonatal hyperbilirubinemia and SIDS. Two recent and unique efforts encompass his contributions to these fields and include the development of a sensor for unbound bilirubin and the promulgation of a novel approach to the prevention of SIDS using caffeine therapy.

• Hegyi, T., Kleinfeld, A., Huber, A., Weinberger, B., Memon, N., Shih, W.J., Carayannopoulos, M., Oh, W. Unbound bilirubin levels in phototherapy-treated preterm infants receiving soy-based lipid emulsion. Ped International 2020: 62:1357-1363 
• Mariduena, J., Ramagopal, M., Laumbach, R., Hiatt, M., Chandra, S., Hegyi, T. Vascular endothelial growth factor in preterm infants. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2022 Apr;35(8):1517-1522. [PMID: 32366142]
• Hegyi, T., Chefitz, D., Weller, A., Huber, A., Carayannopoulos, M., Kleinfeld, A. Unbound bilirubin levels in newborn infants. J Mat-Fetal and Neonatal Med 2020; 4;1-7  
• Sontag, J., Delveno, C., Hegyi, T., Ostfeld, B., Wackowski, O. Secondhand smoke risk communications: Effects on parent smokers’ perceptions and intentions. J Health Communications 2020;25(7):554-565  
• Memon, N., Lee, C.W., Herdt, A., Weinberger, B., Hegyi, T., Carayannopoulos, M., Aleksunes, L., Guo, G., Griffin, I. Suppression of bile acid synthesis in a preterm infant receiving prolonged parenteral nutrition. J Clin Exp Hepatol 2022;12: 200-203  
• Hegyi, T., Kleinfeld, A. Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia and the role of unbound bilirubin. J Mat-Fetal and Neonatal Med 2022; 35:9201-7  
• Liu, K., Teitler, J., Rajananda, S., Chegwin, V., Bearman, P., Hegyi, T., Reichman, E.R. Elective deliveries and the risk of autism. Am J Preventive Med 2022; 63:68-76 [PMID35367106]
• Hegyi, T., Ostfeld, B.M. Sudden Unexpected Infant Death risk profiles in the first month of life. J Mat-Fetal and Neonatal Med 2022;35: 10444-10450  
• Sasenick, J., Kleinfeld, A., Huber, A., Oh, W., Hegyi, T., Weinberger, B. Effects of lipid emulsions on unbound bilirubin and response to phototherapy in preterm infants. J Mat-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine 2022; 35: 10395-10400  
• Ostfeld, B.M., Schwartz-Soicher, O., Reichman, N., Hegyi, T. Racial differences in the impact of maternal smoking on Sudden Unexpected Infant Death. J Perinatology 2023; 43:345-349  
• Balázs, G., Balajthy, A., Seri, I., Hegyi, T., Ertl, T., Szabó, T., Rőszer, T., Papp, A., Balla, J., Gáll, T., Balla, G. Prevention of chronic morbidities of extremely premature newborns by LISA-nCPAP respiratory therapy and adjuvant perinatal strategies. Antioxidants 2023; 12:1149 
• Kushnir, A., Bhavsar, R., Hanna, E., Hegyi, T. Incidence and severity of neonatal abstinence syndrome in infants with prenatal exposure to methadone versus buprenorphine. Children 2023; 10:1030 (37371262)
• Reichman, N.E., Corman, H., Noonan, K., Papas, E., Kuhn, K.B., Hegyi, T. Small-for-gestational-age and vocabulary and achievement test scores at age 9 among children born at term in a contemporary U.S. sample. Matern Child Health J. 2023; 27:2156-2164 
• Roychowdhury, S., Lowenthal, J., Rosenfeld, E., Kane, I., Gupta, G., Hegyi, T., Hogan, J., Bramwit, M., Rosen, T. The medicolegal use of neuroimaging in term neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. CEOS Obstet Gynaecol 2024; 2:1-15.
• Hegyi T. Chefitz, D., Weller, A., Huber, A., Carayannopoulos, M., Oh, W., Kleinfeld, A. Factors affecting the relationship between total and unbound bilirubin in preterm and term infants. Acta Paediatr. 2025 Aug;114(8):1977-1981
• Hegyi T, Ostfeld BM. Reducing the risk of sudden unexpected infant death: the caffeine hypothesis. J Perinatol. 2025 Nov;45(11):1644-1648.  
• Hegyi, T. Unbound bilirubin: a call to reframe neonatal care and clinical decision-making. Pediatr Res (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-025-04667-w
• Hegyi, T., Huber, A., Kleinfeld, A. Displacement of bilirubin from albumin by Omegaven and Intralipid. J. Pediatr. Surgery 2025; 60:162671  
• Kleinfeld A, Huber A, Oh W, Hegyi T. The Effect of Conjugated Bilirubin on the Measurement of Unbound Bilirubin. Acta Paediatr. 2026 Feb;115(2):468-472.  
• Hegyi, T., Huber, A., Oh, W., Kleinfeld, A. Unbound free fatty acids from intralipid displace bilirubin from albumin, comparable to sulfisoxazole. Pediatr Res (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-025-04673-y   
• Hegyi, T., Drzewiecki, G., Ching, J. Nonlinear analysis of neonatal breathing dynamics: A case study. 2025 IEEE Signal Processing in Medicine and Biology Symposium  Proceedings (SBMP). December 6, 2025. Philadelphia, PA, USA, 2025, pp.1-6 doi:10.1109/SPMB67169.2025.11345433.
• Cordero, N., Petrova, A., Halari, A., Hegyi, T. Transcutaneous bilirubin measurements in preterm infants: The impact of race, age, and phototherapy. J. Perinatology (2026) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-025-02558-w