Peeling Back the Layers: How Physiology, Curiosity and Mentorship Shape Dr. Romal Jassar’s Approach to Neonatal Care
Editor's Note: The following profile of Romal Jassar, MD, was written by Ananya Sharma, a medical student at University Missouri-Kansas City who spent the summer working with Dr. Jassar as part of the Mass General Brigham Department of Pediatrics Summer Student Research Program.
Unlike most patients, newborns cannot voice what hurts. Every neonatology diagnosis begins with scattered fragments—a mother’s history, a physical exam, vital signs. The clues rarely arrive in order, and answers are uncovered one layer at a time.
"It's like peeling an onion," explains Romal Jassar, MD, Director of the Tele-NICU at Mass General Brigham for Children. "In neonatology, you don't obtain the history from the patient. You rely on the mother's history, and then you peel back layer after layer until things reveal themselves."
For Jassar, that process of uncovering answers defines far more than her clinical career. It shapes her approach to neonatology research, fuels her passion for education, and inspires a lifelong commitment to mentorship.
Puzzles, Physics and Physiology
Long before studying medicine, Jassar was captivated by puzzles. An avid mystery reader with a passion for math and physics, she was drawn to subjects that rewarded critical reasoning over rote memorization.
To her, every problem had an explanation waiting to be uncovered. Although she once envisioned a career in civil engineering, medicine ultimately led her to pediatrics, where she quickly felt at home.
Children, she explains, wear their progress openly. "When they're feeling better, they're jumping in the wards," she laughs.
Specializing in neonatology offered something more—an opportunity to integrate physiology, critical thinking, and intensive care into a single field.
Neonatology requires understanding the math and physics underscoring lung mechanics, ventilation, gas exchange, and blood flow.
It was the perfect intersection of Jassar's lifelong interests and growing passion for medicine.
Teaching the "Why"
The mentors who shaped Jassar's career shared one guiding principle—understanding the why before learning what. Among the first of these mentors was her anatomy professor in medical school, whose teaching style completely changed the way Jassar approached medicine."
She never expected us to just memorize," Jassar recalls. "She used everyday examples to explain embryology and anatomy. Suddenly it all made sense."
Those early lessons resonated with her throughout residency and fellowship, where mentors continued to challenge her to think beyond rote memorization.
When Jassar joined a translational lung physiology laboratory during fellowship, she expected her first week to focus on neonatal lung disease. Instead, her mentor handed her a physics textbook.
"She asked me, 'What is force? What is energy?' And I confused both," Jassar recalls with a laugh. Before ever discussing lung disease, they returned to the fundamentals of breathing.
It was a lesson that crystallized the philosophy Jassar carries into every patient encounter today—understand the physiology first, and the rest will follow.
Research Beyond the Bench
Although Dr. Jassar began her research experience in a translational laboratory, her interests gradually evolved toward medical education.
Today, her work focuses on simulation-based learning and quality improvement in neonatology.
This evolution has been intentional. Jassar constantly challenges herself to master a completely new area, an approach that she believes makes her a better physician, educator, and patient advocate. "Every five years, I need to learn a new skill because I know I get bored."
Leaving a Legacy
When asked what the most rewarding part of her career has been, Jassar does not mention a publication, a grant or a new technology. She talks about her mentees.
"If you're a good leader, you leave your legacy in your mentees," she said.
Over the years, former trainees have returned to tell her they still remember the way she taught them to think. Others mentor their own trainees using approaches they first learned from her. For Jassar, those moments are the greatest measure of success.
Looking ahead, she is inspired by the future of neonatal medicine. Advances in precision medicine and emerging technologies such as artificial placentas and telemedicine are exciting.
However, no matter how advanced the field of neonatal medicine becomes, Jassar hopes the heart of the field never changes.
"My advice for those entering neonatology: Stay curious. Read and talk and discuss," she says. "That's how ideas come about."
After all, whether she is caring for a critically ill newborn, designing a simulation curriculum, or mentoring the next generation of physicians, Jassar approaches every challenge the same way she approaches a difficult diagnosis—patiently, thoughtfully and one layer at a time.
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