Michael Espiritu, MD

Dr. Michael M. Espiritu was appointed to the Permanent Observer Mission of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the United Nations in 2015 as Counsellor with a focus on health and humanitarian affairs.

He is a specialist in newborn medicine having received his medical degree (M.D.) from the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, bachelor’s degree (A.B. cum laude) from Harvard University, and post-graduate training in pediatrics and in neonatal-perinatal medicine at the New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center.
He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. Espiritu currently holds positions as Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at New York University School of Medicine, Associate Director of the NYU Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program, and attending neonatologist at NYU Langone Medical Center and Bellevue Hospital Center. Internationally, he has worked in Tanzania (2008), the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan (2013), and the West Bank (2014-present). Having been involved in the evacuation of neonatal patients during Hurricane Sandy (2012), he has published on the care of critically ill newborns in natural disaster.

Dr. Espiritu is a Knight of Magistral Grace of the Order of Malta (2014), having previously been a volunteer in the Auxiliary Corps. He currently works with The Holy Family Hospital of Bethlehem, the Order of Malta’s maternity and neonatal hospital in the West Bank, as visiting faculty. He has served at the Order’s international summer camp for disabled youth and sits on the Auxiliary Committee of the Order of Malta American Association.

His decorations within the Order include the Bronze Medal pro Merito Melitensi (2015) and the Medal for Assistance to Pilgrims of the Jubilee of Mercy (2016).