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Department of Pediatrics Department of Pediatrics
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Faculty

Academic General Pediatrics
Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics
Newborn Medicine

 

Academic General Pediatrics

  • Adam Braddock, ​MD, MPhil

    Adam Braddock, ​MD, MPhil

    Associate Clinical Professor

    Clinical Interests
    General Pediatrics, Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics

    Academic Interests
    School Health, Ethics, Developmental Behavioral Disorders
  • Janet K. Crow, MD

    Janet K. Crow, MD

    Clinical Professor of Pediatrics

    Clinical Interests
    Providing excellent longitudinal care for infants, children and adolescents throughout their developmental stages. Teaching future physicians to deliver comprehensive and compassionate care.

    Academic Interests
    Early Childhood Literacy, Global Immunization, Challenges in Parenting

    Languages Spoken
    Spanish
  • Nancy Graff, MD

    Nancy Graff, MD

    Clinical Professor of Pediatrics

    Clinical Interests
    Caring for children of all ages, with a particular passion for the health of those in foster care.

    Academic Interests
    Advocacy and teaching the next generation of pediatricians the importance of community to improve the health of children and their families.
  • Leah Kern, MD

    Leah Kern, MD

    Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics
    Section Chief, UCSD Academic General Pediatrics
    Medical Director, UCSD Academic General Pediatrics Clinics
    Director, UCSD Pediatric Travel Clinic

    Clinical Interests
    Providing high quality pediatric care; promoting safe & healthy travel at the UCSD Pediatrics Travel Clinic; care of HIV-infected and HIV-exposed infants and children

    Academic Interests
    Quality improvement projects for general pediatrics clinic-based screening programs (cholesterol screening, maternal postpartum depression screening); pediatric travel medicine; pediatric HIV care

    Languages Spoken
    Spanish and French
  • Michelle Leff, MD, IBCLC​

    Michelle Leff, MD, IBCLC​

    Clinical Professor of Pediatrics
    UCSD Health Medical Director of Breastfeeding
    Better Outcomes through Research of Newborns (BORN) site director

    Clinical Interests
    Newborn medicine, breastfeeding, neonatal abstinence syndrome

    Academic Interests
    Improving breastfeeding rates and outcomes, medical education surrounding newborn care, teaching child safety, and optimizing neonatal abstinence syndrome treatment
  • Shannon Leung Kim, MD

    Shannon Leung Kim, MD

    Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics

    Clinical Interests
    Providing excellent preventive and acute care to infants, children, and adolescents. She also has a special interest in breastfeeding support.

    Academic Interests
    Increasing patient health literacy and patient-provider communication to improve breastfeeding education and transitions of care from pediatric to adult medicine.
  • Bretten Pickering, MD

    Bretten Pickering, MD

    Clinical Professor of Pediatrics
    Section Chief, UCSD Academic General Pediatrics
    Medical Director, UCSD General Pediatrics Clinic

    Clinical Interests
    Compassionate care for infants, children and adolescents and expertise in caring for medically fragile children with complex health care needs.

    Academic Interests
    Teaching medical students and residents about pediatric primary care. Chronic medical conditions and medically complex children.
  • Joshua Rothman, MD

    Joshua Rothman, MD

    Clinical Assistant Professor

    Clinical Interests
    Providing longitudinal care to infants, children, and adolescents, with an interest in preventative medicine, nutrition, and population health.

    Academic Interests
    Clinical informatics and optimization of the electronic health record, with the goal of improving patient outcomes and providing high value care.
  • Piper Sandel, MD

    Piper Sandel, MD

    Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics

    Clinical Interests
    Providing primary care to infants, children and young adults with special interest in Community Pediatrics and Breastfeeding Medicine

    Academic Interests
    Health Disparities, Breastfeeding Education and Care
  • Vanessa Scott, MD, MS

    Vanessa Scott, MD, MS

    Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics

    Clinical Interests
    Providing excellent care to infants, children and adolescents, with special interests in newborns and breastfeeding support, nutrition, and preventative care.

    Academic Interests
    Trauma-informed care approach in nutrition, plant-forward eating, breastfeeding and immunization delivery. Compassionate communication training in medical education and for faculty development. Quality improvement.
  • Lori Wan, MD

    Lori Wan, MD

    Clinical Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics
    Director, Combined Medicine/Pediatrics Residency Program
    Academic Community Director
    Associate Program Director, Medical Scientist Training Program

    Clinical Interests
    Primary care for infants, children, adolescents, and adults, with a focus on preventive care, chronic diseases, and women’s health.

    Academic Interests
    Graduate and Undergraduate Medical Education
  • Janine Young, MD

    Janine Young, MD

    Division Chief, Academic General Pediatrics, Newborn Medicine, and Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics
    Professor of Pediatrics, UC San Diego
    Martin T. Stein Endowed Chair in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics

    Clinical Interests
    Immigrant Health, tropical medicine, tuberculosis, hepatitis B, cultural sensitivity, immigrant medical screening, management and prevention of female genital cutting

    Academic Interests
    Immigrant and Refugee Health, environmental exposures, medical education, medical screening, cultural practices, electronic medical record optimization, health access and barriers to care

    Languages Spoken
    Spanish and French

Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics

  • Adam Braddock, ​MD, MPhil

    Adam Braddock, ​MD, MPhil

    Associate Clinical Professor

    Clinical Interests
    General Pediatrics, Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics

    Academic Interests
    School Health, Ethics, Developmental Behavioral Disorders
  • Yi Hui Liu, MD

    Yi Hui Liu, MD

    Clinical Professor of Pediatrics
    Section Head, Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics

    Clinical Interests
    Evaluation and care of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorders, anxiety, intellectual disability, developmental delays

    Academic Interests
    Complex ADHD, interprofessional collaboration, systems of care for children with developmental disabilities/behavioral conditions
  • Lauren Gist, MD

    Lauren Gist, MD

    Clinical Assistant Professor

    Clinical Interests
    Dr. Gist specializes in developmental-behavioral pediatrics with an interest in the evaluation and care of young children with behavioral challenges, children with developmental and behavioral concerns associated with genetic conditions, autism, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

    Academic Interests
    Teaching medical students and residents about developmental-behavior pediatrics. Autism and genetic disorders leading to developmental delays.
  • Theodora Nelson, MD

    Theodora Nelson, MD

    Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrician

    Clinical Interests
    Assessing and advocating for children and adolescents with learning disabilities. Providing preventative care for children and adolescents with developmental disabilities.

    Academic Interests
    Parenting skills and the role of the developmental pediatrician in schools.
  • Cecilia Rhodus, MD

    Cecilia Rhodus, MD

    Medical Staff-Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrician

    Clinical Interests
    Diagnosing and working with children on the autism spectrum;Teaching social skills to children with ASD; Providing developmental assessments in multi-disciplinary clinics (Turners, Down Syndrome); Sleep difficulties

    Academic Interests
    Rady's Autism Friendly Hospital Initiative
  • ​Martin T. Stein, MD

    ​Martin T. Stein, MD

    Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Emeritus

    Retired

Newborn Medicine

  • Eustratia "Tia" Hubbard, MD

    Eustratia "Tia" Hubbard, MD

    Clinical Professor of Pediatrics
    Section Lead, Newborn Medicine
    Medical Director, Newborn Services for UC San Diego Health
    Director, Newborn Medicine section in Division of Academic General Pediatrics

    Clinical Interests
    With over 20 years of experience as a newborn hospitalist, Dr. Hubbard specializes in providing comprehensive infant care, educating caregivers and medical trainees, incorporating current evidence into practice, and quality improvement. She especially enjoys assisting new parents with their transition to parenthood.

    Academic Interests
    Newborn behavior and communication; management of hypoglycemia; soothing and swaddling; breast milk feeding; care and nutrition of late-preterm infants; and the impact of family dynamics, maternal mental health, and cultural diversity in newborn care.
  • Lisa Stellwagen, MD

    Lisa Stellwagen, MD

    Clinical Professor of Pediatrics
    Medical and Executive Director, University of California Health Milk Bank

    Clinical Interests
    Newborn specialist and pediatrician for over 35 years in the community and hospital setting. Her clinical expertise includes milk banking, infant nutrition, breast milk feeding, and medical care of newborns.

    Academic Interests
    Education of families, medical students, pediatric residents and neonatal fellows about newborn care and the importance of infant health and nutrition. Her research interests include human milk quality and storage, maternal milk production, and promoting human milk feeding to improve infant health
  • Kathryn Johnson, MD, MS

    Kathryn Johnson, MD, MS

    Associate Clinical Professor
    Medical Director of Pediatric Quality, UC San Diego Health

    Clinical Interests
    Dr. Johnson is a newborn hospitalist who specializes in the care of newborns. She has special interests in quality improvement and creating highly reliable systems for providing newborn and pediatric care.

    Academic Interests
    Dr. Johnson specializes in the translation of quality data into clinical process improvement, leading to improved quality of care and enhanced patient safety. She holds a Masters degree in Healthcare Leadership and Management. As the Medical Director for Pediatric Quality, she focuses on coordinating and optimizing care for pediatric patients in all clinical areas and service lines at UC San Diego Health.
  • Michelle Leff, MD, IBCLC​

    Michelle Leff, MD, IBCLC​

    Clinical Professor of Pediatrics
    UCSD Health Medical Director of Breastfeeding​
    Better Outcomes through Research of Newborns (BORN) Site Director​

    Clinical Interests
    Newborn medicine, breastfeeding, neonatal abstinence syndrome​

    Academic Interests
    Improving breastfeeding rates and outcomes, medical education surrounding newborn care, teaching child safety, and optimizing neonatal abstinence syndrome treatment
  • Kirsten Limmer, MD

    Kirsten Limmer, MD

    Associate Professor of Pediatrics

    Clinical Interests
    Newborn medicine, hospitalist

    Academic Interests
    Research involving the thymus gland, protein synthesis, and immune responses.
  • Christopher Longhurst, MD

    Christopher Longhurst, MD

    Clinical Professor
    Chief Medical Officer
    Chief Digital Officer
    Associate Dean, UC San Diego School of Medicine
    Associate Chief Medical Officer of Quality and Patient Safety

    Clinical Interests
    Dr. Longhurst is a newborn hospitalist who specializes in the care of newborns. He provides daily care to infants during their hospital stay which includes newborn examinations, screening tests and procedures such as frenotomies.

    Academic Interests
    Dr. Longhurst instructs medical students, residents and fellows. His research focuses on evaluating the best ways to implement and optimize health information technology to benefit patients and staff.. As the CIO, he leads strategic planning and operations for all administrative and clinical information systems related to operating the system's hospitals, clinics, and affiliated health care facilities.
  • Richard Silva, MD

    Richard Silva, MD

    Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics

    Clinical Interests 
    Provide comprehensive care for infants, children and adolescents, with special interest in newborn medicine.  ​

    Academic Interests
    Education of residents and medical students.  Increase opportunities to those underrepresented in medicine. 
  • Stacey Ulrich, MD

    Stacey Ulrich, MD

    Clinical Professor of Pediatrics

    Clinical Interests
    Provides newborn care at UCSD Jacobs Medical Center and pediatric emergency medical care at Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego.

    Academic Interests
    Newborn and pediatric education for medical students, residents, and fellows during clinical rotations and also classroom teaching at UCSD school of medicine. Dr. Ulrich also is the compliance director for the emergency medicine division at Rady Children’s Hospital and has interests in reimbursement, coding, and billing.

AHP Staff

  • Emily Golden, RN, MSN, CPNP​

    Emily Golden, RN, MSN, CPNP​

    Pediatric Nurse Practitioner for Newborn Service

    Clinical Interests
    Although trained in all areas of Pediatrics, Emily’s main passion and focus is in babies. As an experienced NICU bedside nurse for over 15 years, Emily currently works with healthy term infants at UCSD Jacobs Medical Center in La Jolla.

    Academic Interests
    Newborn medicine Breast feeding Support Neonatology (NICU)
  • Grace Ko, MPH, MS, CPNP

    Grace Ko, MPH, MS, CPNP

    Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner

    Clinical Interests
    Grace Ko is a certified pediatric nurse practitioner. She began her career providing primary care to infants, children, and adolescents in the community setting. Grace now specializes in the care of newborns at UCSD Jacobs Medical Center. She especially enjoys supporting new parents during their transition to parenthood.

    Academic Interests
    Breastfeeding, care of late preterm infants

    Languages Spoken
    Spanish
  • Zohar McMurtry, RN, MSN, CPNP​

    Zohar McMurtry, RN, MSN, CPNP​

    Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, UCSD Jacobs Newborn Service​

    Clinical Interests
    Zohar works as a Newborn Provider at UCSD Jacobs Medical Center and specializes in providing comprehensive infant care, incorporating current​ evidence and clinical guidelines. Zohar especially enjoys educating new​ parents on the care of their new infants, as well as orienting and educating​ the new interns and medical students that rotate through the newborn​ service. ​

    Academic Interests
    The importance of all vaccinations including the Hepatitis B vaccines for​ newborns, management of hypoglycemia in newborns, breast-milk feeding,​ care and nutrition of late-preterm infants, and the importance of cultural diversity in newborn medicine.
  • Alison Wolf, MSN, PNP​

    Alison Wolf, MSN, PNP​

    Pediatric Nurse Practitioner for Newborn Service

    Clinical Interests
    Alison “Ali” Wolf is a pediatric nurse practitioner specializing in the care of newborns. She is the lead nurse practitioner for Newborn Medicine at UC San Diego Health and the Associate Director of the UC Health Milk Bank.

    Academic Interests
    Breastfeeding, car seat safety, neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome, neonatal resuscitation, quality improvement and clinical informatics. She is car seat safety technician, neonatal resuscitation instructor, safe sleep champion, Lean Six Sigma green belt and Epic Physician Builder.