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Department of Pediatrics

About Us

Dedicated to understanding and promoting child health.

What We Do

Faculty Spotlight

Joseph A Camarda

Associate Professor, Pediatrics (Cardiology)

I enjoy general cardiology as well as caring for children with complex congenital heart disease. I am interested in outcomes after surgical repair/palliation, particularly as it pertains to cardiac function. I am also interested in quality improvement and improving patient/family experience in the clinical setting. My primary research interests involve cardiac imaging with echocardiography, 3 dimensional echocardiography and cardiac MRI. I am interested in anatomic, functional and quantitative analysis of the heart using 3-dimensional echo as well as strain imaging. I am also interested i...

Barry K Wershil

Professor, Pediatrics (Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition)

I completed my fellowship at the Combined Program in Pediatric Gastroenterology at Harvard Medical School. I then join the faculty at Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School and continued a research fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Stephen Galli at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. In 2000, I joined the faculty at the SUNY Downstate as the Vice-Chairman of Research and Education, and then in 2003 became the Division Director for Pediatric GI at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In 2008, I joined the faculty at Feinberg and L...

Giselle Rodriguez

Assistant Professor, Pediatrics (Hospital-Based Medicine)

Dr. Rodriguez is a pediatrician in the Hospital-Based Medicine Division of the Pediatrics Department at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. Her clinical and academic interests include general pediatric patient care in the inpatient setting, quality improvement, medical education, and advocacy.

Vishal V Naik

Assistant Professor, Pediatrics (Emergency Medicine)

Vishal Naik is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Pediatric Emergency Medicine Physician at Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He focuses on advancing pediatric care provided in the prehospital setting through systems and education-based interventions at the local and national levels. His involvement in this area includes the Emergency Medical Services for Children, the National Pediatric Readiness Project, and the Pediatric Pandemic Network. 

Rachel E Gahagen

Assistant Professor, Pediatrics (Critical Care)

I attended college at the University of Southern Indiana, studying Biology and Psychology. In 2017, I graduated from Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine, then completed a Pediatrics residency from Peyton Manning Children's Hospital in Indianapolis, IN. I subsequently completed a Pediatric Critical Care Medicine fellowship at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, then joined McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University/Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago as faculty in the Department of Pediatrics and division of critical care in 2023. 

Ben Z Katz

Professor, Pediatrics (Infectious Diseases)

1980; New York University School of Medicine; New York, N.Y.; M.D., Medicine 1980-1983: New York University Medical Center; New York, N.Y.; Resident, Department of Pediatrics 1983-1986: Yale University School of Medicine; New Haven, CT. Postdoctoral Fellow, Pediatric Infectious Diseases; Viral Pathophysiology; George Miller, M.D., Preceptor. 1986-1987: Instructor, Departments of Pediatrics and Epidemiology & Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine; New Haven, CT. 1987-1991: Assistant Professor, Departments of Pediatrics and Epidemiology & Public Health, Yale University School...

Philip T Thrush

Associate Professor, Pediatrics (Cardiology)

My primary clinical interests include pediatric cardiomyopathy (including cardiomyopathy associated with neuromuscular disorders), heart failure and heart transplantation. My primary research interests focus on heart transplant related complications, especially antibody-mediated rejection and cardiac allograft vasculopathy, as well as pediatric heart failure.

Elaine R Morgan

Professor, Pediatrics (Hematology, Oncology, and Stem Cell Transplantation), <span class="secondary">Pediatrics (Palliative Care)</span>

Expertise in care of children with a variety of cancers, especially pediatric leukemia, palliative care and hemophagocytic syndromeExpertise in palliative care and pain managementExpertise in clinical bioethics

Jennifer L Reichek

Associate Professor, Pediatrics (Hematology, Oncology, and Stem Cell Transplantation)

As a former social worker turned physician, I am acutely aware of the way in which the psycho-social atmosphere contributes to the treatment of cancer in children, adolescents, and young adults. As a physician, I try to incorporate that view into my treatment of young people with cancer.

Ashley S Plant

Associate Professor, Pediatrics (Hematology, Oncology, and Stem Cell Transplantation)

Dr. Plant is currently an attending physician in neuro-oncology at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Assistant Professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine with a research focus on translational research and early clinical trial development for pediatric brain tumors. Currently, brain tumors are the second most common cancer diagnosis in children and the leading cause of cancer-related death in all pediatric age groups. Many children diagnosed with malignant brain tumors face a dismal prognosis at diagnosis with minimal effective treatments availabl...

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Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

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Faculty Development

Our faculty is one of our greatest resources. To support them on the paths to successful, fulfilling careers, we make faculty development a priority.<

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