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Faculty

Academic General Pediatrics

​EYLA BOIES, MD

Clinical Professor
Clinical Interests
Primary care for infants, children and adolescents with an expertise in lactation and assisting mothers who are experiencing difficulties breastfeeding their newborns.
Academic Interests
Premature infant nutrition, breastfeeding, and pediatric infectious diseases.

​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​

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 

​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

Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics ​
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

​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

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.

​LAWRENCE MA, MD

Assistant Clinical Professor
Clinical Interests
Providing comprehensive care to children with complex needs and transitions between pediatric and adult care. 
Academic Interests
Transitions of care.

​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

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

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

Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics ​
Director, Think Globally, Act Locally Resident Rotation
Clinical Interests
Providing excellent care to infants, children and adolescents, with special interests in newborns and breastfeeding support, nutrition, preventative care, parenting techniques and global health.
Academic Interests
Developing innovative technology-based interventions to improve patient/parent-physician communication to decrease health disparities for a variety of topics such as behavioral interventions to increase plant-forward eating, immunization delivery, and breastfeeding. Global health medical education.

​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

​HELEN WANG, MD

Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics ​
Clinical Interests
Working closely with families and caregivers to care for patients, from infancy to young adulthood,  to help them thrive and reach their potential.  Special interests are in newborn care, nutrition & obesity. ​
Academic Interests
Innovate and improve upon medical education currently provided to medical students and residents and quality improvement for clinical processes.

​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

Associate Clinical Professor
Clinical Interests
General Pediatrics, Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics
Academic Interests
School Health, Ethis, Developmental Behavioral Disorders

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

​SHEILA GAHAGAN, MD, MPH ​

Clinical Professor of Pediatrics ​
Clinical Interests
Dr. Gahagan is a board-certified developmental-behavioral pediatrician with a special interest in evaluation and care of infants and toddlers with developmental delay and behavioral concerns. Her expertise lies in infant and toddler regulation disorders (including sleep problems), difficulty feeding, excessive crying and tantrums, attachment disorders, complications of prematurity, and fetal alcohol syndrome. She also cares for many children with autism spectrum disorders and ADHD.​
Academic Interests
Dr. Gahagan’s research focuses on understanding health disparities in child growth and development and the role of nutrition on long-term developmental outcomes. Specifically, she studies the role of iron on the developing brain and the long-term consequences of iron deficiency anemia. She also studies how early life childhood obesity affects development and health.

​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

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​

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

Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Emeritus
Retired

Newborn Medicine

​EUSTRATIA "TIA" HUBBARD, MD

Clinical Professor of Pediatrics​
Medical Director, Newborn Services for UC San Diego Health​
Director, Newborn Medicine section in Division of Academic General Pediatrics ​
Clinical Interests
As a newborn hospitalist, Dr. Hubbard specializes in providing comprehensive infant care, incorporating current evidence and clinical guidelines. 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

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

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​

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

Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Clinical Interests
Newborn medicine, hospitalist
Academic Interests
Research involving the thymus gland, protein synthesis, and immune responses.

​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

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

Assistant 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 assistant 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​

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)

​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​

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.