Meet Our Faculty

Bio

Colleen Correll is an Associate Professor in the Division of Pediatric Rheumatology. After earning her medical degree from Rush Medical College in Chicago, Dr. Correll completed her residency in Pediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. She moved to Minnesota in 2011 to complete both her Pediatric Rheumatology Fellowship and a Master's Degree in Epidemiology. Dr. Correll has been a faculty member at the University of Minnesota since 2014.

Research Summary

Dr. Correll's research interests are in the epidemiology of pediatric rheumatic diseases, including impact on service and educational planning for community providers, as well as studies of risk factors associate with rheumatic diseases.

Clinical Summary

Clinical Interests

• General Pulmonology
• Tracheostomy/ Ventilator
• Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD)
• Asthma
• Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia
• Sickle Cell Lung Disease
• Rare Lung Disease

Bio

Sarah E. Cusick, PhD, is Assistant Professor of pediatrics in the School of Medicine, a member of the public health nutrition faculty in the School of Public Health, a faculty member of the Center for Neurobehavioral Development, and a member of the University's Nutrition and Epidemiology graduate faculties. She holds a Ph.D. in Nutrition and International Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her research, based in Uganda, aims to elucidate iron deficiency and infectious disease interactions, with a goal of improving the neurobehavioral development of children living in resource-poor settings. She leads an NIH-funded clinical trial that aims to identify the optimal timing of iron therapy in iron-deficient children with malaria and a study to determine the role of iron deficiency in the neurodevelopment of children exposed to HIV.

Research Summary

Research Interests
Dr. Cusick's research focuses on international maternal and child nutrition, the interaction between nutritional deficiencies and infectious disease, and the effect of these interactions on child health and long-term cognitive development.

Research Projects
Currently funded research include several NIH-funded studies: one on the effect of acute vs. delayed iron therapy in severe malaria on anemia, iron status, and neurobehavioral development in Ugandan children (PI: Chandy John, M.D.) and an investigation of red blood cell iron incorporation in severe malaria.

Bio

Ellen Diego, MD was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio where she also attended medical school at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine (UCCOM). Ellen then moved to Burlington, VT to complete her pediatric residency training and stayed on as the Chief Resident at the University of Vermont Children's Hospital. While in Vermont, she developed a passion for sharp cheddar cheese, maple syrup and composting! Dr. Diego then moved to Charleston, South Carolina to complete her subspecialty training in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC).

Research Summary

During residency, Dr. Diego was certified as a Master Trainer in the Helping Babies Survive (HBS) suite of essential newborn care curriculum for use in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Dr. Diego then joined the Vermont Oxford Network (VON) Global Health Volunteer program based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where she conducted delivery room clinical training for Ethiopia’s first Masters of Neonatal Nursing Program at Addis Ababa University (AAU). Her scholarly interests focus on closing the gaps in neonatal morbidity and mortality by improving the quality of essential newborn care and resuscitation in LMICs. Dr. Diego has a keen interest in global health mentorship for trainees and continues to serve as Clinical Faculty at AAU where she is active in clinical education through virtual platforms. Dr. Diego facilitates a reoccurring student-led virtual clinical case audit series for targeting best practice gaps in tertiary care hospitals in Ethiopia. She is also a member of the AAP Helping Babies Survive Quality Indicator Task Force developing a directory of quality metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of educational programs in LMIC birth facilities.

Bio

Dr. Dobyns is Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Division of Genetics and Metabolism at the University of Minnesota. He joined the Faculty in June 2020 for his second tour at the U, having worked in the Division of Pediatric Neurology from 1992-1998. He is a physician-scientist who studies the nature and causes of developmental brain disorders, and is a leading authority on the causes of human brain malformations. While best known for his work on lissencephaly (smooth brain) and megalencephaly (enlarged brain), he provided the original descriptions for more than 10 clinically recognizable and now well-known syndromes including Smith-Magenis syndrome, rapid-onset dystonia-parkinsonism, coloboma-renal syndrome, bilateral frontoparietal cobblestone malformation, megalencephaly-capillary malformation syndrome (MCAP), megalencephaly-polymicrogyria-polydactly-hydrocephalus syndrome (MPPH) and X-linked lissencephaly with abnormal genitalia (XLAG), all of these now linked to the underlying gene or genes. He co-discovered at least 14 pathogenic copy number variants including the well-known deletion 17p13.3 (Miller-Dieker syndrome), deletion 17p11.2 (Smith-Magenis syndrome) and deletion 16p11.2 (autism and intellectual disability), and co-discovered almost 70 human disease genes.
Dr. Dobyns has also designed and published the major classification systems now in use for brain malformation, and several of the terms that we now use for these disorders come from his work, for example: "malformations of cortical development"; "cobblestone malformation", and "dysgyria". He has also made contributions on the causes of neurodegenerative disorders and developmental disorders of other systems, such as vascular malformations. Dr. Dobyns has served as Principle Investigator on major NIH grants since 1999, and recently published his 400th peer-reviewed scientific paper. In recognition of these and other accomplishments, he received the 2018 Bernard Sachs Award for research in neuroscience with relevance to the care of children with neurological disorders from the Child Neurology Society.

Research Summary

Neurodevelopmental disorders especially those associated with abnormal brain size, malformations and epilepsy, vascular malformations, mosaicism. 

Clinical Summary

Cystic Fibrosis; Acute/Chronic Pancreatitis; EB related issues; Nutrition

Bio

Dr. Ebens joined the Department of Pediatrics in July 2015 as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Blood and Marrow Transplant & Cellular Therapy. She received her medical degree in 2006 from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago and an MPH with a focus on epidemiology and biostatistics from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2007. She completed her Pediatric residency training at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in 2010 followed by a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in 2013. Dr. Ebens remained for an additional year at the University of Michigan for training in Immuno-hematology supported by Vidara Therapeutics. She subsequently completed a Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation fellowship at the University of Minnesota in 2015.

Research Summary

Dr. Ebens's clinical and research interests include hematopoietic cell transplantation for non-malignant disorders including autoimmune diseases, primary immunodeficiency disorders and epidermolysis bullosa, and development of adoptive immunotherapeutics. She currently practices at the M Health Fairview Masonic Children's Hospital on the inpatient Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation unit and outpatient in the Journey clinic – Center for Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation.

Clinical Summary

Clinical Interests: Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation
Clinics: Journey Clinic - Center for Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation

Research Summary

Primary research and education interests are FASD, children from domestic and international adoption and children in foster care.

Clinical Summary

International and Domestically adopted children; Children in foster care; Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.

Bio

Dr. Eisenberg is a Professor in Pediatrics in the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health. She received her baccalaureate degree from the University of Wisconsin and her Master of Public Health from the University of Minnesota, School of Public Health. Dr. Eisenberg earned her Doctor of Science degree from Harvard University School of Public Health and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Adolescent Health at the University of Minnesota.

Research Summary

Dr. Eisenberg focuses her research on social influences on health, behavior, and well-being among adolescents and young adults, and disseminates findings for real-world application. She is particularly interested in interpersonal, organizational, and structural forces that shape the experience of LGBTQ+ youth, including those with intersecting marginalized social positions. Learn more about Dr. Eisenberg's research on the Experts profile and at HealthEASY.

Bio

Dr. Julie Eisengart is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and the Director of the Neurodevelopmental Program in Rare Disease. As a pediatric neuropsychologist, she specializes in rare neurodegenerative disorders of childhood as well as a range of complex medical conditions, and she works with patients from infancy to young adulthood. Her clinical interests include assessing the strengths and needs of children affected by complex medical diagnoses, throughout their medical journeys, to optimize whole-child, whole-family care and supports. As a clinical supervisor and mentor, she values her role in training future psychologists and supporting their development into independent, balanced professionals.
Dr. Eisengart's research focuses on the changing relationships between brain structure, biochemical abnormalities, and brain function in rare disease, with the goal of predicting outcomes and improving supportive planning. She has been heavily involved in examining outcomes of early diagnosis, newborn screening, and/or novel therapies for rare disease. Her research extends to defining and measuring aspects of disease that are under-represented in the clinical and research communities but are important and meaningful to patients and their families, such as neurobehavioral symptoms and the caregiver lived experience.

Research Summary

Natural Histories and Treatment Outcomes of Rare Diseases Involving the Central Nervous System
Lysosomal Storage Disorders

Clinical Summary

Rare Genetic Diseases of Childhood; Storage and Metabolic Disorders; Pre- and Post-Transplant Evaluation; Prenatal and Perinatal Injury; Traumatic Brain Injury; Complex Medical Involvement

Bio

Melissa Engel, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Neonatology. She received her MD from the University of Minnesota Medical School Twin Cities, completed residency in pediatrics at the Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, VA and returned to the state for her Neonatal-Perinatal fellowship at the University of Minnesota. She is the medical director of the Cardiovascular Neurodevelopmental Follow-up Clinic, which focuses on early childhood development for infants with critical congenital heart disease that requires surgery. Her research interests include state-wide Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD) screening and neurodevelopmental outcomes for children with congenital heart disease. In addition, Melissa is the liaison for the University of Minnesota's membership in CNOC—the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Outcome Collaborative—which aims to improve early childhood development with international collaboration for ongoing research in critical congenital heart diseases and subsequent medical therapies.

Clinical Summary

Neonatology; Congenital Heart Disease; Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in premature infants and infants with Congenital Heart Disease

Bio

Dr. Nora Erickson is a clinical child psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Clinical Behavioral Neuroscience at University of Minnesota Medical School. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from Washington State University and completed both a predoctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan. Her clinical and research work focuses on the intersection between perinatal well-being and early childhood mental health, with a specific emphasis on trauma, toxic stress, and resiliency. Dr. Erickson has prior training in several evidence-based early childhood interventions, including intergenerational and group-based modalities.

Bio

Dr. Esler is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and a licensed psychologist. She completed her PhD in school psychology from the University of Minnesota and worked as a school psychologist for 3 years prior to specializing in autism spectrum disorder. Dr. Esler is the Section Head of the Autism and Neurodevelopment Clinic and Director of the Fragile X Clinic at the University of Minnesota. Her clinical interests include early diagnosis of autism, care and treatment of individuals with severe forms of autism, and care and treatment of individuals with fragile X and other rare genetic conditions. She performs diagnostic and follow-up evaluations with individuals from infancy through adulthood.
Dr. Esler is actively involved in federally funded research and co-leads a CDC-funded study of autism prevalence in Minnesota. Her research focuses on improving access to care and quality of care in early detection, early diagnosis, and services and supports throughout the lifespan. Her research in this area has focused on tracking racial/ethnic disparities in autism prevalence and age of identification, developing and refining diagnostic measures for autism, and understanding differences in the autism characteristics across sex, race/ethnicity, and culture. Her recent work focuses on health needs across the lifespan, including improving clinical interventions for obesity in autism and for individuals at the severe end of the spectrum. She regularly collaborates with autism and fragile X researchers across North America on research and clinical issues.
Dr. Esler is an international trainer on diagnostic measures for autism, the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd edition and the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised, and is actively involved in refining and expanding training options for these measures. Dr. Esler is a member of the Center for Neurobehavioral Development at the University of Minnesota, the International Society for Autism Research, and the American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Clinical Summary

Autism Spectrum Disorder; Fragile X; Other Developmental Disabilities

Bio

Nancy Fahim, MD graduated from Cairo University School of Medicine. She completed post graduate pediatric training at both Cairo University Children’s Hospital and Lincoln Hospital in New York before completing her Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship at Washington University. Her clinical interests include optimizing the use of breast milk in the NICU and promoting exclusive breastfeeding for all newborns with the understanding of the unique protective and nutritional properties of breast milk, in addition to promoting a family-centered approach for care of infants in the NICU. Her research interests include evaluating the neuroprotective effect of endogenous and exogenous Erythropoietin on the developing brain of extremely premature infants.

Research Summary

The Fair laboratory focuses on mechanisms and principles that underlie the developing brain. The majority of this work uses functional MRI and resting state functional connectivity MRI to assess typical and atypical populations. Dr. Fair is the co-director of the new Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain.

Bio

Dr. Fischer is a pediatric critical care physician and Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota. She is an alumna of Vassar College, completed her pediatric residency at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Hospital Center, and her pediatric critical care fellowship at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Fischer's non-clinical focus is on pediatric medical devices and drug therapies. She is an alumna of the UMN Medical Device Center Innovation Fellows Program and is the founder and Director of the Pediatric Device Innovation Consortium (PDIC), which seeks to move pediatric technologies forward towards commercialization. Dr. Fischer also serves as Respiratory Care Director and ECMO Director for UMN Masonic Children's Hospital, as well as Associate Chair for Research Partnerships within the Pediatrics Department.
Her research interests include pediatric and adult medical device and drug development and clinical trials, ECMO, critical care, and regulation of medical devices.

Clinical Summary

Pediatric Critical Care; Pediatric Medical Device Technology

Bio

Dr. Fox is an Associate Professor of pediatrics and is Co-Director of the Center for Pediatric Obesity Medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical School. She earned her Bachelor's of Science degree from University of Wisconsin-Madison and her Medical Degree from University of Minnesota. Also at the University of Minnesota she completed her residency in pediatrics and fellowship in academic general pediatrics. Dr. Fox additionally completed a Master's in Public Health from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Fox is board certified by both the American Board of Pediatrics and the American Board of Obesity Medicine. She is passionate about delivering state-of-the-art, compassionate medical care to youth with obesity and directs the University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital Pediatric Weight Management Program. Dr. Fox is also a productive researcher in the field of pediatric obesity, particularly in the area of pharmacotherapy for pediatric severe obesity. Her personal mission is to lead the development of effective, comprehensive, evidence-based treatment strategies that will improve the lives of youth afflicted with severe obesity.

Clinical Summary

Pediatric obesity; Pediatric preventive cardiology

Bio

Dr Gabrani grew up and completed his medical school in India before embarking on his journey to become an academic gastroenterologist in the USA. Besides getting trained in India and many places in the USA, he also obtained a Masters in Health Professions Education from Maastricht University, Netherlands. He aims to utilize his diverse training to focus on improving endoscopy education. He is passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion at the workplace, and ensures a safe and inclusive environment for all the patients, especially LGBTQIA+ and under-represented minorities. As a pediatric gastroenterologist, he strives to provide the most appropriate care to the patients, while ensuring that children and their families are involved in the medical decision process.

Bio

Cheryl A. Gale, MD, is Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Neonatology. She earned her MD from the University of Minnesota, and completed her internship and residency at Washington University-St. Louis Children's Hospital in St. Louis before returning to the University of Minnesota to complete a fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine. In addition to attending on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital, Dr. Gale is an established investigator in the areas of fungal pathogenesis and infant gut microbiome effects on short- and long-term health. She has published in Science, Eukaryotic Cell, and Journal of Nutrition, among others. Dr. Gale held the Minnesota Chapter Research Award from the March of Dimes from 2000 to 2002.

Clinical Summary

Neonatal Infectious Diseases

Bio

Throughout Dr. Galvin’s career pathway towards pediatric neuro-oncology, he developed a passion for the holistic care of patients and families affected by a brain tumor diagnosis. This encompasses compassionate and thorough high quality clinical care, engagement in research, and community advocacy. His research encompasses identifying new therapeutic opportunities to treat complications of Neurofibromatosis Type 1 and investigation of immunologic vulnerabilities of a subtype of glioblastoma, a malignant brain cancer, that affects children and young adults called diffuse hemispheric glioma, H3 G34-mutant. As a member of the Brain Tumor Program at the University of Minnesota, he strives to ensure availability of treatment options and clinical trial opportunities for those in need while working with the brain tumor community to continue making discoveries and advancements that will improve the lives of individuals affected by a brain tumor diagnosis.

Bio

Dr. Caroline George is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Critical Care Medicine. She attends on the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. She is also a consultant for the Otto Bremer Trust Center for Safe and Healthy Children team.
Dr. George received her medical degree from the University of Minnesota College of Medicine in 1992, completed her Pediatric Residency program at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, and completed the Pediatric Critical Care fellowship program at The Children's Hospital in Denver Colorado. She became a member of the Pediatric Critical Care division at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics in 1998 until 2007 when she joined the faculty at the University of Minnesota.
Her areas of clinical interest in the Pediatric Critical Care unit include acute lung injury, and care of children that have experienced non-accidental trauma. In Child Abuse Pediatrics, her clinical interest is focused on early detection of sentinel abusive injuries.

Clinical Summary

Post-operative management of cardiothoracic patients • Management of trauma patients including non-accidental trauma • Detection of Sentinel Abusive Injuries

Bio

Michael K. Georgieff, MD, holds the position of the Martin Lenz Harrison Land Grant Chair in Pediatrics. He is a Professor of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Developmental Psychology, the Executive Vice Chair of the Department of Pediatrics, and the Director of the Center for Neurobehavioral Development. He received his MD from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He served his internship, residency and neonatal fellowship at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a fellowship in neonatology at the University of Minnesota. In addition to caring for patients on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Dr. Georgieff is Director of the NICU Follow-up Program. Dr. Georgieff's research focuses on fetal/neonatal nutrition and brain development, specifically on the effect of early life iron nutrition and neurocognitive function. He has been continuously funded in this field by the National Institutes of Health for 35 years and has published over 300 scientific articles. He advises the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Institutes of Health and UNICEF on nutrition and early child development.

Clinical Summary

Iron and infant development; Maternal-fetal medicine; Neonatology; Perinatal iron metabolism

Bio

Janna R. Gewirtz O'Brien, MD, MPH, FAAP, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota and provides clinical care to adolescents and young adults at Hennepin Healthcare in the Adolescent Medicine Clinic embedded within the Pediatrics Clinic in Downtown Minneapolis. Her clinical work, research, and advocacy are deeply interconnected and focus on how primary care and community-based health services can most effectively and equitably serve youth from historically marginalized communities, particularly youth experiencing homelessness. Her clinical interests include adolescent sexual and reproductive health, adolescent pregnancy and parenthood, adolescent mental health and substance use, and eating disorders among diverse populations, with a focus on promoting equity and addressing social drivers of health in primary care and community-based clinical settings. She also serves on the Executive Board of the Minnesota Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and is an active member of Minnesota Doctors for Health Equity, the Minnesota School-based Health Alliance, and the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine.

Clinical Summary

Prematurity Prevention; Fetal Inflammation; Neuro-developmental Outcome

Bio

Samuel Goldfarb, MD, is the Director of the Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis Program and CoDirector of the University of Minnesota Cystic Fibrosis Center. He is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of School of Medicine. Dr. Goldfarb is the holder of the Annalisa Marzotto Endowed Chair in Cystic Fibrosis Care.

A graduate of Tel Aviv University Medical School, Dr. Goldfarb completed his pediatric internship and residency at Bridgeport Hospital, Yale University, CT. He continued his specialty training at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia with a fellowship in pediatric pulmonology and continued as a faculty member at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia until February 2021 when he joined the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Goldfarb maintains a special interest in the treatment of children with cystic fibrosis, interstitial lung disease, early and late pulmonary complications of oncology therapy, and pulmonary involvement of rheumatological disorders.

Dr. Goldfarb serves as the Chair of the American Thoracic Society Special Interest Group "Pulmonary Complications of Childhood Cancer Therapy" participating in the development of standardized care protocols and developing several multi-center clinical studies. He is also a member of the American Thoracic Society, the Rare Diffuse Pediatric Lung Disease Consortium, and the Therapeutic Development Network (TDN) for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Dr. Goldfarb is an active clinical researcher after a decade of NIH supported research in pediatric lung transplantation he has turned his attention to research in patients with Cystic Fibrosis while continuing his research in patients with pulmonary disease after bone marrow transplants. Dr. Goldfarb began his career as a basic science researcher working to better understand CFTR function and its interaction with chaperone proteins which can enhance abnormal CFTR function. He has continued throughout his career in clinical research and has been part of the TDN research network, most recently becoming the University of Minnesota Pediatric TDN director. Dr. Goldfarb is very active in ongoing research with CFTR modifier medications.

Bio

Dr. Peter Gordon is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Gordon received his MD/PhD from the University of Chicago in 2004. He completed his residency in Pediatrics in 2006 at Boston Children's Hospital and his fellowship in Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, and Bone Marrow Transplant in 2010 at Boston Children's Hospital/Dana Farber Cancer Institute. After completing his fellowship, Dr. Gordon served as an Instructor in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology until 2014. During his fellowship and time as an instructor, he completed post-doctoral research fellowships in the laboratories of Dr. David Fisher (Massachusetts General Hospital) and Dr. David Williams (Children's Hospital Boston) where his work focused on the role of the proto-oncogene c-KIT in cancer development.

Research Summary

Dr. Gordon's laboratory interests focus on how an improved understanding of leukemia development and maintenance at the molecular and cellular level can be leveraged into better therapies. A particular area of interest includes investigating how soluble factors that are secreted by different cell types within the bone marrow and extra-medullary environments impact leukemia development and response to therapy. An additional interest is in using pediatric bone marrow failure syndromes, which often have a significantly increased risk for leukemia development, as model systems for investigating how cooperativity amongst oncogenes leads to leukemia development.

Bio

Dr. Greengard is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the University of Minnesota. She is currently the Fellowship Director for Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.

Dr. Greengard received her medical degree in 2004 from Saint Louis University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in Pediatrics in 2007 at the Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, IL, and completed her fellowship in Pediatric Hematology-Oncology in 2010 at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. From 2007-2010, Dr. Greengard acted as an Instructor in Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Dr. Greengard's research has focused on utilizing novel agents for the treatment of cancer in children. In 2010, she completed a project to develop a novel agent to treat pediatric malignancies. Within the arena of childhood cancers, she has specific interest in neuroblastoma and sarcomas. She also has a longstanding interest in pediatric palliative care.

Clinical Summary

Phase I clinical trials in pediatric cancer; Neuroblastoma; Sarcomas

Bio

Dr. Gross is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics. She completed her MS at North Dakota State University and PhD at Western Michigan University. Her clinical internship was in Behavioral Pediatrics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and post-doctoral fellowship was at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Gross is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Dr. Gross is the Section Head and Training Director of the Pediatric Psychology Program at the University of Minnesota. Her clinical interests include pediatric weight management and weight loss surgery; chronic disease management; as well as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Dr. Gross is actively involved in NIH-funded research in the area of pediatric severe obesity. She is the Associate Director for Clinical Care in the Center for Pediatric Obesity Medicine at the University of Minnesota, and is a member of the Association for Behavior Analysis and The Obesity Society.

Dr. Gross is involved in the following clinics:
- Pediatric Psychology
- Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
- International Adoption Clinic
- Pediatric Weight Management Clinic
- Teen Weight Loss Surgery Clinic
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Follow-up Clinic
- Metabolic Disorders Follow-up Clinic

Bio

Dr. Lidan Gu is a pediatric psychologist specializing psychological evaluation and consultation for children and adolescents with chronic medical conditions and neurodevelopmental disorders. She is currently involved with the outpatient pediatric psychology clinic, type 1 diabetes clinic, and kidney transplant follow up clinic.
Dr. Gu received her PhD in counseling and student personnel psychology from University of Minnesota. She completed her predoctoral internship through the psychology internship program at the University of Minnesota medical school and her postdoctoral training at the Children's Hospital of Minnesota in Minneapolis. She is a certified parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT) therapist, and is also board certified in clinical child and adolescent psychology.
Dr. Gu’s research interests include the impacts of mental health on health-related decision making. She is also a training faculty, and enjoys teaching and supervising predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees.

Bio

Sixto F. Guiang, III, MD, is Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Neonatology. Dr. Guiang earned his MD from the University of Minnesota in 1987. He subsequently continued his training at the University of Minnesota, completing his Pediatric Residency in 1990 and his Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship in 1993. His research interests have included investigating the effects of hypoxia on fetal myocardial development, and the use of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation. He currently coordinates the Neonatal ECMO program at UMMCH. Dr. Guiang's publications have appeared in the American Journal of Physiology as well as the Journal of Developmental Physiology. He is active in the educational program in the Department of Pediatrics, coordinating both the Pediatric residency and medical student clinical rotations on the NICU.

Bio

Dr. Gupta's primary interest focuses on early detection and developing effective cell and gene therapy interventions for children with inherited metabolic diseases. Current treatment strategies for these children include use of hematopoietic stem cell transplant as a means to either deliver enzyme as in lysosomal storage disorders or modify an uninhibited immune response as in cerebral adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD). He is also investigating autoimmune response of the host post hematopoietic stem cell transplant and ways to improve conditioning regimen and immune prophylaxis to control this effect, especially in children with inherited metabolic disorders. Additional research conducted by Dr. Gupta focuses on developing a registry and bio-specimen bank for patients with inherited metabolic diseases.

Bio

Dr. Sameer Gupta is an Associate Professor in the Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Gupta attended Case Western Reserve University where he received his bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering. He then went on to receive his MD degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Gupta completed his Pediatric Residency and Pediatric Critical Care fellowship at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.
Dr. Gupta currently serves as Vice President of Medical Affairs for M Health Fairview Masonic Children's Hospital.
Dr. Gupta's academic interests are in ventilator associated events, quality improvement and patient safety.

Clinical Summary

Patient safety; Quality Improvement; Cardiac Critical Care; Organizational Culture

Research Summary

Primary research and education interests include special health care needs of adoptive children and children who have experience in the foster care system, socio-emotional trauma impact on development, racial and cultural social identity development for transracially adoptive or foster care children, and racial discrimination among historically marginalized youth in the United States.

Clinical Summary

Internationally and Domestically Adoptive Children, Children who have experienced Foster Care, Prenatal Substance Exposures (including Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders), Pediatric Acute Urgent Care and Emergency Care.