My love for medicine started in childhood. I grew up watching doctors take care of my mother, who had several chronic illnesses. Each time she went to the hospital, physicians diagnosed, treated, and made her feel better. Choosing pediatrics was easy; I love children and adolescents, and I am honored to be part of my patients' families from cradle to college.

I am a general pediatrician at Columbia's East 86th Street practice, where I see children and adolescents from birth through age 21. I work with all of my patients and their families to optimize nutrition, physical exercise, development, and care during both acute and chronic illness. My specific areas of interest include chronic illness and medical home, and preventing child abuse and intimate partner violence.

I also have a Masters of Science in bioethics. The ethical issues of immunizations, fair allocation of resources, prevention of burnout in physicians, and social justice are some of my interests.

A great passion of mine is medical education. I teach medical students to become knowledgable, empathetic, and ethical physicians. My research interests are focused on children's wellbeing during illness and in crisis. I am a published author of a book and several articles, and I lecture at national and international conferences.