Department of Pediatrics
About UsDedicated to understanding and promoting child health.
What We Do
Faculty Spotlight
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Neonatology)
I study the experiences of families who have children hospitalized in a neonatal intensive care unit. My focus is on medical decision-making and the interactions of families with medical providers in the process of that decision-making. I also have an interest in how social media may impact medical information and decisions. In addition to this research and my work as a clinical neonatologist, I also work with the Lurie Bridges Pediatric Palliative Care team to provide palliative care consultation and support in the perinatal and neonatal populations.
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition)
My primary clinical interests include general pediatric gastroenterology and integrative medicine.
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics (Critical Care)
I am a physician-scientist who specializes in pediatric critical care medicine. I received my MD from the University of Washington and completed my Residency in Pediatrics and Fellowship in Critical Care Medicine at Northwestern University. I joined the faculty in the Pediatric Critical Care Division in 2011.
Instructor of Pediatrics (Hematology, Oncology, and Stem Cell Transplantation)
I received my medical degree from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in 2013. I then went on Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago/McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University to complete my residency in Pediatrics in 2016 and fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/Stem Cell Transplant in 2019. After graduation, I joined the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/Stem Cell Transplant Division as a faculty member with a specialization in Hematologic Malignancies.
Assistant Professor of Neurology (Epilepsy/Clinical Neurophysiology), Pediatrics and Pharmacology
The primary aim of our research is to identify the genetic factors and biological mechanisms that cause epilepsy. We use a variety of sequencing technologies to identify new genetic causes in both the DNA regions that code for proteins (genes) and those that control the expression of these genes (regulatory regions). The second mission of our lab is to capitalize on the advances in gene discovery in epilepsy to create neuronal models of this disorder. Many of these 'epilepsy' genes are involved in the control of expression of other genes. In other words, they are responsible for switching cert...
Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology)
Ra-id Abdulla is a pediatric cardiologist with 30 years of experience in treating children with heart diseases; he is board certified in pediatrics and pediatric cardiology. Dr. Abdulla is Professor of Pediatrics at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University. His interest in the field of pediatric cardiology combines education and clinical work. Throughout his career, Dr. Abdulla has graduated generations of young physician trainees in pediatric cardiology and cared for thousands of children with heart disease, many are now healthy adults. Dr. Abdulla’s academic efforts ext...
Professor of Preventive Medicine (Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention) and Pediatrics
Lifang Hou, MD, MS, PhD is a Professor of Preventive Medicine. With a multidisciplinary background in medicine, basic science, and epidemiology, Dr. Hou’s research interest lies in integrating traditional epidemiologic methods with the ever-advancing molecular techniques in multi-disciplinary research focusing on identifying key molecular markers and understanding their potential impact on disease etiology, detection, and prevention. Dr. Hou’s major research efforts to date have focused on two areas: 1) identification of risk factors that may cause chronic diseases; and 2) identification of bi...
Professor of Pediatrics (Palliative Care)
I have an enduring interest in medical ethics, especially ethical issues in pediatrics, end-of-life care, research on human subjects, transplantation, children with differences of sex development (DSD) and gender identify nonconformity (GIN), medical and surgical innovation, transplantation and conscientious objection to requested care by health care professionals. My main clinical interests are in pediatric palliative and hospice care, multidisciplinary care of children with DSD/GIN and parent support for difficult decisions under conditions of uncertainty. More recently I have developed inte...
Instructor of Pediatrics (Hospital-Based Medicine)
I am a board certified pediatrician with primary interests in the care of both the well and preterm or ill newborn. In addition to newborn care I provide procedural moderate sedation for pediatric patients of all ages.
Instructor of Pediatrics (Hospital-Based Medicine)
Kristi Huisinga, M.D. is a Health Systems Clinician in the Division of Hospital-Based Medicine at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and Instructor at the Feinberg School of Medicine. She attained her medical degree at the University of Minnesota and completed her residency training in general pediatrics at the University of Michigan.
Our Home
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Lurie Children's is the Feinberg School of Medicine's affiliated hospital dedicated to pediatric care. Lurie Children's is Illinois' only freestanding hospital exclusively for children and offers patients access to world-class care in a modern, kid-friendly environment.
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.<
Diversity & Inclusion
The Department of Pediatrics strives to create and maintain training programs that mirror the diverse patient population we serve in Chicago. We believe that diverse faculty, residency and fellowship programs are essential to our long-term success as leaders in academic medicine.
Physician-Scientist Training & Resources
We offer a wide range of resources, mentorship opportunities and formal training programs to help our residents and fellows excel as physician-scientists. Explore all of the resources and hear from housestaff who are making research a major part of their career development plans.