Department of Pediatrics

Dr. Patel is a Pediatric and Fetal Cardiologist with subspecialized training in Cardiac Imaging. Her research interests lie at the intersection of pediatric and fetal cardiology and clinical medical ethics. She explores the societal, ethical, and legal implications of emerging technology and intervention as it relates to medical management and shared decision-making in patients with congenital heart disease. In addition, she contributes frequently to media outlets thorugh her op-ed writing on topics related to medicine, education, policy, and ethics. She is Associate Chair of Faculty Developme...

My primary clinical interest is in infections in immunocompromised patients, including stem cell and solid organ transplant recipients. I am involved in numerous clinical trials involving vaccines, anti-infectives and diagnostics, in both the immunocompromised population and in other pediatric infections. I also study the pathogenesis of viral encephalitis, using models which focus on host-pathogen interactions in neurologic disease due to herpes simplex virus in newborns.

I am interested in using quantitative pharmacologic approaches (modeling and simulation) to improve the understanding of drug disposition and effects in children. Pharmacometric interpretation of both population and clinical trial data can lead to more efficacious and safer treatments as well as provide guidance for the design of efficient, definitive pediatric clinical trials.

Jean Junior is a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Lurie Children’s Hospital. She also serves as a pediatrician with Doctors Without Borders. Jean is interested in policy advocacy and research to address social determinants of health, such as child poverty. Her research primarily focuses on how tax policy can be designed to help maximize child survival and well-being.

I am interested in the intersection between education and clinical care, and how we can optimize education for our front line providers and patients as clinical best practices continue to evolve. I have ongoing projects in the areas of readmission reduction, discharge process improvement, and health disparities for patients with Limited English Proficiency or preferred language other than English.  I serve as Program Director for the Pediatric Hospital Medicine fellowship, and the Rotation Leader for the Hospital Based Medicine elective for pediatric residents.  I am also a Physician Advisor, ...

My medical training began at the University of Texas in Houston where I received my MD degree and moved to Kansas City to complete my residency in Pediatrics at Children's Mercy Hospital. My fellowship training in Pulmonary Medicine was completed at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas. I then moved to Austin, TX where I served on the faculty of The University of Texas Austin and Dell Medical School for 9 years before joining the team at Lurie Children’s in November 2024.

My goal is to become an expert in supporting providers with the right data to make optimal clinical decisions for their patients. I believe that current data infrastructure does not support providers in making optimal clinical choices. Quality healthcare requires Quality data.

My primary areas of research interest are prevention of behavioral transmission of HIV infection and promotion of health and wellness among HIV-impacted adolescent and young adult populations, including sexual and gender minorities. In particular, I have been involved in the development of practical and scalable interventions across the HIV care continuum, including mHealth interventions, in both the United States and internationally. 

My primary research interest is the induction of transplant tolerance; as it applies to the prevention and treatment of a/cGVHD in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and prevention and treatment of rejection in solid organ transplantation. As director of the Therapeutic Apheresis Program, I am very active in the field of apheresis, and am committed to providing state of the art apheresis procedures in all children. 

Primary interests: Education and assessment of medical students and residents, curriculum development, Otoscopy, Ear disease, Ophthalmologic emergencies, Orthopedic injuries