Department of Pediatrics

My interests and experiences in education, healthcare delivery, and quality improvement, as well as my MPH in clinical effectiveness, all influence my current and future endeavors. These interests are reflected in my educational, research, clinical, and administrative pursuits.

My primary clinical research interest lies in the area of clinical trials for pediatric patients with soft tissue sarcomas. I am a member of the soft tissue sarcoma committee of the Children's Oncology Group.  I have served as study chair for a group-wide phase III COG clinical trial for rhabdomyosarcoma. I also serve as Institutional Principal Investigator for COG. My primary basic research interest lies in understanding the regulation and function of the GLI1 oncogene, as well as understanding the role of Hedgehog-GLI1 signal transduction in pediatric solid tumors.

Dr. Hirai joined Northwestern University in July 2018 from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Dr. Hirai completed his postdoctoral training in Molecular pharmacology at Northwestern University, Chicago and Stem cell biology at University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

I am an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and an attending physician in Cardiology at Lurie Children’s Hospital. I completed my general pediatric training at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. I completed my clinical cardiology training at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University Medical Center, followed by completion of non-invasive cardiac imaging training. 

I am a clinical pediatric endocrinologist and physician-scientist engaged in clinical research focused on reproductive and metabolic disorders in children. I also have a strong interest in medical education and teaching medical studies, residents, and fellows. 

I attended college at the University of Notre Dame, studying Biology and Spanish. In 2013, I graduated from Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine with an MD/MPH and focus in leadership development, then completed a Pediatrics residency and Chief residency from McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University/Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. I subsequently completed a Pediatric Critical Care Medicine fellowship from the same institution, then joined as faculty in the Department of Pediatrics in 2020. 

I am a clinician heavily involved in quality improvement including conducting projects personally as well as overseeing a large pediatric program's quality improvement activities. These activities have led to multiple presentations and publications in all areas of pediatrics. Activities with national implications include developing a technique for securing endotracheal tubes in neonates and development of a bundle of care practices to prevent nosocomial airway infections in hospitalized neonates. The latter bundle of practices have become the standard of care across the United States. Recently...

My primary research interest is in health outcomes following pediatric liver transplantation and acute liver failure. I lead a research group that studies all aspects of outcomes from survival to health related quality of life (HRQOL). Our research group has extensive experience examining HRQOL and cognitive outcomes in pediatric liver transplant survivors, long term complications related to immunosuppressive medications and the causes and treatment of acute liver failure. Our group has also actively involved in new trials of immunosuppression withdrawal in liver transplant recipients. I am...

Dr. Greenberg is the Division Head for Pediatric Hospital Medicine (Lurie Children's Campus) and the Chief Administrative Officer for the Department of Pediatrics. His interests include leadership, innovative systems for providing inpatient care, and medical informatics.

Dr. Zessis is a hospital pediatrician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. His academic and clinical interests include Hospital Medicine on the medical floor and intensive care unit, medical education, quality improvement, and advocacy. He is a member of the Feinberg Academy of Medical Educators and is currently enrolled in the Medical Education Certificate Program.