Department of Pediatrics

Dr. Becker has extensive training and experience in the practice of Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and has written a number of book chapters and articles on this approach to examining and addressing public health problems. He has applied this methodology to examine and address the impact of stressful community conditions on the health of women raising children, youth violence prevention, and the impact of the social and physical environment on physical activity. In his role as executive director of the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children, he is currently exploring th...

I completed complete training in pediatrics and pediatric cardiology as well as adult internal medicine and adult cardiology. This affords me both a unique perspective on the long-term management of patients born with congenital heart disease, but allows me to fully integrate into the care of patients across the full age spectrum. This is reflected in my clinical responsibilities, which range from attending on the consultation service at Lurie Childrens, assessing pediatric patients from neonates to adolescents, to my primary responsibilities attending to adults with congenital heart disease a...

Dr. Defne Magnetta completed medical school at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio. She then completed her Pediatrics Residency at The Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh from 2013-2016. She completed her fellowship training in Pediatric Cardiology at The Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh from 2016-2019 and served as Chief Pediatric Cardiology Fellow during her final year. Dr. Magnetta completed her Advanced Fellowship in Pediatric Heart Failure and Transplantation at Ann & Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago from 2019-2020, and remained as Faculty following he...

I am a child neurologist with particular interest in neurology of the newborn. After medical research in physiology as an undergraduate, I pursued research in the psychophysics of vision as a medical student, and was awarded a PhD in neurobiology. I am currently pursuing clinical research, primarily regarding neurological issues in the newborn, including stroke, hypoxic ischemic injury, and use of therapeutic hypothermia.

Dr. Hashizume's primary research interests in understanding of the molecular mechanisms, that affect the aggressive/ invasive biological behavior of pediatric malignant glioma and would accordingly reveal potential therapeutic targets for glioma therapy.

Dr. Bilaver is an applied health services researcher with expertise using administrative data for research purposes. Her research focuses on children with special health care needs including autism spectrum disorder and food allergy. As a team scientist, she collaborates with pediatricians, allergists, and informatists using observational and interventional study designs for causal inference. She focuses on timely issues in pediatric health services research that have policy implications.

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...

Kenny D. Kronforst received a B.S. degree in Microbiology, as well as, her MPH with a concentration in Epidemiology from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She then completed her M.D. degree at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (now McGovern Medical School). She graduated medical school in 2006 and continued her intern year in Pediatrics at the same institution. In 2007, she transferred to Boston, MA, and became part of the Boston Combined Residency Program in Pediatrics. She successfully completed that program and transitioned to the Boston Children’s Ne...

I have dedicated my career to decreasing health and educational disparities among low income children, through clinical work, education and advocacy. I am a primary care pediatrician at Lurie Children’s Uptown Clinic, an academic community health center, where I also teach Northwestern residents and medical students. I am also the Immediate Past-President of the Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. One of my main areas of expertise is literacy promotion in pediatrics. I am the Medical Director and Board Chair of Reach Out and Read (ROR) Illinois, providing technical and fina...