Assistant Professor of Harvard Medical School
Boston Childrens Hospital/Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital
Arlington, Massachusetts, United States
The focus of my practice is providing the best rehabilitation care to children with disabilities. However I have a special interest in improving functional outcomes of pediatric patients with heart disease by identifying functional deficits and tailoring their rehabilitation programs to their individual needs. My unique outlook and expertise derives, on one hand, from a Research Fellowship in Pediatric Cardiology that focused on exercise physiology, testing and training in patients with congenital heart disease that resulted in numerous publications as well as a prized PhD thesis with honors. On the other hand a Clinical Fellowship in Pediatric Rehabilitation that has given me a more global outlook on function and disabilities in the pediatric population.
I continue to pursue my research career with an array of projects. We are currently trying to describe the functional areas most affected in congenital heart disease patients outside the realm of exercise capacity both in the pre and post cardiac surgery setting. Cardiac rehabilitation has been extensively studied and effectiveness proven in adults with acquired heart disease. Management in these cases is based on exercise training and cardiovascular risk factor management. However, pediatric heart disease differs not only in the age of presentation but also in the nature of the functional issues and interference with development. These problems include motor, endurance, feeding, speech, and psycho-social aspects.
Raising awareness regarding these potential functional issues in children with CHD and developing rehabilitation programs to allow them to function and live at their maximum potential and provide them with quality of life is my ultimate goal.
Thursday, October 30, 2025
8:15 AM - 9:15 AM
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