Alan L. Mendelsohn, MD

Alan Mendelsohn, MD is a developmental-behavioral pediatrician who is Professor of Pediatrics and Population Health and Director of the Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYC Health+Hospitals/Bellevue. Dr. Mendelsohn is an internationally recognized, NIH-funded scientist who has focused his career on the design, study and implementation of preventive interventions supporting parent-child early relational health (ERH). Dr. Mendelsohn performed some of the early studies of Reach Out and Read, and he is the Founding Director of PlayReadVIP (formerly Video Interaction Project), which uses real-time, strengths-based, video-feedback at pediatric health visits to support ERH through reading aloud and play. He has worked extensively on systems-level approaches integrating preventive services within health care and with linkages to the community and home visiting; examples include Smart Beginnings, The Pittsburgh Study, 3-2-1 IMPACT, Together Growing Strong and City’s First Readers. He currently holds leadership and policy roles, including as Co-Chair of the Research Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Early Childhood, and Chair of the Health Innovation and Quality Node for the HRSA Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Research Network, and previously as a member of the board of directors for the Society for Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics. Dr. Mendelsohn has been recognized for leadership in research, mentorship and policy, including for lifetime achievements through the Academic Pediatric Association Research Award.