Researchers in the Department of Pediatrics at NYU Langone work to increase understanding of pediatric diseases with the ultimate aim of improving medical outcomes in infants, children, and adolescents. They strive to advance knowledge of the field through basic and translational research, and also offer research studies and clinical trials for treatments of certain childhood conditions.

Investigators in the department are closely integrated with the larger research community at NYU Langone, including Perlmutter Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute–designated Comprehensive Cancer Center; the Joan and Joel Smilow Research Center; the Department of Population Health; the Department of Microbiology; and the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery. This collaborative and interdisciplinary approach helps to determine the causes of childhood conditions, from the most common to the most complex, and to develop more effective therapies.

Research in the department focuses on real-world solutions to real-world problems and has been supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health. Some of the department’s nationally known programs include preventing and treating childhood obesity and problems in early brain development and health; uncovering how exposure to environmental chemicals affects children’s health and contributes to childhood conditions such as asthma and diabetes; and improving health literacy for caregivers from low-resource communities to increase their ability to better understand health information such as medication labels.

Faculty conduct research in these subspecialties:

• adolescent medicine
• child protection
• clinical genetics
• developmental–behavioral pediatrics
• environmental pediatrics
• general pediatrics
• neonatology
• pediatric allergy and immunology
• pediatric cardiology
• pediatric critical care
• pediatric endocrinology and diabetes
• pediatric gastroenterology and hepatology
• pediatric hematology–oncology
• pediatric infectious diseases
• pediatric nephrology
• pediatric neuro-oncology
• pediatric pulmonary medicine
• pediatric rheumatology

The department’s faculty regularly publish their findings in peer-reviewed journals and are sought-after presenters at conferences throughout the world.

Sala Elbaum Pediatric Research Scholars Program

The goals of the Sala Elbaum Pediatric Research Scholars Program for early-career physician–scientists are as follows:

• to help meet a global need for more physician–scientists focused on pediatrics, by providing Sala Elbaum Scholars with funding and protected time for an intensive, supervised career development experience in biomedical, behavioral, or clinical research in pediatrics
• to promote innovation in pediatric research by funding research in early stages that may otherwise struggle for support
• to attract and retain the best and brightest to NYU Langone, by enabling a unique opportunity for early-career physician–scientists

Scholars will be chosen through a competitive application process. Upon selection, the majority of each Sala Elbaum Scholar’s time will be protected for independent research activities. Upon completion of the program, we expect that Sala Elbaum Scholars will be able to conduct their research independently and be competitive in applying for grants.