News | Pediatrics

Dr. Mohamad Hamieh's MERIT Award from the National Cancer Institute

September 25, 2026

Assistant Professor of Immunology in Pediatrics, member of the Meyer Cancer Center and of the Drukier Institute of Children's Health at Weill Cornell, and member researcher at the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy

MERIT Award from the National Cancer Institute

Interrogating and targeting co-inhibitory and co-stimulatory molecules in CAR T-cell Therapies

Dr. Hamieh has received a five-year, $3.5 million grant with a two-year extension to develop next-generation CAR T-cell therapies that are more durable, effective against resistant tumors and able to treat a wider range of cancers. The MERIT award, “Method for Extending Research In Time,” gives highly accomplished and promising early-career investigators longer-term grant support.

To create a CAR-T immunotherapy, researchers remove T cells from a patient's blood, genetically engineer them to recognize the cancer and then return the cells to the body. However, the engineered immune cells often do not remain active long enough to eliminate the cancer.

Children’s Hospital of New York at NewYork-Presbyterian Named the #1 Children’s Hospital in New York City by U.S. News & World Report

September 21, 2026

The Children’s Hospital of New York at NewYork-Presbyterian has been recognized as the #1 children’s hospital in New York City and a #1 children’s hospital in New York, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2026-2027 “Best Children’s Hospitals” rankings. This is the 20th year in a row that the Hospital has ranked among the best children’s hospitals in the nation. Read full article here!

Dr. Permar Featured in Milken Institute Executive Insights Interview

September 9, 2026

The Executive Insights series is a thought-leadership component of the broader Milken Institute Employer Action Exchange platform, featuring brief, meaningful insights captured through interviews with executives from a variety of industries and sectors. In 2026, Executive Insights focuses on how employers can make informed investments to mitigate risk and build resilience, yielding tangible outcomes. These employer insights and actions are relatable across industry, sector, and size of the employer.

Click here for Sabrina Spitaletta Johar's interview with Sallie Permar, MD, PhD, pediatrician-in-chief, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medicine and Nancy C. Paduano professor and chair, Weill Cornell Medicine.

Dr. Ranjini Srinivasan Leads Pediatric and Fetal Cardiac MRI at Weill Cornell Imaging

August 19, 2026

When a child has a suspected heart condition, getting answers quickly and clearly can make all the difference. Weill Cornell Imaging is committed to helping families gain a deeper understanding of their child’s condition earlier in their care journey.

Led by Dr. Ranjini Srinivasan, this service brings together advanced imaging, specialized expertise and personalized care to support families and providers in making informed decisions before and after birth.

What is the MMR vaccine and how does Trump’s executive order affect parents and children?

August 19, 2026

On Monday, Donald Trump signed an executive order pushing for revisions to how children in the US are vaccinated.

The executive order calls for several changes. These include fewer vaccinations overall and a recommendation that the combined measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine be replaced with separate shots for each disease administered during separate medical visits. The latter direction is currently impossible to implement because no stand-alone shots for these diseases are licensed in the US.

“I think the biggest impact of this executive order is that it’s going to cause more confusion,” says Dr David Diemert, a professor of medicine and director of the George Washington University Vaccine Research Unit. “And confusion for things like vaccination schedules for kids is never a good thing.”

Dr. Deborah Levine has been appointed Associate Director of Research Operations

July 21, 2026

Deborah Levine, M.D., has been appointed Associate Director of Research Operations. Dr. Levine will assume responsibility for overseeing IRBs, data analytics, resident and medical student research education, the research assistant program, and faculty meeting reporting.

Dr. Levine also holds two academic appointments, including Associate Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine and Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Her academic research interests include infectious diseases in neonates and injury prevention. Over her career, Dr. Levine has conducted several studies and has published many abstracts and manuscripts on these subjects. She also serves as a lecturer, mentor, and peer-reviewer.

To learn more about the Emergency Department leadership promotion, click here.

Dr. Zachary Grinspan Awarded $17.25 Million to Study Profound Autism

July 13, 2026

Researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medicine have won a $17.25 million grant from the Aligning Research to Impact Autism(link is external and opens in a new window) (ARIA) initiative to study profound autism, which affects over one quarter of individuals who are on the autism spectrum. People with profound autism are often nonverbal and require 24-hour support and assistance with daily tasks throughout their lives.

With this new funding from ARIA, the Columbia team, along with collaborators at New York State Psychiatric Institute and Weill Cornell Medicine, will join an international network of research and clinical sites called the ARIA IMPACT Network(link is external and opens in a new window), which is working to accelerate clinical trial readiness and therapeutic development for autism.

Appointment of Dr. Angela Kadenhe-Chiweshe as Chief of the Division of Pediatric Surgery and Pediatric Trauma

June 23, 2026

The Department of Surgery is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Angela Kadenhe-Chiweshe, MD, FACS, FAAP, as Chief of the division of Pediatric Surgery and Pediatric Trauma, effective July 1, 2026.

Promotion of Dr. Bernhard Kühn to Tenure Professor of Pediatrics

June 23, 2026

The Department of Pediatrics is pleased to announce the promotion of Dr. Bernhard Kühn to tenure Professor of Pediatrics, effective May 1, 2026.

Dr. Kühn received his medical degree from Freie Universität Berlin and completed his residency at Yale New Haven Hospital, followed by a clinical fellowship and postdoctoral research training at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He was recruited as Chief of the Division of Cardiology in 2024.

Vaccine Policies In New York

June 10, 2026

Dr. Sallie Permar discusses the impact of recent vaccine recommendation policy changes, and comments on how effective vaccines can be in preventing and eliminating diseases like measles. Watch full interview here.