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Dr. Jeffrey Perlman grew up in South Africa and attended medical school there. But by 2006, when he was tasked with helping set up the pediatrics program at Tanzania’s Weill Bugando Medical Centre—then newly affiliated with Weill Cornell Medicine—he’d been living and working in the United States for decades. So coming face to face with the reality of how many newborn lives are lost in Africa’s medically under-resourced nations was both shocking and heartbreaking. “I saw all these babies dying unnecessarily,” says Dr. Perlman, a professor of pediatrics who directs the neonatal ICU at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. In America overall, according to figures released by the CDC in 2015, the neonatal mortality rate averages four for every 1000 births—and at a state-of-the-art hospital such as NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, Dr. Perlman says, the number is just .7 per 1000. In Tanzania, by contrast, Dr. Perlman encountered a rate of 39 per 1000 births—or roughly two newborns dying every hour. Dr. Perlman resolved to change that.

Thank you for your interest in donating toys to the Department of Pediatrics! Play is a child’s work. In the hospital where children are separated from most of what is familiar, play and activities become valuable and safe outlets for their feelings. Toys and games from our community friends help keep the hospital playrooms and waiting areas well stocked. They help turn special occasions such as birthdays and holidays into happy celebrations.

Toy donations to the Department of Pediatrics are managed by the Child Life Services team at our affiilate, NewYork-Presbyterian Phyllis and David Komansky Children's Hospital, who ensure toys are safe and appropriate for our young patients.

Thank you for your interest in supporting our program and the patients we serve!

To Make a Donation:

Toy Donation Guidelines

The Rajadhyaksha Lab, led by Dr. Anjali Rajadhyaksha, is focused on how calcium signaling mechanisms in the brain contribute to cocaine- and mood-related behaviors. This is of particular importance and high significance given the link in patients between the Cav1.2 and Cav1.3 genes, CACNA1C and CACNA1D, and neuropsychiatric disorders including bipolar disorder accompanied with high incidence of substance abuse.  The lab is utilizing animal models in combination with highly innovative genetic, cellular and molecular techniques to identify the neural circuitry and molecular mechanisms to better understand how genetic predisposition can contribute to addiction and neuropsychiatric illness. Her group’s hope is that a better understanding of the brain at the molecular level will aid in therapeutic strategies for treating addiction and co-occurring mood-related conditions.

Learn more 

Meet the lab team and learn more about their work at the Lab's newly launched webpage:

Rajadhyaksha Lab 

We all know that when school starts, so can the runny noses and coughs. Missed school days are most commonly due to infections such as the common cold and the flu, but there are ways to help prevent your child from getting sick. Here is a list of tips to keep your children healthy so that they can avoid those miserable sick days at home!

How can I protect my child from getting sick during the school year?

One of the most important and effective things you can do is VACCINATE your child. Vaccines have dramatically decreased the number and types of infections that children get, and are the best way to prevent your child from picking up an infection at school. Unfortunately, we are still seeing outbreaks due to infections such as measles and whooping cough as a result of children not getting vaccinated. Make sure you discuss with your pediatrician which vaccines your child needs.  Also check out the CDC vaccine quiz (https://www2a.cdc.gov/vaccines/childquiz/.

Another important activity you and your children can do is to keep hands clean and prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses through HANDWASHING.

Handwashing – the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, and HOW

WHO should wash their hands?
Everyone! It’s easy to do and will work best if everyone does it.