News | Pediatrics

Dr. Juliana Romano Shares Her Struggle with Depression as Mental Health is on the Rise for Health Care Professionals

April 4, 2025

During her pediatric critical care training in 2023, Dr. Juliana Romano started feeling “pretty broken.”

“I was coming to work and giving 100% of myself at work, but at the end of the day, there really wasn’t much left,” Romano, a pediatric critical care physician in New York City, tells TODAY.com. “I was ... isolating myself from others, from activities that would normally bring me joy.”

At the time, she didn’t realize she was severely depressed. When she began to suspect something was wrong, she felt disheartened because she thought she couldn't receive treatment. Health care workers often hesitate to ask for mental health help, in part, because they fear losing their jobs, research shows.

“I had no hope of a future that included getting better,” Romano says. “It was scary in the context of being a physician and wondering how that was going to impact my career and my co-workers’ ability to trust me.”

Welcome to Children’s Hospital of New York at NewYork-Presbyterian!

April 1, 2025

The children’s health at NewYork-Presbyterian is now unified under one name: Children’s Hospital of New York at NewYork-Presbyterian. This milestone reflects our collective unwavering commitment to delivering world class, patient-centered care to all children across the region.

By uniting all pediatric services across NYP, including those at Komansky and Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospitals, as well as our partners at Brooklyn Methodist, Queens, and Lower Manhattan Hospitals, we are strengthening our national presence. This brand encompasses all 9 campuses with pediatric services across 3 NYC boroughs, ensuring families have access to the very best care across multiple pediatric specialties. This also presents an exciting opportunity to enhance collaboration with our Columbia partners to further advance clinical care, training, and outreach. Rebranding as Children’s Hospital of New York underscores our mission to deliver exceptional care and support our youngest patients. Our campus name will now be NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital of Children’s Hospital of New York.

This transformation and evolution of the brand wouldn’t be possible without your dedication to our patients, groundbreaking research, training of the next generation of children’s health providers, and advocacy, precisely what makes the Children’s Hospital of New York a leader in children’s health.

Appointment of Dr. Lisa Giulino Roth as the John D. and Lili R. Bussel Professor in Pediatric Hematology

March 26, 2025

The Department of Pediatrics is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Lisa Giulino Roth as the John D. and Lili R. Bussel Professor in Pediatric Hematology effective April 1, 2025.

This professorship, made possible by the generosity of the Bussel Family, recognizes Dr. Roth’s leadership in hematology/oncology research and significant contributions to both understanding the underlying mechanisms of children and young adults with lymphoma and developing innovative therapeutic strategies. Her accomplishments and commitment as leader and mentor bring distinction to Weill Cornell Medicine.

Dr. James Bussel, on behalf of the Bussel family, echoes Dr. Roth’s praises in this well-deserved accolade “It is a great honor and pleasure for Lisa Roth to be named to the Bussel Family Professorship. I first worked with her when she was a fourth-year student rotating with us from NYU and it was so obvious from day one how smart, creative and hard working she is. Her career has been meteoric based on her ground-breaking work in lymphoma reaching beyond Pediatrics to the Adolescent-Young-Adult age group. I look forward with great anticipation to her future discoveries and to her mentorship of Nitya Gulati as well.”

Cornell Represents On the Hill to Advocate for Vaccine Access

March 19, 2025

Vaccines save lives, and myriad groups at Cornell have a hand in their research, development, and advocacy. For millions of children worldwide, life-saving immunizations are still out of reach. That’s why students from Cornell’s Master of Public Health (MPH) program and faculty from Weill Cornell Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics recently joined forces at the United Nations Foundation’s Shot@Life Advocate to Vaccinate Summit to champion global vaccine access.

New Targets Needed for Vaccine that Blocks Maternal Herpesvirus Transmission

March 14, 2025

A new Weill Cornell Medicine and Oregon Health & Science University co-authored study provides critical insight for the development of a vaccine that can more effectively block the spread of cytomegalovirus, or CMV, across the placenta to babies before they are born.

CMV is one of the most common viruses and most people don’t even know they’ve been infected. However, it carries significant risks to the developing fetus, including lifelong health complications such as hearing loss, developmental delays and neurological impairment. An effective vaccine would help protect babies from future health impacts.

The new study, published March 12 in Science Translational Medicine, finds that CMV lacking a certain viral protein complex – thought to be a critical vaccine target to prevent cross-placental spread – can still be transmitted and cause significant harm to the developing fetus. These results strongly suggest that additional vaccine targets providing superior protection need to be identified and explored.

What Parents Need to Know About CMV Podcast with Dr. Sallie Permar

March 11, 2025

In this episode of Voices for Their Future, we sit down with Dr. Sallie Permar, a leading pediatric infectious disease expert, to discuss the urgent need for a CMV vaccine and the groundbreaking work being done to develop it. CMV is the most common infectious cause of birth defects, yet it remains largely unknown to many parents. Dr. Permar breaks down what CMV is, why a vaccine is critical, and how ongoing research is shaping its future.

Beyond CMV, we also explore the broader challenges facing public health and vaccine access, especially in light of shifting policies that threaten global progress. Dr. Permar shares her insights on what these changes mean for families and actionable steps parents can take to advocate for children's health in this moment.

Listen here!

NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital Raises $2.5 Million at 13th Plates For Pediatrics

March 4, 2025

NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital of Children’s Hospital of New York raised $2.5 million at the 13th Plates for Pediatrics benefit. A collaboration with luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue, the benefit drew more than 400 attendees to Cipriani South Street at Casa Cipriani on Tuesday, February 25.

The benefit was hosted by Dr. Sallie Permar, pediatrician-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children's Hospital and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine, along with co-chairs Michelle Antonini, Beth Cayre, Robin Chaus, Kate Davis, Jessica Page Greenberg, Breanna Khoury, Lindsay Kraus, Brittany Morgan Kurz, Cheri Mowrey, Courtney Nataraj, Amy Pack, Colby Podolsky, Jillian Simon, Alexandra Toccin, Lesley Vecsler.

“If it weren’t for NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital, I don’t know what would have happened with my son or where we would be today,” said Candice Johnson, mom of a pediatric kidney transplant patient whose story was featured at the event. “They are the biggest reason why he is who he is today, and I just want to thank them for taking care of him.”

Weill Cornell Pediatrics Ranked in Top 16 Nationally in NIH Research Funding

February 25, 2025

With $27.2M in National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding, we are excited to report that our department was recently ranked 16th nationally by the 2024 Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research. This ranking showcases our department's strength in securing funding for cutting-edge research, which can lead to advances in pediatric healthcare, innovations, and improved patient outcomes. Over the past few years, we have achieved significant progress in research and continue to lead the way and influence pediatric care.

This has been a collaborative effort. Congratulations to our faculty and staff whose dedication and vision have contributed to this achievement and to the success of our department.

The Blue Ridge Ranking is highly regarded in the medical field and reflects a department's success in attracting grants, the quality of research being conducted, and the impact it has on the broader medical community.

Anita Mesi chosen by Women We Admire as one of the Top 50 Women Chief Administrative Officers of 2025

February 13, 2025

Women We Admire is pleased to announce The Top 50 Women Chief Administrative Officers of 2025. As a key executive, the Chief Administrative Officer plays a vital role in overseeing the day-to-day administrative operations of an organization. They are leaders within multiple departments, often including HR, IT, and accounting, as well as employee compliance. These leaders are strategic, analytical, and collaborative.

In her current role, Anita provides executive leadership and oversight of the department’s administrative, financial, and operational functions. She collaborates closely with the Chair, faculty, and institutional leadership to advance the department’s mission in clinical care, research, and education. She is instrumental in strategic planning and resource allocation, ensuring the department’s long-term sustainability and growth. Mesi has been pivotal in fostering a culture of collaboration and efficiency, spearheading initiatives to enhance operational effectiveness, streamline workflows, and optimize financial performance.

Cancer’s Ripple Effect May Promote Blood Clot Formation in the Lungs

February 11, 2025

Blood clots form in response to signals from the lungs of cancer patients—not from other organ sites, as previously thought—according to a preclinical study by Weill Cornell Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and University of California San Diego Health. Clots are the second-leading cause of death among cancer patients with advanced disease or aggressive tumors.

While blood clots usually form to stop a wound from bleeding, cancer patients can form clots without injury, plugging up vessels and cutting off circulation to organs. The study, published Feb. 11 in Cell, shows that tumors drive clot formation (thrombosis) by releasing chemokines, secreted proteins which then circulate to the lung. Once there, the chemokines prompt immune cells called macrophages to release small vesicles that attach to cell fragments (platelets), forming life-threatening clots.

The findings may lead to diagnostic tests to determine blood clotting risk and safer therapies that target the root of the problem to prevent blood clots.