A Leader in Diagnosing and Treating Infants, Children, and Adolescents With Respiratory Conditions
Pulmonology
The Division of Pulmonology provides exemplary multidisciplinary care to children in the New York City area and beyond. Established as one of the first pediatric pulmonology programs in the country over 50 years ago, we are leaders in diagnosing and treating children and adolescents with a wide range of respiratory conditions. Our team includes seven full-time and one part-time faculty members, two nurse practitioners, two nurses, and a clinical research group. The division has nationally recognized clinical and research programs, including:
- Sue & John L. Weinberg Cystic Fibrosis Center
- Pediatric Sleep Disorders Center
- Aerodigestive Center
- Pediatric Neuromuscular Disease Center
- Asthma Clinical and Research Program
- Childhood Interstitial Lung Disease (ChILD) Research Network
- Hereditary Hemorrhagic Teleangectastia Center
Additionally, we offer multidisciplinary care for children dependent on ventilators and other technologies in our tracheostomy clinic and congenital diaphragmatic hernia follow-up clinic. We have expertise in lung disease associated with prematurity, heart disease (pulmonary hypertension), interstitial lung disease, congenital lung malformations, recurrent pneumonia, primary ciliary dyskinesia, and bronchiectasis. The Cystic Fibrosis Center is part of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutic Development network.
In 2023:
- Our Cystic Fibrosis Center was reaccredited for five years and also received a Quality Improvement Award
- The CF Center received the Quality Award at the Annual CF Conference in November 2023
- We became a fully accredited Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD) Foundation Clinical and Research Center site
- We established a dedicated clinic to treat patients with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD)
Research
The division is committed to scientific discovery in pediatric pulmonary diseases and several faculty members and staff are currently funded by the NIH and other large foundations through independent, collaborative, and mentored research awards.
Education
Through our fellowship program, we provide comprehensive training to the next generation of leaders in pediatric pulmonary medicine. In recent years our fellows have been supported through grants from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the T32 Research Training Program in Lung Diseases.
New Appointments
- Ma Evie Cahn, FNP-BC
Promotions
- Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir, MD
- Associate Professor of Pediatrics (in Environmental Health Sciences)
- Nooralam Rai, MD
- Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Honors and Awards
- Aliva De, MD
- Elected president, Pediatric Pulmonary Training Director’s Association
- Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir, MD, MS
- VP&S Promising Clinician Scientist Award
- Irving Scholar (2022 – 2025)
- Hossein Sadeghi, MD
- Accepted to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation International Mentoring Training Initiative
Major Grants
- Characterizing the Role of SFRP-1 in Lung Development and Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia. American Thoracic Society. Nooralam Rai, MD.
- CF-GENES: Addressing genetic counseling access disparities for parents of CF newborn screen-positive infants in New York State. CF Foundation 2023 Screening Improvement Program (SIP) award. Site PI: Hossein Sadeghi, MD.
- STOP360 Study: A prospective study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of differing interventions in CF pulmonary exacerbation with IV antibiotics. CF Foundation. Site PI: Hossein Sadeghi, MD.
- BEGIN Study – Part B. CF Foundation. Site PI: Hossein Sadeghi, MD.
Selected Publications
- De A, Williams S, Yao Y, Jin Z, Brittenham GM, Kattan M, Lovinsky-Desir S, Lee MT. Acute chest syndrome, airway inflammation and lung function in sickle cell disease. PLoS One. 2023 Mar 30;18(3):e0283349.
- Bhakta NR, Bime C, Kaminsky DA, McCormack MC, Thakur N, Stanojevic S, Baugh AD, Braun L, Lovinsky-Desir S, Adamson R, Witonsky J, Wise RA, Levy SD, Brown R, Forno E, Cohen RT, Johnson M, Balmes J, Mageto Y, Lee CT, Masekela R, Weiner DJ, Irvin CG, Swenson ER, Rosenfeld M, Schwartzstein RM, Agrawal A, Neptune E, Wisnivesky JP, Ortega VE, Burney P. Race and Ethnicity in Pulmonary Function Test Interpretation: An Official American Thoracic Society Statement. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2023 Apr 15;207(8):978-995.
- Mayer-Hamblett N, Clancy JP, Jain R, Donaldson SH, Fajac I, Goss CH, Polineni D, Ratjen F, Quon BS, Zemanick ET, Bell SC, Davies JC, Jain M, Konstan MW, Kerper NR, LaRosa T, Mall MA, McKone E, Pearson K, Pilewski JM, Quittell L, Rayment JH, Rowe SM, Taylor-Cousar JL, Retsch-Bogart G, Downey DG. Advancing the pipeline of cystic fibrosis clinical trials: a new roadmap with a global trial network perspective. Lancet Respir Med. 2023 Oct;11(10):932-944. doi: 10.1016/S2213-2600(23)00297-7.
- Rai N, D'Armiento J. Wingless/integrase-1 signaling in allergic asthma and pediatric lung diseases. Curr Opin Pediatr. 2022 Dec 1;34(6):572-579. doi: 10.1097/MOP.0000000000001173.
- Raissi G, Messier R, Sadeghi D, Sadeghi H. CF Bridge of Hope program, a global medical home practice. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2023 June;58(6);1802-1804. doi: 10.1002/ppul.26383.
- South K, Smaldone A, Sadeghi H, Piane V, Kowal R, Wei L, George M. Parent and adolescent perceptions of cystic fibrosis management responsibility: A mixed-methods study. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2023;58(8):2340-2351.
- Altman MC, Kattan M, O'Connor GT, Murphy RC, Whalen E, LeBeau P, Calatroni A, Gill MA, Gruchalla RS, Liu AH, Lovinsky-Desir S, Pongracic JA, Kercsmar CM, Khurana Hershey GK, Zoratti EM, Teach SJ, Bacharier LB, Wheatley LM, Sigelman SM, Gergen PJ, Togias A, Busse WW, Gern JE, Jackson DJ; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease's Inner City Asthma Consortium. Associations between outdoor air pollutants and non-viral asthma exacerbations and airway inflammatory responses in children and adolescents living in urban areas in the USA: a retrospective secondary analysis. Lancet Planetary Health. 2023 Jan;7(1):e33-e44.
- Kass AP, Kazmerski TM, Bern E, Sabharwal S, Leonard J, Harrison M, Barnico K, Richmond T, Sawicki GS. Clinician perspectives on assessing for disordered eating and body image disturbance in adolescents and young adults with cystic fibrosis. Journal of Cystic Fibrosis. 2023;22(3):431-435.
- Gutowski JN, Donovan DJ, Firnberg MT, Constantinescu A, Kennedy TM. A Rare Complication of Anomalous Left Coronary Artery From the Pulmonary Artery Identified by Point-of-Care Ultrasound. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2023;39(3):201-203.
- Lovinsky-Desir S, Volerman A. Applying Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic to Improve Pediatric Asthma Care. Pulmonary Therapy. 2023;9(1):15-24.
- Goodwin RD, Wyka K, Luo M, Weinberger AH, Kattan M. Cannabis legalization and childhood asthma in the United States: An ecologic analysis. Preventive Medicine. 2023;170.
- Stephenson N, Forno E, Laguna TA, Lovinsky-Desir S, Moore PE, Sheares BJ, Kazmerski TM, Udoko MN, Lypson ML, Walker Harding LR, Wilkes DS, Adair DJ, Afolabi F, Balasubramaniam V, Beltran Ale GJ, Castner LM, Ghera P, Heras A, Jordan K, Ly NP, Martinez-Fernandez TM, Mishra PE, Narang I, Palla JB, Rivera-Sanchez YM, Tapia IE, Toprak D, Torres-Silva CA, Cohen RT. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Pediatric Pulmonary Workforce: An Official American Thoracic Society Workshop Report. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2023 Oct;20(10):1373-1388. doi: 10.1513/AnnalsATS.202306-583ST.
Highlights
A Multipronged Approach to Treatment of Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia
A new NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia multidisciplinary program is bringing together specialists from pulmonology, neonatology, and cardiology to follow and treat children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a common yet challenging condition affecting premature newborns. Because the respiratory complications associated with BPD can last throughout childhood and into adulthood, the consult team connects families to the supports they will need.
How to Keep Yourself and Your Kids Safe During Air Quality Alerts
CBS News New York interviewed Dr. Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir about how to keep safe during air quality alerts.