Message From the Chair

It is my tremendous pleasure and honor to welcome you to the 2023 annual report of the Columbia University Department of Pediatrics. 

First, thank you for taking the time to learn more about us, our work, our progress, and our mission. I appreciate your valuable time, and it means so much that you have chosen to interact with us. 

Importantly, over this past year, our department embarked upon a multilayered journey to redefine and restate our mission and vision. Please take a moment to explore the result of our efforts; we think it captures who we are, what we do, and where we are going. We are working to commit to it daily and find meaningful ways to advance it. 

It has been an impactful year for us: Our clinical programs grew to become the largest in size and scope in our history, as did our research portfolio. We had new additions and achievements across our mission.  

Our year held so many wonderful moments. To cite a few: department members were part of the teams that completed the 500th pediatric liver transplant at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and performed the first pediatric domino heart transplant. And witnessing the tremendous outcomes in sickle cell disease through gene editing has been among the most exciting experiences in my own career and gives me such hope for the future of rare disease.  

The resourcefulness of our faculty continually inspires me: the new NIH-funded NY-ROYAL program for patients navigating rare immunological diseases and our new PITCH program to monitor the health status of children who have undergone transplantation are fitting examples.  

We are also excited to welcome a new director, Patrisha Woolard, MD, PhD, to lead our excellent pediatric residency program as we continue to train future leaders in children’s health. 

We offer this report to you with tremendous gratitude to all who make the days meaningful here at Columbia University Department of Pediatrics. At our core, we care deeply—about our community, its children, innovation, and impact. I hope you enjoy learning more, and I truly thank you for your connection to us. 

Most appreciatively,

Jordan Scott Orange, MD, PhD
Reuben S. Carpentier Professor of Pediatrics