Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir, MD

Pediatric Pulmonology
Pediatrics, Pulmonology
More specialties
Accepting New Patients
Treats Children
Virtual Visits/Telehealth
Profile Headshot

Overview

stephanie_lovinsky-desir_md_ms_-_pediatric_pulmonologist

As a child, I spent a lot of time in doctor’s offices and emergency departments with symptoms of asthma, and I learned early on how important it is to trust your doctor. The physicians who cared for me during that time inspired me to become a pediatrician and to specialize in pulmonology.

While I have a special passion for treating children with asthma, I also have expertise in a variety of other pulmonary diseases, including lung conditions that affect premature newborn infants and chronic respiratory conditions that extend into adolescence. I believe that providing quality health care depends on a close collaboration between my patients, their families, and me. The relationships we form are one of the most rewarding parts of my job.

My focus on caring for children from disadvantaged backgrounds stems from my social pediatrics residency training. I completed my pediatric pulmonary fellowship training at Columbia and have been part of the pediatric pulmonary team here for more than ten years. I can attest to how committed our team is to providing the best care for children with pulmonary disease.

I also spend a significant portion of my time on childhood asthma research. Our research team is interested in understanding and addressing the environmental factors that contribute to childhood asthma, particularly in urban communities. We have received funding for our research from the National Institutes of Health, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and a number of other organizations. We publish our work in scientific journals and present at international conferences—all with the goal of ensuring that children in our communities can breathe well and live active, healthy lives.

Areas of Expertise / Conditions Treated

  • Chronic Cough
  • Chronic Lung Disease of Infancy
  • Pediatric Asthma
  • Pediatric Bronchoscopy
  • Pediatric Pulmonary Diseases
  • Restrictive Lung Diseases

Academic Appointments

  • Associate Professorship (Associate Professor of Pediatrics in Environmental Health Sciences)

Administrative Titles

  • Chief, Pediatric Pulmonology

Hospital Affiliations

  • NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center
  • NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital

Gender

  • Female

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Virtual Visits/Telehealth

Virtual Visits allow you to connect with your provider from the comfort, convenience, and safety of your own home.

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Phone Appointments

New and Existing Patients:

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Location(s)

Insurance Accepted

Aetna

  • Aetna Signature Administrators
  • EPO
  • HMO
  • Medicare Managed Care
  • NYP Employee Plan
  • NY Signature
  • POS
  • PPO
  • Student Health

Affinity Health Plan

  • Essential Plan
  • Medicaid Managed Care

Amida Care

  • Special Needs

Cigna

  • EPO
  • Great West (National)
  • HMO
  • Medicare Managed Care
  • POS
  • PPO

Emblem/GHI

  • Medicare Managed Care
  • PPO

Emblem/HIP

  • ConnectiCare
  • EPO
  • Essential Plan
  • HMO
  • Medicaid Managed Care
  • Medicare Managed Care
  • POS
  • PPO
  • Select Care (Exchange)
  • Vytra

Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield

  • EPO
  • HMO
  • Local 32BJ
  • Medicare Managed Care
  • PPO

Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield HealthPlus

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Essential Plan
  • Medicaid Managed Care

Fidelis Care

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Essential Plan
  • Medicaid Managed Care
  • Medicare Managed Care

Healthfirst

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Leaf (Exchange)
  • Medicaid Managed Care
  • Medicare Managed Care

Local 1199

  • Local 1199

MagnaCare (National)

  • MagnaCare

Medicare

  • Railroad
  • Traditional Medicare

Multiplan

  • Multiplan

MVP Health Care

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Essential Plan
  • HMO
  • Medicaid Managed Care

Quality Health Management

  • Quality Health Management

UnitedHealthcare

  • Compass (Exchange)
  • Empire Plan
  • HMO
  • Medicaid (Community Plan)
  • Medicare Managed Care
  • Oxford Freedom
  • Oxford HMO
  • Oxford Liberty
  • POS
  • PPO

VNSNY CHOICE

  • Medicare Managed Care
  • SelectHealth
  • Special Needs

WellCare

  • Medicaid Managed Care
  • Medicare Managed Care

World Trade Center Health Plan

  • World Trade Center Health Plan

*Please contact the provider’s office directly to verify that your particular insurance is accepted.

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • MD, 2007 New York Medical College
  • Residency: Albert Einstein Medical Center
  • Fellowship: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center
  • Fellowship: 2013 NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical C

Committees, Societies, Councils

2019 - Present, Health Data for New York City, Acedemic Investigator

2018 - Present, American Thoracic Society, Health Equity and Diversity Committee

2017 - 2018, American College of Chest Physicians, Diversity Task Force

2016 - Present, American Thoracic Society, Assembly on Pediatrics Program Committee

2015 - 2016, American College of Chest Physicians, Diversity Committee

2015 - Present, Pediatric Pulmonology Program Assessment Committee at Columbia University Medical Center

2014 - Present, American College of Chest Physicians, member

2012 - 2014, Academic Pediatric Association, member

2007 - 2010, American Academy of Pediatrics, member

2007 - Present, American Thoracic Society, member

Board Certifications

  • Pediatrics
  • Pediatric Pulmonology

Honors & Awards

2019 American Society for Clinical Investigation - Young Physician Scientist Award

2018 Early Career Investigator Award, Pediatric Research – Official Journal of the Society for Pediatric Research, the American Pediatric Society and the European Society for Paediatric Research

2016 Society for Pediatric Research, elected member

2012 Junior Investigator Award – Children’s Environmental Health Network Research Conference

2011 Comparative Effectiveness Research – Summer Training in Applications and Techniques Scholarship Award for the Columbia Summer Research Institute (CSRI)

2010 Chairman’s Award for Distinction in Research – Social Medicine at Montefiore

2007 Dr. Lester J. Schultz Memorial Scholarship Award – New York Medical College

Research

Research Interests

  • Air pollution and Asthma
  • Environmental epigenetics and asthma, allergy
  • exercise
  • Health Disparities
  • Health equity and the social determinants of health in urban populations

Selected Publications

Lovinsky-Desir S, Lawrence J, Jung KH, Rundle AG, Hoepner LA, Yan B, Perera F, Perzanowski MS, Miller RL, Chillrud SN. Air Pollution, Assessment of exposure to air pollution in children: Determining whether wearing a personal monitor affects physical activity. Environmental Research. 2018, 166:340-3.

Lovinsky-Desir S, Jung KH, Jezioro, JR, Torrone DZ, dePlanell-Saguer M, Yan B, Perera FP, Rundle AG, Perzanowski MS, Chillrud SN, Miller RL. Physical Activity, Black Carbon Exposure and DNA Methylation in the FOXP3 Promoter. Clinical Epigenetics. 2017, 9: 65.

Lovinsky-Desir S, Jung KH, Rundle AG, Hoepner L, Bautista J, Perera FP, Chillrud SN, Perzanowski MS, Miller RL. Physical Activity is Associated with Greater Black Carbon/Soot Exposure and Lower Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide in a Cohort of Adolescents Living in New York City. Environmental Research. 2016, 151: 756-62.

Lovinsky-Desir S, Miller RL, Bautista J, Gil EN, Chillrud SH, Yan B, Perera FP, Jung KH. Differences in ambient polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations between streets and alleys in New York City: Open space vs semi-closed space. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2016, 13: 127.

Lovinsky-Desir S, Ridder R, Torrone D, Maher C, Narula S, Scheuerman M, Kattan M, DiMango E, Miller RL. DNA methylation of the allergy regulatory gene, interferon gamma, varies by age, sex, and tissue type in asthmatics. Clinical Epigenetics; 2014, 6(9).

Lovinsky-Desir S, Folch C, Jung KH, Torrone D, Gil E, Perera F, Miller RL, Chillrud SN. Urban adolescents readily comply with a complicated asthma research protocol. Clinical Medicine Insights: Circulatory, Respiratory and Pulmonary Medicine; 2014, Mar 23 (8):5-9.

Lovinsky-Desir S, Miller RL. Epigenetics, asthma and allergic diseases: A review of latest advancements. Current Allergy and Asthma Reports; 2012, Jun; 12(3):211-20.