Stephanie Lovinsky-Desir, MD

Pediatric Pulmonology
Pediatrics, Pulmonology
More specialties
Accepting New Patients
Treats Children
Virtual Visits/Telehealth
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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 Professor of Pediatrics in Environmental Health Sciences

Administrative Titles

  • Chief, Pediatric Pulmonology Division, CUMC
  • Assistant Director for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, HICCC

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
  • HMO
  • NYP Employee Plan
  • NY Signature
  • PPO
  • Student Health

Affinity Health Plan

  • Medicaid Managed Care

Amerigroup of New Jersey

  • New Jersey Services (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
  • Medicare Managed Care
  • POS
  • PPO
  • Select Care (Exchange)
  • Vytra

Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield

  • EPO
  • Local 32BJ

Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield HealthPlus

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Essential Plan

Fidelis Care

  • 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)
  • Oxford Freedom
  • Oxford HMO
  • Oxford Liberty
  • POS
  • PPO

VNSNY CHOICE

  • SelectHealth

WellCare

  • 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

  • 2023, Fellow, American Thoracic Society
  • 2023- Present, Member, Environmental Protection Agency–Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee2023-Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Pediatric Pulmonary Division-Columbia University Irving Medical Center
  • 2022- Present, Vice Chair, American Thoracic Society Health Equity and Diversity Committee
  • 2016 - Present, American Thoracic Society, Assembly on Pediatrics Program Committee
  • 2015 - Present, Pediatric Pulmonology Program Assessment Committee at Columbia University Medical Center
  • 2014 - Present, American College of Chest Physicians,?member
  • 2007 - Present, American Thoracic Society,?member

Board Certifications

  • Pediatrics
  • Pediatric Pulmonology

Honors & Awards

  • 2021, Robert B. Mellins Outstanding Achievement Award , American Thoracic Society
  • 2019, Young Physician Scientist Award, American Society for Clinical Investigation
  • 2018, Early Career Investigator Award, Pediatric Research – Official Journal of the Society for Pediatric Research, the American Pediatric Society and the European Society for Pediatric Research
  • 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

Research

As a pediatric pulmonologist and physician-scientist, Dr. Lovinsky-Desir has particular interest in understanding the influence of the environment on the respiratory health of children. Through multi-center cohort studies, she conducts research to examine the social environment and air pollution in schools and home locations and to investigate air pollution and physical activity among children in urban areas with asthma (including the Inner-City Asthma Consortium). Recently, she has been interested in investigating pulmonary fibrosis and evolution to lung cancer with an interrelationship to environmental exposures.

Through her entire career, Dr. Lovinsky-Desir has been dedicated to uncovering the underlying links between environmental exposures, specifically air pollution and social conditions, and the respiratory health of children living in urban settings to address health disparities.

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

  1. Sanchez KM, Layton AM, Garofano R, Yaniv P, Perzanowski MS, Chillrud SN, Miller RL, Kattan M,Lovinsky-Desir S.(2022).Nitrogen Dioxide Pollutant Exposure and Exercise-induced Bronchoconstriction in Urban Childhood Asthma: A Pilot Study. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 19(1):139-142.PMCID: PMC8787788
  2. Lovinsky-Desir S,Miller RL, Chillrud SN,Perzanowski MS, Jung KH.(2019).Associations of Timing and Mode of Commute Impacts In-Transit Black Carbon Exposure and Airway Inflammation: A PilotStudy.Ann Am Thorac Soc.16(7):923-927. PMCID: PMC6600843
  3. Thakur N,Lovinsky-Desir S,Appell D, Bime C, Castro L, CeledóonJC, Ferreira J, George M, MagetoY, Mainous AG, Pakhale S, Riekert KA, Roman J, Ruvalcaba E, Sharma S, Shete P, Wisnivesky JP, Holguin F.(2021).Enhancing Recruitment and Retention of Minority Populations for Clinical Research in Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine: An Official American Thoracic Society Research Statement. Am J Respir Crit Care Med.204(3):e26-e50.PMID: 34347574; PMCID: PMC8513588
  4. Lovinsky-Desir S, Deshpande DR, De A, Murray L, Stingone JA, Chan A, Patel N, Rai N, DiMango E,Milner J, Kattan M.(2020).Asthma among hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and related outcomes.J Allergy Clin Immunol. 146(5):1027-1034.e4.PMCID: PMC7409831
  5. 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.