Eric Scott Silver, MD

Rakesh Sahni, MBBS, is Professor of Pediatrics at Columbia University Medical Center, Medical Director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, and Director of the Infant Physiology Laboratory at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. After earning his medical degree from Maulana Azad Medical College, University of Delhi in India, Dr. Sahni did pediatric residency training in India, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He further completed fellowship training in neonatal-perinatal medicine at Columbia University in 1993 and has been a faculty member since then. Dr. Sahni’s major area of interest is neonatal physiology and behavior. His research goals are to understand the physiological basis of various processes during the neonatal period. He Investigates how these processes alter cardiorespiratory activity, thermal regulation, and neurobehavioral organization in the early developmental stages of infants with very low birthweights. He also studies the acute physiological effects of interventions in these infants, such as nutrition and postural alteration, as well as the long-term effects of early nutritional experiences, with emphasis on cardiovascular, metabolic, and cognitive alterations at the resting level and stimulus responsiveness of the maturing sympathetic nervous system. In addition, Dr. Sahni collaborates with researchers from the Department of Developmental Neuroscience to study the interactive relationships among body position during sleep, body temperature, and cardiorespiratory and neuroelectric activity in the regulation of heart functions during early development of low birthweight infants. His long-term objectives are to explain the body’s vulnerabilities underlying sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and to develop age-appropriate, noninvasive tests to identify infants at greatest risk for SIDS. His research interests also include continuous invasive and noninvasive physiological monitoring during neonatal intensive care in preterm and term infants. He has published more than 75 original papers and more than 95 abstracts, and is a recipient of several grant awards.

Julia Beth Finkelstein, M.D., M.P.H, is an Assistant Professor of Urology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC). She specializes in pediatric urology, seeing patients from before birth to 18 years old. Dr...

Dr. Pooja Reddy Spector is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and an Attending Pediatrician at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital. She practices in the Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation. Prior to her faculty appointment, Dr. Spector earned a BA in Economics from the University of Virginia prior to pursuing her medical education at Emory University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in Pediatrics at The Children's Hospital at Montefiore and clinical fellowships in Pediatric Gastroenterology and Advanced Transplant Hepatology at NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia University Medical Center. During this time, she pursued formal training in Patient Safety research and earned a Master's degree in Epidemiology from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Spector is board certified in Pediatrics, Pediatric Gastroenterology, and Pediatric Transplant Hepatology. Dr. Spector's clinical practice is focused on the management of pediatric patients with a range of liver diseases including neonatal cholestasis, biliary atresia, rare metabolic diseases, viral hepatitis, liver tumors including hepatoblastoma, and autoimmune liver disease. She has completed advanced training in the management of pediatric liver and intestinal failure and is experienced in caring for patients both prior to and after undergoing liver, intestinal and multi-visceral transplants. Dr. Spector performs several procedures including percutaneous liver biopsy, endoscopy, variceal band-ligation and colonoscopy. While caring for patients, she aims to educate both her patients and their families as they work together toward shared decision-making and optimal treatment outcomes. Dr. Spector's research interests include patient safety, quality improvement and assurance, as well as epidemiology and outcomes of pediatric liver diseases and transplant. During her time as a Patient Safety Research Fellow, she focused on utilizing health information technology to prevent medical errors and improve the quality and efficiency with which patient care is delivered. She continues this work as part of the Empire Clinical Research Investigator Program (ECRIP).