My clinical practice as a general pediatrician inspired me to study and promote behaviors, programs and policies that increase physical activity in children, particularly those from disadvantaged communities. Through experiences in an urban academic clinic, a bilingual community health center, and a large private practice, I repeatedly observed that childrens health issues were closely linked to complex factors outside the walls of the exam room.
Those aspects of pediatrics that frustrated and moved me the most as a clinician have inspired my research. My experiences led me to further training in public health and research in order to pursue a career that would allow me to intervene on the environmental and social context of health from a young age. As a pediatrician, a scientist, and a mother, I am deeply motivated to effectively translate and disseminate the information I learn from research to advance the health of children on a population level.