Leadership and Staff

Sherin U. Devaskar, M.D. is a Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics and the Executive Director of the UCLA Children’s Discovery and Innovation (CDI) Institute that she spearheaded in 2012. As Executive Chair for the Department of Pediatrics, Dr. Devaskar oversees all aspects of the department in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and provides leadership for advancing innovative research and education programs. 

Peter G. Szilagyi, M.D., M.P.H is a Professor of Pediatrics, Executive Vice-Chair and Vice-Chair for Research in the Department of Pediatrics. He is also the Co-Director of the UCLA Children’s Discovery and Innovation (CDI) Institute. 

Dr. Steven Mittelman first became a Bruin in 1989, when he began his undergraduate work as a Biochemistry major. He was proud to be a member of the Solid Gold Sound of the UCLA Marching Band! After earning his BS in Biochemistry from UCLA, Dr. Mittelman went on to earn his PhD in Physiology and a MD at Keck School of Medicine, USC. He completed both his pediatric residency and pediatric endocrinology fellowship at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Karin Nielsen, MD, MPH is Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases in the Department of Pediatrics at UCLA. Dr. Nielsen's research work has focused on studies of HIV prevention and treatment in several populations. Her expertise includes perinatal infections including HIV, CMV, Syphilis, Zika virus and other arboviral pathogens as well as global health, tuberculosis and tropical infections.

Anna-Barbara Moscicki, M.D. is a Professor of Pediatrics and Division Chief of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at UCLA. Dr. Moscicki’s career has focused on adolescent gynecology and STI research with a specific focus in Human Papillomavirus, HIV infection and mucosal immunology. She has expertise in HPV-related diseases including diagnosis of cervical dysplasia and treatment in adolescents and young women.

Martín G. Martín, M.D., M.P.P. is a Professor of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition and Vice Chair of Academic Affairs. Dr. Martin’s laboratory has had a long-term interest in investigating the molecular basis of a variety of novel and established genetic diarrheal disorders associated with intestinal failure

Dr. Kallapur is the Chief of Neonatology and Developmental Biology and Professor of Pediatrics at the Mattel Children’s Hospital, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He currently also has an appointment as a Clinical Professor at the University of Western Australia. Dr. Kallapur was a tenured Professor of Pediatrics at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, University of Cincinnati prior to his move to UCLA in 2017.

Grace Aldrovandi, M.D., CM is a Professor of Pediatrics and Division Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital. Dr. Aldrovandi is a translational physician-scientist and her expertise and innovative research has far-reaching collaborations

Anil Sapru, M.D., MAS, is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Division Chief of Critical Care at the David Geffen School of Medicine and UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital. Dr. Sapru is a board certified pediatrician and a pediatric intensive care physician. His research is focused on studies of pathogenetic and prognostic significance of biological markers in children with critical illnesses.

Donald B. Kohn, M.D., is a Professor in the Departments of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics (MIMG); Pediatric (Hematology/Oncology); and Molecular and Medical Pharmacology and Director of the Human Gene and Cell Therapy Program of the UCLA David Geffen School of medicine. He is a board-certified pediatrician with >28 years of experience in clinical bone marrow transplantation

Harley Kornblum, M.D., Ph.D. is currently a Professor of Psychiatry, Molecular and Medical Pharmacology and Pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He is a Pediatric Neurologist, and is the Founding Director of the UCLA Neural Stem Cell Research Center. 

Keith Steele has over 23 years of experience in research administration, 15 years of which has been in the Department of Pediatrics. In 2006, Mr. Steele formed the UCLA Research Administrators Campus Committee (RACC) which was designed to serve as a platform for Departmental Research Administrators throughout the campus to interact and facilitate best practices with the UCLA Office of Research Administration.

Erica Stanley, J.D., is a California-licensed attorney and has worked for the Department of Pediatrics for over 10 years. Ms. Stanley started the Pediatrics Clinical Trials Office before her role as Assistant Director. Prior to coming to the CDI, Ms. Stanley worked in the Office of the Human Research Protection Program where she led one of UCLA’s Institutional Review Boards. 

Aria Mohseny obtained her undergraduate degree in biology from UC Berkeley. Ms. Mohseny is passionate about research, including her laboratory and clinical work at the CITRUS and the Banatao Institute at UC Berkeley, Giovannini Lab at the UCLA Department of Head & Neck Surgery, and Tata Memorial Hospital & Cancer Research Institute in Mumbai, India, where she served varying roles as project manager, assistant researcher and laboratory assistant in adult and pediatric cancer research.