Maternal & Child Health Research Institute (MCHRI)
Showing 1-50 of 68 Results
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Alexander D. Kaiser
Instructor, Cardiothoracic Surgery
BioAlexander Kaiser, PhD, is an applied mathematician and computational scientist who researches modeling and simulation of heart valves, focused on congenital heart valve disease and its surgical treatment. His recent research explores simulation-guided design of aortic valve repair of complex congenital heart defects. He has developed novel, nearly first-principles modeling methods for heart valves called elasticity-based design. These methods produce robust and realistic flows in fluid-structure interaction simulations. Dr. Kaiser is an Instructor in Cardiothoracic Surgery at Stanford University working with Michael Ma and Alison Marsden. He completed his PhD in Mathematics with Charles Peskin at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University, where he was awarded the Kurt O. Friedrichs Prize for Outstanding Dissertation in Mathematics.
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Pooja Kakar
Member, Maternal & Child Health Research Institute (MCHRI)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAs a breastfeeding medicine physician, I am passionate about advocating for mother-infant dyads and supporting their breastfeeding journeys. Additionally, I am interested studying and addressing disparities in initiation and duration of breastfeeding, particularly in lower-resourced populations, by building and advancing community partnerships.
I am also interested in the use of digital health tools to advance upstream determinants of health in community-based settings. My current funded research projects include: 1) Providing a telehealth-based, weight control program to children with obesity from lower-income, racial and ethnic minority families (Gardner GOALS) and 2) Assessing and addressing disparities in healthy behaviors in families from under-resourced settings through the use of a secure, multilingual mobile neighborhood app (Our Voice: Beyond Clinic Walls). -
Julia Kaltschmidt
Professor of Neurosurgery
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe lab’s primary research interest is to understand how specific neuronal circuits are established. We use mouse genetics, combinatorial immunochemical labeling and high-resolution laser scanning microscopy to identify, manipulate, and quantitatively analyze synaptic contacts within the complex neuronal milieu of the spinal cord and the enteric nervous system.
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Matthew Kanan
Professor of Chemistry and Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy
BioMatt Kanan is a Professor of Chemistry and Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy at Stanford. Matt’s research group works across multiple fields of chemistry and engineering with applications for sustainable plastics, critical mineral recovery, and carbon management. Their work has led to several inventions in these areas, including new performance-advantaged bioplastics, electrochemical systems to recycle acid and base, metal-free catalysts for C1 transformations, and thermal mineral conversion processes. Matt is the co-founder of ReSource Chemical Corp., an Oakland-based start-up commercializing manufacturing technology developed in his lab, and Mafix, Inc., a spin-out developing mineral fertilizers that remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Prior to joining the Stanford faculty in 2009, Matt did his Ph.D. studies in organic chemistry at Harvard and postdoctoral research at MIT in inorganic chemistry. He earned his B.A. in chemistry from Rice University in 2000.
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Cynthia Kapphahn
Clinical Professor, Pediatrics - Adolescent Medicine
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAccess to health care services for adolescents.
Confidentiality.
Mental Health Financing.
Eating disorders. -
Ioannis Karakikes
Associate Professor (Research) of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe Karakikes Lab aims to uncover fundamental new insights into the molecular mechanisms and functional consequences of pathogenic mutations associated with familial cardiovascular diseases.
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Siva Kasinathan
Instructor, Pediatrics - Rheumatology
BioSiva Kasinathan, MD, PhD is a physician-scientist and Instructor of Pediatric Rheumatology at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. In addition to caring for children and young adults with rheumatic diseases in his clinical practice, Siva conducts research to advance the understanding of mechanisms of autoimmunity and autoinflammation.
Siva holds an MD and PhD in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of Washington, where he developed several high-throughput methods for epigenome profiling and contributed new insights in chromatin biology and gene regulation. During his clinical training in pediatrics and rheumatology at Stanford, Siva pioneered approaches for single-molecule analysis of genetic variation, DNA methylation, and chromatin structure, and established a longitudinal rheumatic disease cohort and biorepository.
Siva’s current research bridges genomics and immunology with a focus on developing and applying sensitive technologies to unravel the genetic and molecular underpinnings of lupus, arthritis, and other immune-mediated diseases. As a physician-scientist, Siva is committed to translating fundamental discoveries into precision therapies and biomarkers to improve outcomes for patients with rheumatic diseases. -
Maya M. Kasowski
Assistant Professor of Pathology, of Medicine (Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine) and, by courtesy, of Genetics
BioI am a clinical pathologist and assistant professor in the Departments of Medicine, Pathology, and Genetics (by courtesy) at Stanford. I completed my MD-PhD training at Yale University and my residency training and a post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Genetics at Stanford University. My experiences as a clinical pathologist and genome scientist have made me passionate about applying cutting-edge technologies to primary patient specimens in order to characterize disease pathologies at the molecular level. The core focus of my lab is to study the mechanisms by which genetic variants influence the risk of disease through effects on intermediate molecular phenotypes.
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Makoto Kawai
Clinical Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Sleep Medicine
BioI am a physician scientist in the field of sleep medicine in aging and brain function. Using combined polysomnogram and novel neuroimaging technology, I aim to identify potential sleep biomarkers to investigate the mechanism of progression from normal aging to Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or dementia. I also investigate the impact of sleep on cognitive/affective function or behavior abnormality in various neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders.
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Mark A. Kay, M.D., Ph.D.
Dennis Farrey Family Professor of Pediatrics, and Professor of Genetics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMark A. Kay, M.D., Ph.D. Director of the Program in Human Gene Therapy and Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Genetics. Respected worldwide for his work in gene therapy for hemophilia, Dr. Kay and his laboratory focus on establishing the scientific principles and developing the technologies needed for achieving persistent and therapeutic levels of gene expression in vivo. The major disease models are hemophilia, hepatitis C, and hepatitis B viral infections.
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Debra Lee Kaysen
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Public Mental Health and Population Sciences)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMuch of my current research focus is on the development of testing of accessible, scaleable, and effective treatments for trauma-related disorders and related comorbidities (e.g. substance use disorders, HIV, mood disorders). This work has focused on addressing trauma-related disorders especially in underserved populations and settings. This includes research in rural communities, with Native American communities, and with sexual minorities. My research has had a strong impact on building an evidence base on adaptations of psychotherapies for PTSD and substance use disorders for diverse populations both within and outside the United States. Our findings demonstrate that complex cognitive behavioral psychotherapies like Cognitive Processing Therapy can be culturally adapted and delivered in challenging settings (conflict settings, high poverty environments) with significant and lasting change in PTSD, depression, and functioning. This has led to work adapting CPT for diverse populations within the United States (rural Native Americans, urban Latinos) and outside of it (Iraq, DRC). Other research has focused on treatment for PTSD/SUD. My research has also found support for the use of brief telehealth interventions to build treatment engagement and to reduce drinking among trauma-exposed populations. In addition, my work has been critical in testing the feasibility of novel trauma-focused interventions for use by those with PTSD and SUD, thus paving the road for more rigorous research studies.
Current PI'ed research studies include: 1) developing and evaluating a brief motivational interviewing intervention designed to increase treatment-seeking among military personnel with untreated PTSD; a two-arm randomized comparative effectiveness trial to evaluate prevention of HIV/STI sexual risk behavior by addressing PTSD through Narrative Exposure Therapy or substance use through Motivational Interviewing among Native American men and women with PTSD; and 3) a comparison of outcomes among patients randomized to initially receive pharmacotherapy or Written Exposure Therapy delivered in primary care as well as comparing outcomes among patients randomized to treatment sequences (i.e., switching and augmenting) for patients who do not respond to the initial treatment. -
Kevin Kelley
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (General Psychiatry and Psychology)
BioAs a neuroscientist and psychiatrist, I am motivated by how little we understand about the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders and hope that further knowledge will help to alleviate the ongoing distress of many of our patients. My research program leverages computational genomics, human brain cellular models, and molecular neuroscience techniques to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms of human brain development and how dysfunction in these processes lead to psychiatric disorders.
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John Kerner
Professor of Pediatrics (Gastroenterology), Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsI am interested in pediatric nutritional support and have experience evaluating new enteral and parenteral products especially for the neonate (I studied a "new" I.V. fat product for Abbott; I participated in a multicenter trial of a formula with fish oil in it for neonates with Mead Johnson and a multicenter trial of a new human milk fortifier for Wyeth).
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Michelle Joanne Khan, MD, MPH, FACOG (she/her)
Clinical Professor, Obstetrics & Gynecology - General
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Khan's research focuses on prevention of HPV-related cancers of the cervix, vagina, vulva, and anus and on the impact of reproductive tract infections on pregnancy and health.
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Kajal Khanna
Clinical Associate Professor, Emergency Medicine
Clinical Associate Professor (By courtesy), PediatricsCurrent Research and Scholarly InterestsGlobal pediatric emergency medicine research, educational scholarship, pediatric emergency medical care in low- and middle- income countries and rights-based approaches to health systems development
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Nasim Sabery Khavari
Clinical Associate Professor, Pediatrics - Gastroenterology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsPediatric Gastroenterology, Celiac Disease, Nutrition in Celiac Disease
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Paul A. Khavari, MD, PhD
Carl J. Herzog Professor of Dermatology in the School of Medicine
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe work in epithelial tissue as a model system to study stem cell biology, cancer and new molecular therapeutics. Epithelia cover external and internal body surfaces and undergo constant self-renewal while responding to diverse environmental stimuli. Epithelial homeostasis precisely balances stem cell-sustained proliferation and differentiation-associated cell death, a balance which is lost in many human diseases, including cancer, 90% of which arise in epithelial tissues.
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Chaitan Khosla
Wells H. Rauser and Harold M. Petiprin Professor and Professor of Chemistry and, by courtesy, of Biochemistry
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsResearch in this laboratory focuses on problems where deep insights into enzymology and metabolism can be harnessed to improve human health.
For the past two decades, we have studied and engineered enzymatic assembly lines called polyketide synthases that catalyze the biosynthesis of structurally complex and medicinally fascinating antibiotics in bacteria. An example of such an assembly line is found in the erythromycin biosynthetic pathway. Our current focus is on understanding the structure and mechanism of this polyketide synthase. At the same time, we are developing methods to decode the vast and growing number of orphan polyketide assembly lines in the sequence databases.
For more than a decade, we have also investigated the pathogenesis of celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine, with the goal of discovering therapies and related management tools for this widespread but overlooked disease. Ongoing efforts focus on understanding the pivotal role of transglutaminase 2 in triggering the inflammatory response to dietary gluten in the celiac intestine. -
Peter S. Kim
Virginia and D. K. Ludwig Professor of Biochemistry
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur research focuses on developing new strategies for vaccine creation. We also aim to generate vaccines targeting infectious agents that have eluded efforts to date. We integrate experimental approaches with protein language models to guide artificial evolution and enable efficient antibody and protein engineering. Our interdisciplinary approach aims to address critical global health challenges.
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Seung K. Kim M.D., Ph.D.
KM Mulberry Professor, Professor of Developmental Biology, of Medicine (Endocrinology) and, by courtesy, of Pediatrics (Endocrinology)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe study the development of pancreatic islet cells using molecular, embryologic and genetic methods in several model systems, including mice, pigs, human pancreas, embryonic stem cells, and Drosophila. Our work suggests that critical factors required for islet development are also needed to maintain essential functions of the mature islet. These approaches have informed efforts to generate replacement islets from renewable sources for diabetes.
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Yong Yean Kim
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics ( Hematology & Oncology)
BioOur lab is interested in translational science to bring new therapies to clinical trials. In particular, we are interested in pediatric sarcomas which have not had advancement in clinical treatment for decades. Current projects in the lab focus on understanding of the biology of fusion transcription factor PAX3::FOXO1 which is the driver mutation in fusion positive rhabdomyosarcoma. PAX3::FOXO1 is a powerful oncogenic transcription factor which rewires the transcriptional organization to lock the cancer cell in the proliferative state. Since transcription factors including PAX3::FOXO1 are difficult to target using small molecules, we aim to understand how PAX3::FOXO1 is regulated and targeting the regulators of PAX3::FOXO1. By understanding and targeting the regulation of PAX3::FOXO1, we hope to bring new therapies for fusion positive rhabdomyosarcoma. Additionally, these regulatory mechanisms may also be active in other transcription driven cancers such as the EWSR1::FLI1 driven Ewings Sarcoma.
Our lab is also interested in exploring the epigenetic landscape of pediatric solid tumors and trying to understand how dysregulation in the epigenome drives oncogenesis. We utilize various CRISPR mediated genetic techniques to interrogate the regulators of epigenome focusing on the histone lysine demethylases (KDMs). KDMs are an understudied group of epigenetic regulators which can be targeted for therapeutic effect. We explore the role of KDMs in pediatric solid tumors and hope to identify potential targets for drug development. -
Alaina Kipps
Clinical Professor, Pediatrics - Cardiology
BioDr. Kipps grew up in Santa Cruz, California and completed her medical degree at Harvard Medical School in 2003. After general pediatrics residency at Stanford, she completed pediatric cardiology fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital from 2006 to 2009. After three years on faculty with University of California, San Francisco she was recruited back to Stanford in 2012 to become the medical director for acute care cardiology (2013-2021). Since 2021 she has focused on QI for the ACCU and heart center, and has served as the ACCU local improvement team medical director since 2013. In 2014 she co-founded the Pediatric Acute Care Cardiology Collaborative (PAC³) with Nicolas Madsen and co-directed this since inception to spring 2026. PAC³ has 50 participating centers, a registry since 2019 with >150,000 encounters, and is the academic society for the ACCU subspecialty. Her academic focus is in clinical effectiveness and quality improvement science, and she completed her Masters of Science in Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health in 2016. Her other significant interest is in teaching, mentorship, and coaching. She is the co-director of the Pediatric residency program scholarly concentration in Quality Improvement, co-leads the Pediatric department peer scholar community (in QI), and has served as a residency coach since 2020.
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Varvara A. Kirchner
Associate Professor of Surgery (Abdominal Transplantation) and, by courtesy, of Pediatrics
BioDr. Kirchner completed her medical school, surgical residency and multi-organ transplant fellowship in adult and pediatric liver, pancreas, kidney transplantation and total pancreatectomy with islet auto-transplantation at the University of Minnesota. She underwent further training in living donor liver transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery at the Asan Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea. Her clinical practice involves living and deceased donor liver and kidney transplantation in adult and pediatric patients as well as total pancreatectomy with islet auto-transplantation for patients with chronic and acute recurrent pancreatitis. She currently serves as Surgical Director of the Islet Cell Auto-Transplant at Stanford Children’s and Associate Director of the Living Donor Liver Transplant Program at the Division of Abdominal Transplantation. Dr. Kirchner’s research focuses on the biology of aging, cellular and solid organ transplantation. Her specific interests are in auto-islet transplantation, iPSC-derived hepatocyte therapies and liver regeneration. Dr. Kirchner's research on the impact of donor age on generation of iPSC-derived hepatocyte-like cells is supported by the NIA K08 Faculty Development Award. She is an active member of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons and the International Liver Transplantation Society.
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Jonathan D Klein
Marron and Mary Elizabeth Kendrick Professor of Pediatrics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy studies address:
1. Confidentiality and Access to Care studies of confidential time during well-visits and policy analyses addressing quality of care and health systems capacity for adolescents and young adults in the US and globally; and,
2, Tobacco, nicotine, and second-hand smoke studies of primary care counseling to reduce nicotine addiction in adolescents and programs to engage medical specialty groups in secondhand smoke clinical and policy interventions. -
Teri Klein
Professor (Research) of Biomedical Data Science, of Medicine (BMIR) and, by courtesy, of Genetics
On Partial Leave from 01/16/2026 To 12/18/2026Current Research and Scholarly InterestsCo-founder, Pacific Symposium on Biocomputing
NIEHS, Site Visit Reviewer
NIH, Study Section Reviewer -
Joshua W. Knowles
Associate Professor of Medicine (Cardiovascular Medicine)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsGenetic basis of coronary disease
Genetic basis of insulin resistance
Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH) -
Juliet Klasing Knowles
Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences (Pediatric Neurology) and of Pediatrics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe Knowles lab studies how white matter structure changes in different forms of epilepsy, and how aberrant white matter structure, in turn, shapes neuronal network function. In mouse models, we use a variety of innovative tools including neurophysiology, quantitative EEG, behavior, histological measures of white matter structure and MR imaging. We also conduct clinical research to study white matter abnormalities in children with epilepsy.
