Maternal & Child Health Research Institute (MCHRI)
Showing 221-240 of 1,214 Results
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Heike Daldrup-Link
Professor of Radiology (General Radiology) and, by courtesy, of Pediatrics (Hematology/Oncology)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAs a physician-scientist involved in the care of pediatric patients and developing novel pediatric molecular imaging technologies, my goal is to link the fields of nanotechnology and medical imaging towards more efficient diagnoses and image-guided therapies. Our research team develops novel imaging techniques for improved cancer diagnosis, for image-guided-drug delivery and for in vivo monitoring of cell therapies in children and young adults.
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Roxana Daneshjou, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Data Science and of Dermatology and, by courtesy, of Radiology
BioDr. Daneshjou studied Bioengineering at Rice University before matriculating to Stanford School of Medicine where she completed her MD and a PhD in Genetics with Dr. Russ Altman as part of the medical scientist training program. She completed dermatology residency at Stanford as part of the research track and completed a postdoc in Biomedical Data Science with Dr. James Zou. She currently is the assistant director of the Center of Excellence for Precision Heath & Pharmacogenomics, director of informatics for the Stanford Skin Innovation and Interventional Research Group (SIIRG), a founding member of the Translational AI in Dermatology (TRAIND) group, and a faculty affiliate of Human-centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) and the AI in Medicine and Imaging (AIMI) centers.
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Rebecca Dang
Instructor, Pediatrics
BioDr. Rebecca Dang is an Instructor in the Division of General Pediatrics at Stanford University. She earned her medical degree at Georgetown School of Medicine and completed her pediatric residency at Kaiser Permanente Northern California. She also completed pediatric hospital medicine fellowship and a master’s program in clinical research and epidemiology at Stanford University. Dr. Dang provides clinical care for children on the pediatric ward and newborn nursery.
Dr. Dang’s research interest focuses on high-value pediatric care, which she hopes to improve through building evidence for common, understudied practices. Common practices that are ubiquitous throughout pediatric medicine are temperature measurement and management. Despite temperature measurement and the subsequent detection of ‘normal’ or ‘abnormal’ values driving clinical decision making, these temperature thresholds may be outdated or poorly defined. Dr. Dang has led many projects on temperature-related topics, including routine temperature measurement at well-child visits, pediatric temperature percentiles, risk factors for and outcomes of neonatal hypothermia in the newborn nursery, and newborn temperature norms. This work has led to first-author publications in the high-impact journals of Academic Pediatrics, Pediatrics, Journal of Pediatrics, JAMA Network Open, and Hospital Pediatrics. She has secured continual institutional and foundation funding, including a Maternal & Child Health Research Institute clinical trainee award and master’s tuition program, Gerber Foundation main and novice research award, the Department of Pediatrics’ Bridge-to-K Program, and the PEDSnet Scholars Program. -
Kyle Gabriel Daniels
Assistant Professor of Genetics and, by courtesy, of Neurosurgery (Adult Neurosurgery)
BioKyle obtained his BS in Biochemistry from the University of Maryland College Park in 2010, conducting undergraduate research with Dr. Dorothy Beckett, PhD. He obtained his PhD in Biochemistry with a certificate in Structural Biology and Biophysics. His dissertation is titled "Kinetics of Coupled Binding and Conformational Change in Proteins and RNA" and was completed in the laboratory of Dr. Terrence G. Oas, PhD. Kyle performed postdoctoral training with Dr. Wendell A. Lim, PhD at UCSF studying how CAR T cell phenotype is encoded by modular signaling motifs within chimeric antigen receptors.
Kyle's lab is interested in harnessing the principles of modularity to engineer receptors and gene circuits to control cell functions.
The lab will use synthetic biology, medium- and high-throughput screens, and machine learning to: (1) Engineer immune cells to achieve robust and durable responses against various cancer targets, (2) Coordinate behavior of multiple engineered cell types in cancer, autoimmune disease, and payload delivery, (3) Control survival, proliferation, and differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and immune cells, and (4) Explore principles of modularity related to engineering receptors and gene circuits in mammalian cells. -
Muhammad Najam Dar
Affiliate, Ophthalmology Research/Clinical Trials
BioDr. Muhammad Najam Dar is affiliate researcher at Stanford University and specializing in electrophysiological signal-based ophthalmological solutions. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Pakistan, and was awarded the prestigious Erasmus Mundus Fellowship for his doctoral research at City, University of London, United Kingdom.
With a strong interdisciplinary foundation in biomedical signal and image analysis, computer vision, and deep learning, Dr. Dar has made significant contributions to both academia and industry. His research focuses on developing cutting-edge AI-driven diagnostic tools, wearable smart device signal processing, and systemic workflow optimizations for healthcare applications. His work integrates machine learning, medical imaging, and human-centered design to advance next-generation ophthalmological and biomedical solutions.
Beyond research, Dr. Dar has extensive experience in teaching, mentorship, and academic leadership, fostering innovation in AI-driven healthcare among the next generation of engineers and scientists. His ability to bridge theoretical knowledge with real-world applications makes him an invaluable asset in advancing biomedical engineering, artificial intelligence in healthcare, and translational research. Dr. Dar aims to become a leader in AI-driven healthcare solutions by advancing cutting-edge research, fostering industry collaborations, integrating design thinking into innovative medical technologies, mentoring and inspiring students and peers, empowering them to to drive transformative advancements in healthcare and improve lives globally. -
Gary Darmstadt
Sue Alvarez Professor of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine and Professor (Teaching), by courtesy, of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsI have extensive experience in the development of global health innovations and in working to test and scale-up health interventions. At Stanford University, I am playing a leading role in developing global women and children’s health research and educational programs, including the establishment of a Global Center for Gender Equality at Stanford University. My research focuses on advancing child health and development in low resource settings and advancing gender equality and health globally, and includes several applications of artificial intelligence. Before joining Stanford, I was Senior Fellow at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), where I led the development of initiatives to address gender inequalities and empower women and girls. Prior to this role, I served as the BMGF Director of Family Health, leading strategy development and implementation across maternal, newborn and child health, nutrition, and family planning. In this role, I was responsible for investments ranging from scientific discovery to intervention development and delivery of interventions at scale. I worked closely with the Discovery team to shape discovery and development investments and was a co-founder of the Saving Lives at Birth Development Grand Challenge, the Putting Women and Girls at the Center of Development Grand Challenge, and the Healthy Birth, Growth and Development initiative. Based on these experiences, I understand how to identify knowledge gaps and generate evidence of impact for new interventions, and how to utilize evidence to influence the policy dialogue leading to programmatic adoption and scale-up of interventions in low income settings. As Director of Family Health, I also co-led the development and implementation of the BMGF global health strategy for India, which cuts across multiple health and development sectors. Before joining BMGF, I was Associate Professor and Founding Director of the International Center for Advancing Neonatal Health in the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. I led the development of newborn health research, including numerous facility- and community-based maternal and child health research trials. Before joining Johns Hopkins, I was Senior Research Advisor for the $50M Saving Newborn Lives program of Save the Children-US, where I led the development and implementation of the global research strategy for newborn health and survival.
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Laura M.K. Dassama
Assistant Professor of Chemistry and of Microbiology and Immunology
BioLaura Dassama is a chemical biologist who uses principles from chemistry and physics to understand complex biological phenomena. Her group’s primary goal is to use detailed understanding of the factors that enable interactions between biological molecules to provide insights that allow functional control of those molecules. Her research projects aim to 1) discover the drivers of biomolecular interactions and 2) leverage that information to modulate disease relevant proteins.
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Jenna Davis
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, of Environmental Social Sciences and Higgins-Magid Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsProfessor Davis’ research and teaching deals broadly with the role that water plays in promoting public health and economic development, with particular emphasis on low- and middle-income countries. Her group conducts applied research that utilizes theory and analytical methods from public and environmental health, engineering, microeconomics, and planning. They have conducted field research in more than 20 countries, most recently including Zambia, Bangladesh, and Kenya.
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Kara Davis
Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Hematology/Oncology)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsChildhood cancers can be considered aberrations of normal tissue development. We are interested in understanding childhood cancers through the lens of normal development. Further, individual tumors are composed of heterogeneous cell populations, not all cells being equal in their ability to respond to treatment or to repopulate a tumor. Thus, we take single cell approach to determine populations of clinical relevance.
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Mark M. Davis
Burt and Marion Avery Family Professor
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMolecular mechanisms of lymphocyte recognition and differentiation; Systems immunology and human immunology; vaccination and infection.
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Ronald W. Davis
Professor of Biochemistry and of Genetics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe are using Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Human to conduct whole genome analysis projects. The yeast genome sequence has approximately 6,000 genes. We have made a set of haploid and diploid strains (21,000) containing a complete deletion of each gene. In order to facilitate whole genome analysis each deletion is molecularly tagged with a unique 20-mer DNA sequence. This sequence acts as a molecular bar code and makes it easy to identify the presence of each deletion.
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John W. Day, MD, PhD
Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences (Adult Neurology), of Pediatrics (Genetics) and, by courtesy, of Pathology
On Partial Leave from 02/15/2026 To 10/18/2026Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur Neuromuscular Division coordinates a comprehensive effort to conquer peripheral nerve and muscle disorders, including the muscular dystrophies, motor neuron disorders, neuromuscular junction abnormalities, and peripheral neuropathies. With patients and families foremost in mind, we have had success defining and combating these diseases, with research focused on identifying genetic causes, developing novel treatment, and maximizing patient function by optimizing current management.
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Vinicio de Jesus Perez MD
Associate Dean of Stanford MD Admissions and Professor of Medicine (PACCM)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy work is aimed at understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in the development and progression of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). I am interested in understanding the role that the BMP and Wnt pathways play in regulating functions of pulmonary endothelial and smooth muscle cells both in health and disease.
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Luis de Lecea
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Major Laboratories and Clinical and Translational Neurosciences Incubator)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy lab uses molecular, optogenetic, anatomical and behavioral methods to identify and manipulate the neuronal circuits underlying brain arousal, with particular attention to sleep and wakefulness transitions. We are also interested in the changes that occur in neuronal circuits in conditions of hyperarousal such as stress and drug addiction.
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Maharshi Krishna Deb
Member, Maternal & Child Health Research Institute (MCHRI)
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsI aim to gain insights of the molecular underpinnings that are critical for the specification of human germ cells as well as the episode of epigenetic reprogramming that they undergo which is critical for their development and thereby essential for perpetual propagation of human species. Under co-mentorship of Prof. Azim Surani and Dr. Shiv Grewal,I aim to learn these lessons from this immortal lineage of human germline to identify interventions against various pediatric as well as degenerative
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Cornelia L. Dekker, M.D.
Professor (Research) of Pediatrics (Infectious Diseases), Emerita
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe Stanford-LPCH Vaccine Program provides an infrastructure for conducting clinical studies of vaccines in children and adults. We conduct immunology studies of seasonal influenza vaccines in twins, in a longitudinal cohort of young and elderly adults and studies of various vaccine candidates for NIH and industry. Additionally, we were a CDC Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment site for 10 years working on safety issues concerning licensed vaccines.
