I am a pediatric cardiologist at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital specializing in heart failure and transplant medicine. I care for patients with acute and chronic heart failure, as well as those who have undergone heart transplantation or require mechanical circulatory support (MCS).

I always knew that I wanted to be a pediatrician. In college I became fascinated with the cardiovascular system and this interest continued to grow throughout medical school and residency. The field of pediatric heart failure and transplant medicine has made incredible progress over the past few decades, and I hope to contribute to continued advances in the future. In particular, I am interested in improving quality of life for patients living with heart failure and decreasing morbidity and mortality amongst children requiring ventricular assist devices (VADs).

Children are a very special patient population. Having been a patient myself, my goal is to make the hospital experience a little less scary for them and their families. Many of my patients require long term management, often for years before needing a heart transplant, which allows me to develop strong relationships with them and their families. The ability to help them through often challenging experiencing is something I consider a profound privilege. 

In addition to providing patient care, I am passionate about medical education and ways to improve the patient experience. One way I try to achieve this is by taking my experiences from working abroad and finding ways to implement those aspects into my current practice.

Hospital Affiliations

• Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital
• Memorial Regional Hospital

Gender

• Female

Languages

• Italian
• Spanish

Education

Boston University School Of Medicine, 2012

Internships

Nicklaus Children's Hospital, 2013, Pediatrics

Residency

Nicklaus Children's Hospital, 2015, Pediatrics

Fellowships

Cleveland Clinic Hospital, 2018, Pediatric Cardiology
Great Ormond Street Hospital, 2019, Transplant Surgery

Certifications

American Board of Pediatrics-Pediatric Cardiology
American Board of Pediatrics-Pediatrics

Research

My research interests include developing non-invasive means of detecting rejection post heart transplantation and improving health outcomes through a more holistic approach to heart failure medicine. 

Professional Organizations

• American Academy of Pediatrics
• American College of Cardiology
• American Heart Association
• European Society of Cardiology
• International Society of Heart and Lung Transplant

Presentations

• Feb 2019: Great Ormond Street Hospital Echocardiography Grand Rounds (London, United Kingdom), Evaluation of diastolic dysfunction in pediatric heart transplant
• April 2018: Pediatric Pharmacy Advocacy Group (Salt Lake City, Utah), Use of bivalirudin in pediatric pulsatile ventricular assist devices
• March 2017: Cleveland Clinic Pediatric Institute, Pediatric Congenital Heart Care Symposium (Cleveland, Ohio), Complications of the Mustard procedure
• March 2017: Northern Ohio Cardiac Imaging Association (Cleveland, Ohio), Post- orthotopic heart transplantation echocardiographic assessment
• Jan 2017: Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Congenital Imaging Conference (Cleveland, Ohio), Infective endocarditis resulting in dehiscence and reoperation in a teenager after David procedure
• June 2016: Cleveland Clinic Surgical Grand Rounds (Cleveland, Ohio), Historical evolution of aortic root replacement

Awards

• Cleveland Clinic Caregiver Appreciation Award, 2018
• Pediatric Pharmacy Advocacy Group Annual Meeting – Christiansen Young Investigator Award, 2018
• Cleveland Clinic Excellence in Teaching Award, 2018
• American Academy of Cardiology Ohio Chapter Annual Meeting –1st Prize Poster, 2017
• Cleveland Clinic Foundation Professional Development Grant, 2017
• Cleveland Clinic Excellence in Teaching Award, 2017