Department of Pediatrics

My goal is to establish a long-term relationship with you from the first newborn appointment to the last pediatric visit before college or trade school. I aim to provide you with quality medical care in a child-friendly environment. I am happy to meet with you, for wellness visits and school/sports/camp physicals, to provide your family with guidance for optimal health and wellness.

I am interested in caring for children with any pediatric infectious disease. I primarily cover inpatient and outpatient infectious disease at Central Dupage Hospital in Winfield, IL. My clinical interests include bone & joint infections, Kawasaki disease, prolonged and recurrent fevers, lymphadenitis, skin and soft tissue infections. I work with the medical providers at CDH to implement appropriate clinical guidelines, develop hospital specific antibiotic stewardship, as well as various quality improvement projects to enhance safety and effectiveness of treatment provided to our patients.

My academic interests are primarily focused on improving neonatal care and neonatal patient safety through quality improvement efforts.  I participate in both Illinois Perinatal Quality Collaborative (ILPQC) and Children's Hospital Neonatal Consortium initiatives.

Dr. Hirai joined Northwestern University in July 2018 from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Dr. Hirai completed his postdoctoral training in Molecular pharmacology at Northwestern University, Chicago and Stem cell biology at University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Dr. Zessis is a hospital pediatrician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. His academic and clinical interests include Hospital Medicine on the medical floor and intensive care unit, medical education, quality improvement, and advocacy. He is a member of the Feinberg Academy of Medical Educators and is currently enrolled in the Medical Education Certificate Program. 

As Associate Chief Medical Officer of Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and Medical Director of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, my research is focused on generating innovative solutions to improve patient outcomes and quality of care, while fostering dynamic strategies to minimize waste, optimize resources, and streamline patient throughput and access to care. In particular, as Director of Innovation (IGNITE Innovation) I build multi-disciplinary innovative strategies and platforms for novel idea generation, solutions for costly systems including patient care processes, a...

I am a neonatologist in the neonatal intensive care units at Prentice Women’s Hospital and Lurie Children’s Hospital. Unique to this position, I also see patients up to 5 years of age in the Developmental Follow-up Clinic, where I frequently witness disparities in neurodevelopmental and physical health outcomes among preterm infants. Although decades of research have focused on racial disparities of preterm birth itself, little is known regarding determinants of disparities in mortality, or subsequent outcomes among the survivors of prematurity. Combining my clinical experience and public heal...

I completed complete training in pediatrics and pediatric cardiology as well as adult internal medicine and adult cardiology. This affords me both a unique perspective on the long-term management of patients born with congenital heart disease, but allows me to fully integrate into the care of patients across the full age spectrum. This is reflected in my clinical responsibilities, which range from attending on the consultation service at Lurie Childrens, assessing pediatric patients from neonates to adolescents, to my primary responsibilities attending to adults with congenital heart disease a...

I joined the Child Abuse Division at Lurie Children’s Hospital in December 2016. I completed residency training in pediatrics at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte NC, and remained there as Chief Pediatric Resident. I then completed fellowship training in Child Abuse Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, where I developed a particular interest in the health of children in foster care. Since joining the faculty at Lurie Children’s, I have developed projects focused on clinical quality improvement and understanding the experiences of marginalized youth within foster ...

Uchenna Ewulonu is a pediatrician in the department of Pediatrics, Hospital-Based Medicine. She works at both Lurie Children's Hospital, Prentice Women's Hospital and Central Dupage Hospital. She enjoys caring for children of all ages, from neonates to adolescents.