The Department of Pediatrics at Boston Medical Center conducts a range of health services, clinical, translational, and basic science research. There are over 45 principal investigators in the department with over $17 million dollars in grant funding annually. Over the past three years, members have published over 200 peer-reviewed articles. On-going research includes longitudinal cohort studies, case-control studies, clinical trials, basic science studies, translational research, qualitative studies, secondary analysis of large-scale cohorts, and program evaluation. Content areas include health service research, gene-environment interactions, multilevel modeling, health disparities, the medical home, infant mortality, prematurity, breastfeeding, Hepatitis C, tuberculosis, cultural competency, exposure to violence, sickle cell disease, asthma, seizures in children, simulation-based emergency training, autism spectrum disorders, neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome, substance use disorders in pregnancy and in adolescence, placental research, COVID-19, perinatal HIV, vaccination in pregnancy, and maternal depression. The department is also home to the Maxwell Finland Laboratory for Pediatric Infectious Diseases.
Pediatric Research Support Services
The BMC Department of Pediatrics Research Support Services provides centralized research services to all researchers in the Department including project management support, data analytic services, data cleaning, REDCap database builds, and IRB support services. The data analytic team consists of both senior and junior data scientists who can provide consultation on study design and also provide data analytic services for manuscript and abstract preparation. Project coordination support includes assistance with research staff on-boarding and training, study recruitment, and grant preparation support.
For more information on research support services, please contact: Pediatric.Research@bmc.org
Contact Us
801 Albany Street, Boston MA 02118
Our Team
Elisha M Wachman, MD
Alison Galbraith, MD, MPH
Doug Rockwell – Senior Director of Pediatric Research
Norman Pollock, PhD – Senior Data Scientist
Jonathan Bressler, MS – Senior Data Analyst
Michelle Stransky, PhD – Senior Research Scientist, Center for the Urban Child
Miriam Bremer-Kamens – Project Coordinator, Center for the Urban Child
Department News
US Food Insufficiency Spiked by 25% After Monthly Child Tax Credits Expired
BOSTON – When Congress failed to renew advance Child Tax Credit (CTC) payments last year, public health experts feared that the loss of this monthly federal pandemic relief benefit would push…

Research Overview
The Division of Health Services Research (HSR), formerly known as the Division of General Academic Pediatrics (GAP), is a research division in the Department of Pediatrics at Boston Medical Center (BMC) and the Boston University (BU) Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. The Division consists of researchers across the spectrum of pediatric health care, from general pediatrics to specialty care. Faculty, fellows, students, staff, and affiliated clinicians in the Division strive to use collaborative research about how health care is delivered that impact the health, development, and general wellbeing of children and families, especially those from historically marginalized populations.
Residency and Fellowship Information
The fellowship is based in the Department of General Pediatrics at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center. As you may know, BMC has over a 100-year history of caring for poor, urban and immigrant children. Much of our research and many of our programs focus on improving the lives of these children. The clinical service has approximately 2,000 admissions and 75,000 ambulatory visits each year. The residency is combined with Boston Children's Hospital. Learn more about the Pediatric Fellowship Program.
For more information on our specialized pediatric fellowships, please visit the following:
Latest from HealthCity
Parental Incarceration Leaves an Estimated 2.2 Million Children Without Medical Care
New research shines a spotlight on the need for early structural interventions to address care disparities children with an incarcerated parent face

Tax Prep Services at Child Wellness Visits Linked to Better Health Outcomes
New study reaffirms that caregivers want financial service programs that are easy to access and embedded in a trusted institution.

Mandatory Reporting Law Is Harmful for Pregnant People with SUD
BMC experts testified in support of eliminating the requirement to report abuse and neglect for babies born with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome.

For Better Birth Outcomes, We Need to Prevent Housing Evictions
Stopping evictions of pregnant women and addressing inequities that lead to them may improve newborn health, leading to intergenerational benefits.

Establishing Principles of Care for Young Adults with SUD
New provider principles lay out how to treat patients according to their age-specific needs — and elevate national discussions on systemic changes.

Deliveries From the Doctor: Meeting Holistic Needs in a Crisis
Wraparound services at the hospital are not new. Getting them to children and families in a pandemic is.

Implicit Bias Training in Pediatric Residency Needs Guidance
A survey of program directors reveals that effective implicit bias training is lacking, but educators don’t have the guidance needed for improvements

TEAM UP: Adapting Integrated Behavioral Health During Coronavirus
Integrated behavioral health at community health centers, hinging largely on in-person care, pivots to function within the confines of the pandemic.

Transforming Pediatrics: Lessons from Reach Out and Read
Barry Zuckerman, the pediatrician who fostered Reach Out and Read from grassroots beginnings, shares insights for innovating in pediatrics.

BRANCH: Supporting Families to Help Young Children Thrive
A new model builds capacity in pediatric primary care to foster healthy attachment and provide support to caregivers experiencing stress and trauma.

An Improved Treatment Model for Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal
Study comparing two models of care shows benefits of symptom-triggered dosing over a fixed medication schedule.
