Pediatric Specialist
Alexander Van Speybroeck, MD, MPH, is Medical Director for the Spina Bifida Programs at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Shriners Medical Center for Children Pasadena. He serves as the pediatrician for the CHLA Colorectal Center multidisciplinary team. In addition, he is Medical Director for the Center for Global Health Outpatient Clinic at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. He is an attending physician in the Division of General Pediatrics, and Co-Director for the CHLA Residency Program Global Health IMPACT Tract. Dr. Van Speybroeck is an Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. He has been involved in the clinical care of people with Spina Bifida Nationally and Internationally since 2001
His clinical interests include care of patients with Spina Bifida, Caudal Regression Syndrome, Sacral Agenesis, Hydrocephalus, Global Health programs specifically focused on international care of children with developmental disabilities and spina bifida. His research interests are related to spina bifida and global health.
Dr. Van Speybroeck has been active in Global Health Care since 1998 serving in medical missions in Mexico, Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mongolia, Vietnam, and Guatemala. He regularly works on international outreach clinics for Shriners Hospital for children focusing on care of children with special health care needs (Spina Bifida, CP, Caudal regression Syndrome, Muscular Dystrophy) in resource limited settings in Mexico. At Children’s Hospital Los Angeles he is the Medical Director for the CHLA Center for Global Health which focuses on care of international patients with complex medical conditions. In addition, he Co Directs the CHLA Global Health Impact Advocacy tract for pediatric residents who complete global health research, clinical and quality improvement projects abroad during their three years of residency.
Dr. Van Speybroeck has been active in research over the past 15 years. He currently is a co-investigator on 4 grant funded projects 1. The CDC National Spina Bifida Registry project 2. The CDC Umpire Protocol Urologic management of young infants with myelomeningocele, 3. NIH RO1 Multi-Center study of Body Composition and Energy Expenditure in Patients with Spina Bifida, and 4. APA RAPID grant study Assessing the Feasibility of Developing a Structured Weight Management Program for Overweight and Obese Adolescents and Young Adults with Spina Bifida using a Mobile Health App. These studies are funded by the US Centers for Disease Control Center on Birth Defects and National Institutes of Health and APA Research in Academic Pediatrics Initiative on Diversity (RAPID). In addition, he recently completed a co-investigator role on an NIH funded RO1 grant evaluating ambulatory status and risk factors for poor bone health in children with myelomeningocele. Dr. Van Speybroeck has presented at multiple national scientific meetings, and is author of numerous peer reviewed articles, book chapters, and abstracts which can be reviewed in his CV. Lastly since February of 2019 Dr. Van Speybroeck has been one of three principal investigators involved in a clinical trial of fetoscopic in utero repair of myelomeningocele using a minimally invasive percutaneous approach.
Colorectal and Pelvic Reconstruction Specialists
Marc Levitt, M.D., has been the driving force around the world in enhancing the care of children with Colorectal and Pelvic Reconstructive needs through the development of specialized, integrated, and collaborative surgical centers. He is internationally recognized as specializing in conditions affecting the newborn, pediatric, and adolescent population affected with anorectal malformations (imperforate anus), cloacal malformations, Hirschsprung disease, as well as a variety of conditions leading to fecal incontinence, such as spinal conditions and functional constipation. Dr. Levitt has cared for children from all 50 states and 76 countries, and has performed more than 10,000 pediatric colorectal procedures, which is more surgeries covering the entire spectrum of problems involving the colon and rectum than any other full time practicing pediatric surgeon in the world. He has written three textbooks, and has authored over 200 scientific articles on these subjects. His work extends beyond providing direct surgical care to educating medical students, medical doctors, surgeons, and nurses, as well as developing integrated centers throughout the world to insure that all children have access to quality colorectal care. He has hosted hundreds of surgeons from hospitals across the globe, who have sought out education and training on advanced colorectal surgical techniques, management of patients, and research outcomes.
Dr. Levitt received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He completed his general surgery residency at Mount Sinai Medical Center, a fellowship in Pediatric Colorectal Surgery at Schneider Children’s Hospital and a Pediatric Surgery fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Buffalo. He helped create the Colorectal Centers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Nationwide Children’s Hospital at which he served as director until his recruitment to Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. Dr. Levitt is the founder of the Colorectal Team Overseas (CTO), which is a group of international providers that travel to the developing world to provide care and teaching for patients with colorectal needs. He co-founded the creation of the Pediatric Colorectal and Pelvic Learning Consortium (PCPLC), which is an organization of collaborating Colorectal centers across the globe.
Dr. Alessandra Gasior, DO, is the world’s only colorectal surgeon to be fellowship trained in both pediatric and adult colorectal surgery and therefore has a unique perspective to provide the best clinical options for patients of any age.
Dr. Gasior is the medical director of Colorectal Transitional Care at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio and she is a surgeon with The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center’s Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery to help ensure that patients with colorectal conditions have a smooth transition of care once they reach adulthood. She has performed over 350 complex pediatric colorectal cases including minimally invasive and robotic surgeries. Her experience with adult patients is vast, including over 500 adult colorectal cases.
Dr. Gasior’s areas of clinical interest include transitional care for anorectal malformations, Hirschsprung disease, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis). Her research interests include improving quality of life, documenting adult experiences and enhancing the transition to adult care among adolescents and young adults with colorectal conditions.
Dr. Gasior trained at Kansas University Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas for General Surgery Residency. She completed a Surgical Critical Care Fellowship and Surgical Scholars Fellowship at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. Dr. Gasior also completed both Minimally Invasive Pediatric Surgery Fellowship and Pediatric Colorectal Surgery Fellowship at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. She then completed an Adult Colorectal Fellowship at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
Genetics
Philip Giampietro, MD, PhD, is a geneticist with more than 20 years of experience in medical care and research. Dr. Giampietro earned his medical degree at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and completed residencies at State University of New York at Stony Brook University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center. He also completed a fellowship in medical genetics at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. He also has a PhD in biomedical sciences from the City University of New York. Currently Dr. Giampietro is the Section Chief, Genetics and Metabolism and Professor of Pediatrics for the University of Illinois Hospitals (Chicago).
Dr. Giampietro and colleagues have published research describing genetic aspects of spinal deformities during the past two decades. Dr. Giampietro believes that understanding the genetic and environmental factors associated with sacral agenesis can help lead to prevention and treatment strategies for this condition.
Orthopedics
Dr. John Lubicky, MD, graduated from Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in 1974. His residencies were in general and orthopedic surgery at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. After that he completed a pediatric orthopedic surgery fellowship at Shriners Hospitals for Children, Chicago, and a spine surgery fellowship at Rush University Medical Center, also in Chicago. He has held a number of academic positions, including 7 years at SUNY Upstate Medical Center, chief of staff at Shriners Hospital for Children in Chicago, and professor of orthopedic surgery and pediatrics at Rush University Medical Center for 17 years and Riley Hospital for Children/IU for 4 years.
Currently, Dr. Lubicky is a professor of orthopedic surgery and pediatrics and chief of pediatric orthopedic surgery at West Virginia University School of Medicine and WVU Healthcare in Morgantown. He has leadership positions in the Scoliosis Research Society and the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America. He has served as visiting professor at academic centers in North America, Europe, and Asia. Dr. Lubicky has many publications in peer-reviewed journals, has served as an author on numerous textbooks, and has made many presentations at medical meetings at home and abroad.
Clinically, Dr. Lubicky has had significant experience in treating children with neural tube defects, sacral agenesis, and congenital spinal deformities. He is accepting new patients, both children and adults, with such issues. WVUHealthcare is a tertiary teaching hospital in Morgantown, WV. West Virginia University Children’s Hospital is part of the medical center, which is also a Level I Trauma Center.
Urology
Ernesto Figueroa, MD, is chief, Division of Urology at Nemours/Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children and director of the Pediatric Urology Fellowship Program. He is an associate professor of urology at Jefferson Medical College. Dr. Figueroa is a graduate of Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, where he completed a residency in urology. He completed a fellowship in pediatric urology at Children’s Hospital of Michigan.
Dr. Figueroa is certified by the American Board of Urology with subspecialty certification in pediatric urology and is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Surgeons, and Society for Pediatric Urology. His clinical interests include neurogenic bladder, stone disease, laparoscopy, undescended testes, hypospadias, congenital genital anomalies, pediatric urologic malignancy, vesicoureteral reflux, urinary tract infections, and voiding disorders in childhood. He provides care in Wilmington, DE, and Philadelphia, PA.
Dr. Christina Ho, MD, is a pediatric urologist and co-lead of the Spina Bifida program at Children’s National Hospital. She was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. She graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a Bachelor of Science. During her undergraduate studies, she developed an interest in research and went on to receive the prestigious Fulbright Research Scholar Award, which provided her the opportunity to study public health issues in Hai Phong, Vietnam. Dr. Ho earned her medical degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham under the early medical school acceptance program. She completed Urology residency training at Cooper University Hospital, in Camden, New Jersey. During her training she developed a passion for robotic surgery and pediatric urology, leading her to complete a research and clinical fellowship in Pediatric Urology at Children’s National Hospital. Dr. Ho’s clinical and research interests include minimally invasive and reconstructive surgery and quality improvement initiatives for patients with Spina Bifida and cloacal malformations. She is excited to be providing Urologic care within the Children’s National Colorectal Center, Washington, D.C.
Aron Liaw , MD joined the Department of Urology at Wayne State University in 2020 as an Assistant Professor in Urology. Dr. Liawis fellowship trained and has completed two fellowships, Pediatric Urology at University of California San Francisco and Reconstructive Urology at University of California, Irvine. He is very interested in the care of congenital and transitional patients.