doctors we love NYC’s Most Talented And Dedicated Pediatricians And Pediatric Specialists Edited by Alissa Katz
Whether it’s a check-up or specific concern you have in mind, all parents want the best of medical care for their children. Luckily, NYC is home to some of the most talented and dedicated doctors out there. Once again, we’ve partnered with Castle Connolly to highlight the best ones for families. This annual guide is a great resource for anyone looking for a pediatrician or a specialist—feel free to stick this on the fridge or bookmark the online version on our site.
Babu Bangaru, MD NYU Langone Medical Center Pediatric Gastroenterology
Francine Blei, MD
career that you’re especially proud of?
Vascular Birthmark Institute of New York Pediatric Hematology-Oncology
One patient named their next baby after me—her middle name is Blei. That was touching. If the patient moves to another country or to a home country and they make an extra appointment to see me before they leave, that’s gratifying, too. What should parents know about seeing a doctor in your specialty? Earlier is always better in terms of seeing a specialist, because there’s a lot that can be
Why did you choose this specialty?
done early in some patients that can ultimately
Long story! I went into pediatrics, because I
lead to a much-improved outcome. Parents’
liked kids. I come from India, and in India it’s
intuition is important. If they think something’s
very difficult to get pediatrics but I was able
wrong, many times the parents are really right.
to. With gastroenterology, I’m interested in Visit vbiny.org for more info
liver diseases, partly because my niece had a neonatal liver disease. Any exciting breakthroughs in this field
What are some of the challenges you must
since you started your career?
overcome, professionally or personally?
I think the whole field has exploded. I’m one
There are certain disorders with certain
of the specialists, since there weren’t many
patients that don’t fit in any neat box. So
fellowships when I started.
that’s frustrating when you can’t say what’s
Ilene Fennoy, MD Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia Pediatric Endocrinology
going to happen or not happen. Fantasy
Any exciting breakthroughs in this field
What makes you excited to go to work?
is always more frustrating than fact, and
since you started your career?
That’s quite simple: The kids.
sometimes we don’t have all the facts… That’s
Growth factors—which are proteins produced
frustrating both for the doctor and the family.
by cells that act on the cell that influence cell
Visit med.nyu.edu for more info
growth, cell division, and/or cell differentiaIs there one particular moment in your
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New York Family | October 2013
tion—have turned out to be a very important
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