Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Names New Chief of Adolescent Medicine

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) has appointed Renata Arrington Sanders, MD, as Chief of the Craig Dalsimer Division of Adolescent Medicine, effective October 1, 2023. Dr. Sanders will succeed Carol A. Ford, MD, who served as Chief for more than 13 years and will remain at CHOP. Dr. Ford will also continue to support the CHOP Leadership Education in Adolescent Health (LEAH) Program and serve as Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Before joining CHOP, Dr. Sanders served as an Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, with joint appointments in the Department of Epidemiology and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Department of Health, Behavior and Society. She is an expert in adolescent sexually transmitted infection(s), HIV prevention and treatment, caring for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth, school-based health center needs, and transition to adult care.

“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Sanders to CHOP,” said Joseph W. St. Geme, MD, Physician-in-Chief and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “Dr. Sanders has demonstrated national and international leadership in optimizing the care of adolescents and young adults. She has an impressive record of accomplishments, and she will undoubtedly be an outstanding addition to the CHOP community.”

Dr. Sanders graduated from Johns Hopkins University, earned her medical degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine, a master’s degree in public health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and completed her training in internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Upon completing her fellowship in adolescent medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, she earned a Master of Science in epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a graduate certificate in LGBT Health Policy & Practice at George Washington University.

While at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Sanders served as Medical Director of the Pediatric and Adolescent HIV/AIDS Program, Director of Pediatric & Adolescent Services, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center Services for Transgender & Gender Expansive Health, Director of Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Services and co-Director and co-Founder of the Emerge Gender and Sexuality Clinic in the Center for Adolescent and Young Adult Health. Additionally, she was the co-Director of the Adolescent and Young Adult Scientific Work Group at Johns Hopkins Center for AIDS Research.

Her vast expertise in adolescent medicine includes addressing health disparities experienced by sexual and gender diverse youth, with a focus on improving primary, preventive services, and HIV care.

She has served on multiple national and international organizing committees, such as the Governing Council of the International AIDS Society, the American Board of Pediatrics, the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, the Collaborative Initiative for Paediatric HIV Education and Research (CIPHER), and the Board of Directors of SIECUS (Sex Ed for Social Change), and the American Sexual Health Association. A talented investigator and clinician, Dr. Sanders has been recently funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Health Resources and Services Administration.

Dr. Sanders holds the Orton Jackson Endowed Chair in Adolescent Medicine at CHOP and is a Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania.

“I am thrilled to join CHOP’s Division of Adolescent Medicine and to continue providing high-quality medical care to youth,” said Dr. Sanders. “I look forward to delivering innovative and transformative care for our patients and families, and helping to train the next generation of researchers, scientists, and practitioners in the field of adolescent medicine.”