Patricia DeRusso, MD, MS
Areas of expertise: Liver disease, Nutritional disorders, Leadership, Education
Locations: Main Building, Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care, Specialty Care, 3550 Market Street
About Patricia DeRusso, MD, MS
Patricia A. DeRusso, MD, MS, serves as Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. She is Vice President of the Medical Staff, Chief Physician Affairs Officer, and an attending physician in the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology. Dr. DeRusso graduated with her medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine with Distinction. Dr. DeRusso completed her pediatric residency and a clinical fellowship program in Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Her research training as a Pediatric Scientist Development scholar was at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health. She then served as faculty at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine for 10 years, managing medical care of pediatric inpatients and outpatients with liver and gastrointestinal diseases, and conducting multi-center research studies of children with liver disease funded by an NIH national consortium. In 2006 she joined Wyeth Pharmaceuticals as the Medical Director of Nutrition and then began serving as Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Pfizer Nutrition. In 2012 she returned to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She became the Vice President of the Medical Staff in 2014 and Chief Physician Affairs Officer in 2019.
Titles
Chief Physician Affairs Officer
Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Certifications
Diplomate – National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME)
Pediatric Gastroenterology – American Board of Pediatrics
Pediatrics – American Board of Pediatrics
Awards and Honors
2014, Community Health Leader, Healthy NewsWorks
2011, Marquis Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare
1994, Pediatric Scientist Development Program Award
1990, Jacobi Medical Society Award in Pediatrics
1990, Alpha Omega Alpha
1990, American Medical Women's Association
1990, Kane-King-Dodeck Obstetrical Honor Society
1990, Graduation with Distinction, George Washington University School of Medicine
Editorial and Academic Positions
Academic and institutional committees
2021-present, Executive Sponsor, Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the Medical Staff
2020-present, Clinical Operations Committee
2019-present, Committee on Academic Appointments an Promotions (DCOAP), Department of Pediatrics
2015-present, Chair, The Medical Bylaws Committee
2015-present. Data Safety and Monitoring Board
2014-present, Chair, Credentials Committee of the Hospital Board
2014-present, Credentials Committee of the Independent Practitioners
2014-present, Credentials Committee of the Medical Staff
2014-present. Chair, Executive Committee of the Medical Staff as Vice President of Medical Staff
2014-present, The Peer Review Committee
2014-present, The Patient Safety Committee
Education & training
Undergraduate Degree
BS in Nutrition - University of Vermont, Burlington, VT
Graduate Degree
MS in Nutrition - Boston University, Boston, MA
Medical Degree
MD - George Washington School of Medicine, Washington, DC
Internship
Pediatrics - Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Residency
Pediatrics - Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Fellowship
Clinical Fellow and Adjunct Senior Fellow in Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition - Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Research Fellow and National Institutes of Health Intramural Research Fellow - Pediatric Scientist Developm
Publications
Publications
2020
Liang G, Zhao C, Zhang H, Mattei L, Sherrill-Mix S, Bittinger K, Kessler LR, Wu GD, Baldassano RN, DeRusso P, Ford E, Elovitz MA, Kelly MS, Patel MZ, Mazhani T, Gerber JS, Kelly A, Zemel BS, Bushman FD.: The stepwise assembly of the neonatal virome is modulated by breastfeeding. Nature 581: 470, May 2020.
Bittinger K, Zhao C, Li Y, Ford E, Friedman ES, Ni J, Kulkarni CV, Cai J, Tian Y, Liu Q, Patterson AD, Sarkar D, Chan SHJ, Maranas C, Saha-Shah A, Lund P, Garcia BA, Mattei LM, Gerber JS, Elovitz MA, Kelly A, DeRusso P, Kim D, Hofstaedter CE, Coulian M, Li H, Bushman FD, Zemel BS, Wu GD.: Bacterial colonization reprograms the neonatal gut microbiome. Nat Microbiol 5(6): 838, Jun 2020.
2019
Roy SM, Fields DA, Mitchell JA, Hawkes CP, Kelly A, Wu GD, Derusso PA, Elovitz MA, Ford E, Grigo D, Zemel BS, McCormack SE: Body Mass Index is a Better Indicator of Body Composition than Weight for length at age 1 month. J Pediatr 204: 77-83, January 2019.
2017
Fiks AG, Gruver RS, Bishop-Gillard CT, Shults J, Virudachalam S, Suh AW, Gerds M, Kalra GK, DeRusso PA, Lieberman A, Weng D, Elovitz MA, Berkowitz RI, Power TJ: A Social Media Peer Group for Mothers to Prevent Obesity from infancy: The Grow2Gether Randomized Trial. Child Obesity May 2017 Notes: DOI: 10.1089/chi.2017.0042.
2015
Riley AW, Trbulsi J, Yao M, Bevans KB, DeRusso PA: Validation of a Parent Report Questionnaire: The Infant Gastrointestinal Symptom Questionnaire. Clinical Pediatrics 54(12): +167-1174, October 2015 Notes: DOI: 10.1177/0009922815574075
2014
Yao M, Lien EL, Fitzgerald M, Ramanujam K, Yuhas R, Northington R, Lebumfacil J, Wang L, DeRusso P: Effects of term infant formulas containing high sn-2 palmitate with and without oligofructose on stool composition, stool characteristics, and bifidogenicity: a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 59(e31-e36 ): 279-422, September 2014.
Bailey LC, Forest CB, Zhang P, Richards TM, Livshits A, DeRusso PA: Association of antibiotics in infancy with early childhood obesity. JAMA Pediatrics 168(11): 1063-9, November 2014.
Lectures by Invitation
2021
DeRusso PA. "Emotional Intelligence in Leadership", OMI Mexico Leadership Program, Virtual. Apr 2021.
DeRusso PA. "Physician Leadership Challenges and Competencies", OMI Mexico Medical Leadership Program, Virtual. Apr 2021.
Editorials, Reviews, Chapters
2008
DeRusso PA: Neonatal Hemochromatosis. Pediatric Gastroenterology. Liacouras C and Piccoli D (eds.). Elsevier, 2008.
2001
DeRusso PA: Liver Disease in Childhood. American Liver Foundation. D.C. Chapter Newsletter Oct/Nov 2001.
1998
DeRusso PA: Iron Overload Conditions: Hereditary Hemochromatosis and Neonatal Iron Storage Disease. Clinical Pediatric Gastroenterology. Altschuler S and Liacouras C (eds.). Churchhill Livingstone, 1998.