We are delighted to announce that Nia Heard-Garris, MD, MBA, MSc, will join the department as head of the Division of General Pediatrics on December 1. Dr. Heard-Garris is a recognized authority on child health inequities and is renowned for bridging pediatric research with system-wide advocacy.
Dr. Heard-Garris is a general pediatrician and physician-scientist whose research examines the structural and social drivers of health inequities among adolescents and young adults and develops interventions to promote resilience while mitigating the physical and mental health impacts of chronic stress and adversity.
“I'm honored and excited to join this phenomenal Division of General Pediatrics,” Dr. Heard-Garris shared. “This Division overflows with excellence and dedication to youth, their families, and their communities. I want to extend my gratitude to Dr. Brian Saelens for his stewardship, and to Dr. Tumaini Coker and the leaders before her for lifting up General Pediatrics. Through first listening and learning, I hope to build and sustain channels through which the talent already here can flow freely, shaping what our world becomes.”
Dr. Heard-Garris currently leads Rise & Thrive, an NIH-funded R01 testing a community-engaged intervention to prevent depression in adolescents and young adults, and has served as principal and co-investigator on several federal awards. She joins our department from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, where for more than nine years she has practiced clinically and served as a continuity clinic preceptor, mentor, and researcher. She is the founding director of both the Health Equity Center at Lurie Children's and the ARISE Health Lab.
Dr. Heard-Garris earned her BS at Spelman College, MD at Howard University, trained as a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar and earned her MSc at the University of Michigan, and holds an MBA with a focus on Health Equity Leadership from the Yale School of Management. Nationally, she has served on the National Academies' Board on Children, Youth, and Families, Reach Out and Read, and the Pediatric Academic Societies Board and was founding chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Minority Health, Equity, and Inclusion. She was named a 40 Under 40 Leader in Minority Health. She has testified before state legislatures and appears regularly on CNN, NPR, and NBC.
She relocates to Seattle with her husband, her teenage son, 2-year-old daughter, and their dog, Storm. In Chicago, she liked to say she'd come to understand the phrase "winter is coming." In Seattle, she can't wait to say, "the mountain is out."
"Dr. Heard-Garris has been a national leader in the field of Pediatrics," said Dr. Leslie R. Walker, chair of the Department of Pediatrics. "I am thrilled she will be bringing her expertise in child health research, clinical pediatrics, and national advocacy for child well-being to UW Pediatrics and Seattle Children’s. The department looks forward to welcoming her and her family to the Northwest."
Extending our thanks to Dr. Brian Saelens for his work as interim division head, and a warm welcome to Dr. Heard-Garris in her new role.