​Welcome to the UC San Diego Department of Pediatrics

We offer the most advanced medical care available to the patients we serve and are dedicated to advancing medical knowledge through basic science and applied clinical research and to sharing our discoveries for the benefit of all children worldwide.

Get to Know Us

Patient Care

Pediatric Residency Program

Faculty Research


Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego Named One of the Best in the United States

​For the first time in our history, Rady Children’s has been named by U.S. News & World Report to its Best Children’s Hospitals Honor Roll, a distinction awarded to only 10 children’s hospitals nationwide.

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Message from the Chair

I hope this website gives you a broad introduction to our Department, including an overview of our comprehensive clinical programs, our extensive clinical and basic science research efforts, and our diverse educational opportunities for students, residents and fellows. The Department’s mission reflects these aims. We strive to: 1) deliver the highest quality clinical care to our patients, 2) conduct cutting-edge biomedical research targeting diseases that impact the health and potential of infants, children and adolescents, and 3) train the next generation of pediatricians by fostering education at all levels and by integrating the latest scientific and medical advances into the curriculum.


About Us

​Gabriel Hadad

Gabriel G. Haddad, MD
Chair, Department of Pediatrics

News & Highlights

UC San Diego Launches New Human Milk Institute

Building upon a long and robust history, the University of California San Diego has launched a new Human Milk Institute (HMI) to accelerate research into the nature, biology and therapeutic potential of human milk to prevent or treat both infant and adult diseases. The new institute is believed to be the first of its kind worldwide.

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Scientists Receive $4.8M to Pursue Gene Therapy for ‘Incurable’ Disease

CIRM grant will fund novel gene therapy aiming for one-time, lifelong treatment of Friedreich’s ataxia, a progressive neuromuscular disorder; second CIRM grant will advance efforts to leverage UC San Diego research on another rare disease. 

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Organoids Reveal How SARS-CoV-2 Damages Brain Cells — and a Potential Treatment

Using human brain organoids, an international team of researchers, led by scientists at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Sanford Consortium, has shown how the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 infects cortical neurons and specifically destroys their synapses — the connections between brain cells that allow them to communicate with each other.  

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