Team: Neonatal Class of 2026

Dr. Verscaj completed a combined pediatric and genetics residency at Stanford. She received her bachelor’s degree in Biometry and Statistics at Cornell University. She obtained her medical degree from the Boston University School of Medicine. During residency, she led a national survey of the current state of adherence to Medical Genetics curricular guidelines across all medical schools to ensure uniform access to adequate genetics education among physicians in training. She hopes to improve the education of patients, parents, and providers about the molecular diagnostics available to diagnose the etiology of complex congenital anomalies.

Dr. Lima completed her pediatric residency at the University of Florida. She received her bachelor’s degree and medical degree from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. During residency, she created a program aimed at providing breastfeeding education to uninsured women, which was incorporated into the University of Florida’s Equal Access Prenatal Clinic. She also developed a breastfeeding lecture to be included in the residency’s academic half day. She is interested in health equity and still exploring research options.

Dr. Kotsopoulou completed her pediatric residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. She received her undergraduate and medical degree at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine in Athens, Greece. During residency, she researched Developmental changes of the fetal and neonatal thyroid gland and functional consequences on the cardiovascular system. She is interested in neuronal damage following brain hypoxia-ischemia.

Dr. Jones completed her pediatric residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). She received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Management from the University of West Florida as well as a bachelor’s degree in Nursing from the University of South Alabama. She worked as a registered nurse for almost 10 years prior to attending medical school. In particular, she was a NICU nurse at Duke University Hospital and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. She obtained her medical degree at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. During residency, she engaged in multidisciplinary research related to neonatal umbilical cord blood as well as special education for former preterm infants. She hopes to continue umbilical cord blood research during fellowship.

Dr. Evans completed her pediatric residency at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine Program as Chief Resident. She received her undergraduate degree in Psychology, Biology, and Dance from Barnard College of Columbia University and her medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine. During residency, she studied the effects of pandemic-associated visitation policy changes on Staphylococcus aureus colonization in our patients as well as diffusion-weighted imaging findings in neonates with encephalopathy. As chief resident, she developed a program to support professional grief in pediatric residents and presented this work at multiple local and national meetings. She hopes to continue to develop her clinical skills and scholarly interests in the areas of trainee grief and processing and prenatal and neonatal palliative care during fellowship.

Dr. Dalvie completed her pediatric residency in the Boston Combined Residency Program. She received her bachelor’s degree in Biological Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She obtained her medical degree from the Yale School of Medicine. During residency, she conducted a mixed-methods project designed to understand the barriers and challenges to engaging families of color from transition to NICU to specialty clinics, and to better establish NICU GraDS as a medical home for all medically complex children. She hopes to direct a NICU follow-up clinic that is both a medical home for complex infants and proof that engaging families can bridge the gap in health disparities for all NICU graduates. She hopes to continue developing as a health services researcher in the field of NICU follow-up and racial health equity.