.png)
.png)
Chief and Professor
Children's National Hospital/The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose
Roberta Lynn DeBiasi, MD, MS is Chief of the Division of Pediatric Diseases and Co-Director of the Congenital Zika Program at Children’s National Health System (CNHS) in Washington DC. She holds appointments as tenured Professor of Pediatrics and Microbiology, Immunology and Tropical Medicine at George Washington University School of Medicine as well as Principal Investigator in the Center for Translational Science at Children’s Research Institute.
After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Boston University, she received her Doctorate in Medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, and completed internship and residency in Pediatrics at the University of California, Davis Medical Center. She completed her fellowship in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Colorado/Denver Children’s Hospital and served on the faculty for ten years in Denver, prior to joining Children’s National Health System and GEorge Washington University School of Medicine in 2005.
Dr. DeBiasi treats normal and immunocompromised children hospitalized with severe infections at Children’s National Medical Center. She is designated as a Top Doctor for Northern Virginia and by Washingtonian Magazine. Dr. DeBiasi’s research expertise includes basic science as well as clinical/translational research. She serves as Principal Investigator for research and multiple clinical trials focusing on severe and emerging viral infections. Research awards have included the Infectious Diseases Society of America Young Investigator Award, as well as the John Horsley Prize from UVA. She leads the CNHS Ebola and Emerging Infections Task Force and co-leads the CNHS Congenital Zika Program, interfacing with regional, national and international authorities in these roles. She evaluates and manages pregnant women and infants with Zika exposure and infection, and is performing Zika-focused research in the US and South America.
Dr. DeBiasi has authored over 80 original research, review articles, and book chapters. She greatly enjoys teaching and mentoring graduate and medical students, residents, and fellows in the classroom, the hospital wards, and in research. She is also actively engaged in continuing medical education for community physicians, outreach to the community, and educating the public via media appearances on NPR radio, local and national newspaper and television.