Newswise — LOS ANGELES – After an extensive nationwide search, Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) has selected Robert E. Shaddy, M.D., to join CHLA as chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, and Pediatrician-in-Chief and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs at CHLA.

As chair of Pediatrics, Dr. Shaddy will oversee department faculty at CHLA and LAC+USC Medical Center campuses. As CHLA's pediatrician-in-chief and senior vice president of Academic Affairs, he will provide oversight for faculty appointments as well as educational and research activities including those performed at The Saban Research Institute, CHLA's freestanding research facility dedicated to exploring and addressing the most pressing national child health issues.

"Dr. Robert Shaddy is a nationally prominent physician leader in pediatrics and is a very welcome addition to the leadership team at Children's Hospital Los Angeles," says CHLA President and Chief Executive Officer Paul S. Viviano. "Given his comprehensive contributions to research, education and clinical care in the field of pediatrics, we are confident that his extensive experience and leadership will serve the entire CHLA community extraordinarily well."

Dr. Shaddy, a cardiologist, most recently served as the vice chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Simultaneously he served as the chief of the Division of Cardiology and the Jennifer Terker Endowed Chair in Pediatric Cardiology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

With more than 25 years in his distinguished career, Dr. Shaddy is recognized nationally for his research into pediatric heart failure and heart transplantation. His expertise also includes the use of echocardiography and other imaging in pediatric heart patients, transplant coronary artery disease, the effectiveness of pharmaceutical drugs in treating heart failure in children and the use of ventricular assist devices in pediatric patients.

Dr. Shaddy obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Boston College and his master’s degree from Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska. He completed his pediatric internship and residency at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, Iowa, and a fellowship in pediatric cardiology at the Cardiovascular Research Institute at the University of California, San Francisco.

Dr. Shaddy has published more than 180 publications in journals including Pediatrics, Pediatric Cardiology, Pediatric Transplantation, The Journal of the American Medical Association, Circulation, and The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. He has authored or co-authored 21 book chapters for textbooks used by students and practicing physicians, and authored or co-authored six books about heart defects and heart failure.

Dr. Shaddy also is extensively involved in dozens of professional organizations, including the American Heart Association, the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, the Society for Pediatric Research, and the International Pediatric Transplant Association, the Congenital Heart Professional (CHiP) Network.

Dr. Shaddy's first day at CHLA is June 1.

About Children's Hospital Los Angeles  Children's Hospital Los Angeles has been named the best children’s hospital in California and among the top 10 in the nation for clinical excellence with its selection to the prestigious U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll. Children’s Hospital is home to The Saban Research Institute, one of the largest and most productive pediatric research facilities in the United States. Children’s Hospital is also one of America's premier teaching hospitals through its affiliation with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California since 1932. For more information, visit CHLA.org. Follow us on TwitterFacebookYouTubeLinkedIn and Instagram. You may also visit the institution’s child health blog (CHLA.org/blog) or its research blog (ResearCHLABlog.org).