Welcome and Morning Session I

Rebecca Carl, MD, is an Attending Physician in Sports Medicine and non-Operative Orthopaedics at Lurie Children’s and an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.  She is the Fellowship Director for the Northwestern McGaw Primary Care Sports Medicine fellowship. 

She received a BA at Cornell University, MD at the University of Illinois, Chicago College of Medicine, and an MSCI (masters in clinical investigation) at Northwestern University.  She completed a pediatric residency at University of Wisconsin and fellowships in primary care sports medicine (Rush University) and non-operative orthopaedics (University of Wisconsin).  She is the Chairperson-elect for the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Sports Medicine and Fitness.  Her research interests include sports concussion, overuse injuries, and clubfoot. 

Dr. Carl sees patients at Lurie Children’s Outpatient Centers in  Northbrook, Westchester, Skokie and Lincoln Park (Clark/Deming).

Sai Nimmagadda, MD is a board-certified allergist with nearly 30 years of clinical experience in pediatric allergy and immunology. He is a Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and practices at Lurie Children’s.

 Dr. Nimmagadda serves as Chief Allergist at the Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research (CFAAR) and is the lead study allergist for the CANDO clinical trial focused on early prevention of food allergies. He also helps lead the High-Risk Asthma Clinic at Lurie Children’s.

In addition to his clinical and research roles, Dr. Nimmagadda serves on multiple professional committees, including the executive committee of the Illinois Society for Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, and as a committee member in the food allergy section of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology and the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Over the course of his career, he has cared for more than 15,000 patients with food allergy and has designed and implemented multiple clinical studies advancing food allergy prevention and management. He has authored numerous book chapters in the field of Allergy and Immunology and has over 50 peer-reviewed publications to his credit. 

Dr. Nimmagadda sees patients at Lurie Children’s main hospital, Lurie Children’s Outpatient Center in Skokie and Lurie Children’s Outpatient Center in Grayslake. 

Michael Carr, MD is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine and Pediatric Cardiologist in the Lurie Children’s Heart Center. He is a native New Englander, growing up outside of Boston. He took advantage of the Jesuit educational philosophy at the College of the Holy Cross, pursuing a degree in Economics and saving the science for medical school, which he completed at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. He went on to his internship and residency at the National Naval Medical Center/Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC. He then served as a general pediatrician at Naval Hospital 29 Palms for two years prior to completing his Cardiology Fellowship at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. He spent additional time training in non-invasive cardiac imaging, including fetal cardiology. 

Dr. Carr spent six years as a cardiologist at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, continuing to provide care to the families of true American heroes and serving as the Associate Program Director of the Pediatric Residency Program. He left the US Navy after 14 years of active-duty service and has been on faculty at Lurie Children’s since 2012. His clinical interests include echocardiography, fetal cardiology, Kawasaki disease, exercise medicine and general pediatric cardiology. He spends a large part of his time in medical education, serving as the Program Director for the Cardiology Fellowship since 2016, as well as playing active teaching and administrative roles in the Pediatric Residency Program. He also serves as the Clinical Practice Director for the division of Cardiology. 
Dr. Carr sees patients at Lurie Children’s main location, Lurie Children’s Outpatient Center in Schaumburg, and Lurie Children’s Outpatient Center in Lake Forest.

Dr. Neeraj Patel is Director of Orthopaedic Health Disparity & Community Outreach Programs and Co-Director of the Sports Medicine & Performance Program. He is also Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He completed residency training at the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases followed by a fellowship in pediatric orthopaedic surgery at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he acquired advanced techniques in pediatric sports medicine and fracture surgery.

His clinical interests include knee, shoulder, elbow, and ankle arthroscopy for conditions such as ACL injuries in all ages (including children with open growth plates), meniscus tears, osteochondritis dissecans, cartilage injuries, and patellar instability. He is fiercely committed to providing quality, equitable care to all children by spending the time and energy necessary to build relationships and partner with families to achieve excellent outcomes.

In addition to his medical training, Dr. Patel also holds Master’s Degrees in Public Health and Biomedical Science. Given this background, he is an active researcher, with numerous frequently cited publications and leadership in national, multicenter study groups. He is one of the 4% of academic orthopaedic surgeons with National Institutes of Health funding, which supports his passion for health equity research. Dr. Patel applies innovative approaches to partner with community members and co-design interventions to reduce disparities in pediatric orthopaedics.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Pediatric Research in Sports Medicine Society (PRiSM). He has served as chair of the Diversity Committee of PRiSM and the Evidence Based Practice Committee of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA). Dr. Patel was one of ten members of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) work group tasked with creating clinical practice guidelines for the management of ACL injuries. 

Dr. Patel sees patients at Lurie Children’s Outpatient Center in Lincoln Park (Clark/Deming) and Lurie Children’s Outpatient Center in Westchester.