Newly Appointed Chair of Pediatrics

Dear Colleagues:

We are writing to announce the appointment of Shafali Jeste, MD, as Chair and Executive Medical Director of the Department of Pediatrics in the David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM), and Executive Director of the Children’s Discovery and Innovation Institute, effective October 1, 2025. 

Dr. Jeste is a behavioral child neurologist specializing in autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). She most recently served as a Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at the USC Keck School of Medicine, and the Las Madrinas Chair, Chief of Neurology and Co-Director of the Neurological Institute at CHLA. After earning a BA in philosophy from Yale University in 1997 and her MD from Harvard Medical School in 2002, Dr. Jeste completed a residency in child neurology and a fellowship in behavioral child neurology at Boston Children’s Hospital. She joined the faculty at UCLA in 2010 and then moved to CHLA in 2021 as Chief of Neurology.

Dr. Jeste has conducted transformative clinical research to accelerate precision health in NDDs, from early detection and diagnosis to the development of brain-based biomarkers that have been integrated into clinical trials. Her team has prioritized partnerships with patients and families in these clinical trial readiness initiatives, and she has been an international advocate for patient-centered research in neurodevelopmental disorders. Dr. Jeste has designed innovative studies in early predictors of autism in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) that integrate biomarkers with behavior to define atypical development prior to the onset of autism. This work in TSC has led to the first randomized controlled clinical trial of behavioral intervention for these infants and has paved the way for other early intervention trials in rare genetic syndromes. She also has led initiatives in clinical trial readiness for neurodevelopmental disorders more broadly, both in genetic syndromes, such as Angelman and Dup15q syndrome, and in non-syndromic autism through the national Autism Biomarkers Consortium for Clinical Trials. Since 2024 she has co-led the steering committee of Aligning Research to Impact Autism (ARIA), an initiative that will advance scientific discovery to create more therapeutic opportunities for individuals with autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders.

Dr. Jeste has published more than 150 peer reviewed manuscripts over her career, many in high impact journals such as JAMA,Neurology and Science Translational Medicine. Dr. Jeste’s research is directly inspired by her clinical work, and she continues to prioritize excellence in clinical care of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. At UCLA she developed the Care and Research in Neurogenetic Syndromes (CARING) clinical program, and at CHLA the KiNDD (Kids with Neurogenetic and Developmental Disabilities) clinical program, each of which provides multidisciplinary care and direct access to research opportunities for children with genetic NDDs. Last year, Dr. Jeste launched an NDD fellowship at CHLA, one of only three in the country. Dr. Jeste’s work is funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the Angelman Syndrome Foundation, the Dup15q Alliance, and the Simons Foundation. 

In her four years as Chief of Neurology at CHLA, Dr. Jeste and her team prioritized culture, mission, and academic excellence through proactive strategic planning and implementation. She recruited 12 new faculty members, rebuilt and expanded several subspeciality programs, including one in NDDs, developed models for improved access to clinical care and direct integration of research into clinics, and redesigned the structure of a high complexity neurology inpatient service, all with intentional engagement of the faculty, trainees, staff, and administrative partners.

Dr. Jeste holds several national and international leadership positions including the Board of Directors of the National Organization for Rare Disorders and Board of Directors of the TSC Alliance, and she recently served as the Chair of the International Baby Siblings Research Consortium. In the larger landscape of Pediatrics, Dr. Jeste has served on two National Academies of Science and Medicine committees, the first leading to the 2023 report The Future Pediatric Subspecialty Physician Workforce: Meeting the Needs of Infants, Children and Adolescents and a current committee focused on Strategies to Enhance Pediatric Health Research Funded by NIH. In 2019 she was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers for her innovations in research in early predictors and intervention for genetic neurodevelopmental disorders.  In 2024 she received the Child Neurology Society Martha Bridge Denckla Award, a career achievement award for contributions made to the field of neurodevelopmental disorders. 

We thank Dr. Sherin Devaskar for her outstanding leadership and service as Department Chair at UCLA. We also thank the search committee members, whose names are listed below, for their dedication and commitment to the search process. 

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Jeste back to UCLA and to her new role as Chair of the Department of Pediatrics.

John C. Mazziotta, MD, PhD 
Vice Chancellor, UCLA Health Sciences 
CEO, UCLA Health

Steven Dubinett, MD 
Dean, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA 
Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, UCLA

Johnese Spisso, MPA
President, UCLA Health 
CEO, UCLA Hospital System
Associate Vice Chancellor, UCLA Health Sciences

Chair, Department of Pediatrics Search Committee 

• Deborah Krakow, MD (co-chair): Professor and Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Professor, Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Human Genetics
• Gerardo Moreno, MD, MS (co-chair): Professor and Chair, Department of Family Medicine
• Michelle Bholat, MD, MPH: Professor, Department of Family Medicine
• Patricia Bojakowski: Senior Director, Women’s and Children’s Services, UCLA Health
• Gregory Brent, MD: Professor, Departments of Medicine and Physiology
• Jacqueline Casillas, MD: Professor, Department of Pediatrics
• Daniel DeUgarte, MD: Professor, Department of Surgery
• Christopher Giza, MD: Professor, Departments of Pediatrics and Neurosurgery
• Alma Guerrero, MD: Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics
• Theodore Hall, MD: Professor, Department of Radiological Sciences
• Tara Peris, PhD: Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences Program
• Maureen Su, MD:  Professor, Departments of Microbiology, Immunology & Molecular Genetics and Pediatrics
• Peter Szilagyi, MD, MPH: Professor, Department of Pediatrics
• Shannon Thyne, MD:  Professor, Department of Pediatrics; Vice Chair, Department of Pediatrics; Chief of Pediatrics, Olive View-UCLA Medical Center; Director of Pediatrics, LA County Department of Health Services
• Tiffany Williams, MD, PhD: Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology