Children’s Announces New Pediatrician-in-Chief
ATLANTA (Dec. 2, 2024) – Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is honored to announce Shari Barkin, MD, is our new Pediatrician in Chief. In her role, Dr. Barkin will focus on driving clinical excellence for medical specialty programs and guiding Children’s academic missions of research and teaching. She will also serve as Chair of the Emory University School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics.
“We welcome Dr. Barkin to Children’s where she will play a pivotal role in furthering our vision of becoming a unified pediatric system that does everything possible to make anything possible for kids,” said Donna Hyland, CEO of Children’s.
Dr. Barkin will direct division chiefs at Children’s who oversee more than 22 medical specialties. As chair of Emory’s Department of Pediatrics, she will play a pivotal role in further advancing the Children’s and Emory collaboration, in addition the relationship with Georgia Tech. Furthermore, she will guide more than 45 pediatric physician training programs.
“I am honored to join Children’s in their incredible mission to make children better today and healthier tomorrow by leading their numerous medical specialty programs, as well as their academic portfolio,” said Dr. Barkin. “Building upon our strong foundation with Emory and strengthening our relationship with Georgia Tech will be a top priority, and I look forward to all we will accomplish together.”
Dr. Barkin is a board-certified pediatrician specializing in general pediatrics and a member of the National Academy of Medicine. She is a trained health services and health outcomes researcher focusing on community-based, family-centered obesity prevention interventions applying a complex science lens. Formerly, she was Physician in Chief of the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at VCU School of Medicine.
The Pediatrician-in-Chief role at Children’s and Chair of Pediatrics role at Emory was previously held by Lucky Jain, MD, who served the institutions for almost 30 years. Dr. Jain played a vital role in growing the clinical, research and academic enterprise. Under his leadership, National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for research grew from a national ranking of 49 in 2004 to holding a place in the top five for the past eight years. In addition, Children’s and Emory residency and fellowship graduates more than doubled over the past 10 years. Finally, U.S. News & World Report continues to recognize Children’s as one of the Best Children’s Hospitals in the country with eight specialty programs ranking in the top 20 this year.
About Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
As the only freestanding pediatric healthcare system in Georgia, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is the trusted leader in caring for kids. The not-for-profit organization’s mission is to make kids better today and healthier tomorrow through more than 60 pediatric specialties and programs, top healthcare professionals, and leading research and technology. Children’s is one of the largest pediatric clinical care providers in the country, managing more than one million patient visits annually at three hospitals (Arthur M. Blank, Hughes Spalding and Scottish Rite), Marcus Autism Center, the Center for Advanced Pediatrics, the Zalik Behavior and Mental Health Center, urgent care centers and neighborhood locations. Consistently ranked among the top children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta has impacted the lives of kids in Georgia, across the United States and around the world for more than 100 years thanks to generous support from the community.