Abbey Masonbrink, MD, MPH, is the Research Director of Hospital Medicine at CHLA and Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at USC Keck School of Medicine. A board-certified pediatrician, hospitalist, and preventive medicine/public health physician, Dr. Masonbrink earned her MD from the Medical College of Wisconsin and completed residencies in Pediatrics and Public Health and Preventive Medicine. She also holds a master’s degree in public health from Columbia University, New York.

Dr. Masonbrink’s clinical and research efforts focus on improving health outcomes related to substance use (i.e., e-cigarettes) and sexual and reproductive health behaviors among adolescents. She serves as the Principal Investigator of a K23 award (1K23DA055736) from the National Institutes on Drug Abuse (NIDA).

Outside of the lab, Dr. Masonbrink enjoys playing the banjo, writing songs, and long-distance running.

Alejandra Romero supports the Division of Hospital Medicine's work in quality improvement and divisional initiatives. She completed a master’s degree in Healthcare Administration at Grand Canyon University. She hopes to contribute to enhancing the medical treatment provided to vulnerable pediatric communities and is interested in assisting in improvement of healthcare quality. She is eager to participate in research at CHLA and learn about the latest developments in these areas.

Meera McLane supports the CHLA's Residency IMPACT Program along with Division of Hospital Medicine's health education efforts. Meera works on administrative support and program development for the IMPACT program focused on community health, global health, and quality improvement interventions. She received her dual bachelor's degree in Public Health Studies and French from Johns Hopkins University. After which, she received her Master in Public Health degree focused on Epidemiology & Biostatistics from Boston University. She is passionate about infectious disease investigation, surveillance, and supporting community-based healthcare initiatives.

Kiran Nagra coordinates the Division of Hospital Medicine Fellowship Program, supporting fellows from onboarding and orientation through to the completion of program requirements. She is dedicated to contributing to the success of our nationally accredited medical education programs and the overall division. Before joining CHLA, Kiran earned her bachelor's degree in Psychology and accumulated a decade of program coordination experience at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada.

Dalia completed her undergraduate studies at the University of California, Irvine where she obtained her bachelor's degree in Public Health Sciences. Throughout her tenure at UCI, Dalia actively engaged in research related to civic engagement concerning environmental justice issues among Boyle Heights residents. She is profoundly interested in conducting research aimed at enhancing healthcare quality and accessibility in underserved and vulnerable communities. While at CHLA, Dalia has supported clinical and quality improvement research initiatives. She has contributed to tasks such as subject screening, recruitment, and consent, as well as data extraction and analysis. Dalia is currently focused on a study called I-Share that is designed to enhance the hospital’s capacity to effectively identify otherwise unrecognized errors from patients and families, particularly those who face language and educational barriers. This study involves partnering with patients and families, with the aim of hospitals identifying novel patterns and ultimately addressing systemic flaws to improve safety and equity.

Dalila Amaya obtained a bachelor's degree in Biology (Biochemistry) and minored in Anthropology and Spanish at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. During her undergraduate studies, she worked as a Spanish medical interpreter and interned at a level I trauma center in the Critical Care Research Department. She gained a variety of skills and experiences that significantly contributed to her desire to become a clinician-scientist and an advocate for inclusive communications in healthcare. At CHLA, she is the research assistant for IPASS LISTEN, a study that aims to compare the effectiveness of communication interventions to improve patient/family and provider communication and reduce adverse event rates. Her role in the study includes subject recruitment, data extraction, observing patient and provider interactions, and surveying families and the medical team regarding communication and safety events.

Sarah Cho is a Research Nurse with specialized knowledge of pediatric healthcare and experience navigating electronic medical records. She received her dual undergraduate degree in Psychology and Hispanic Language and Literature from Boston University, after which she developed research skills in the areas of childhood obesity, asthma, COPD, and smoking cessation. Sarah completed her RN Residency at CHLA and was a bedside nurse here in the Neonatal and Infant Critical Care Unit for several years while also completing her Master of Science in Nursing degree from Western University of Health Sciences. Sarah then had the privilege of serving as a stay-at-home parent, joining the Board of Trustees at her children’s co-op nursery school, volunteering at vaccination clinics, and developing greater passion for supporting families with young children and developing a sense of community in a post-quarantine climate. Sarah is delighted to return to CHLA, where she can support the Division of Medicine’s research endeavors and pursue a PhD in Nursing.

Pateel Jivalagian is a Clinical Research Coordinator for the Division of Hospital Medicine (DHM). At CHLA, Pateel supports in administration and IRB-related work for the division. She is currently working with Dr. Tamara Simon to establish a DHM Registry to achieve cohort discovery by contextualizing the health profile of hospitalized infants and children in the division. The Registry will also serve to support DHM operations. Pateel received her Master of Public Health degree from the Yale School of Public Health and developed her research skills by working at various research labs across campus. She received bachelor’s degrees in Public Health and Psychology from U.C. Berkeley. Her commitment to public health and vulnerable communities, particularly children and older adults, has been informed by her research experiences. She has an interest in studying health from a life course perspective and is particularly interested in how early life factors may influence health in later life.

Cheryl holds an undergraduate degree in Psychology with a minor in Public Health and Human Services from Elizabethtown College, as well as a master's degree in clinical psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park. Cheryl's journey into research began in 2016 when she joined a social psychology lab at her undergrad, since then, she has gained diverse experience across multiple research areas. She has worked in clinical research involving children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disorders, public health, transplant/ surgical research, and is now thrilled to be contributing her expertise to the Masonbrink Lab, where she focuses on adolescent health. 

Cheryl's hobbies include swimming, biking, sewing, and tending to her plants.