Maria Grace Dunn, DO

Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics (General Pediatrics)
Associate Fellowship Director, David N. Pincus Global Health Fellowship, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Pediatric Hospitalist, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Department: Pediatrics
Contact information
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
3401 Civic Center Blvd
Philadelphia, PA 19104
3401 Civic Center Blvd
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Office: 267.455.3704
Education:
BS (Human Nutrition)
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2004.
DO (Osteopathic Medicine)
Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine, 2009.
Permanent linkBS (Human Nutrition)
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2004.
DO (Osteopathic Medicine)
Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine, 2009.
Description of Clinical Expertise
My clinical experience has evolved and expanded over the last decade, to incorporate not only general pediatrics but also specialized skills in the areas of infectious diseases and oncology. With a foundation in US-based pediatric care, both in inpatient and outpatient settings, I then gained expertise in caring for HIV-positive and HIV-exposed infants and children while completing a global health fellowship in the Dominican Republic. I subsequently spent 5 years as a pediatric hospitalist for a global hematology/oncology program in Botswana, understanding the challenges of providing cancer care in a resource-limited setting. My current work as a hospitalist at CHOP continues to provide opportunities for growth in all areas of pediatrics.Description of Research Expertise
Early in my medical training, I became interested in global health, which encompasses varied fields such as infectious diseases, public health, social determinants of health, anthropology, and others. Pediatric infectious diseases have a significant impact globally but particularly in resource-limited settings, and non-communicable diseases such as cancer still place a disproportionate burden on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Over the years, my quality improvement and research work has included HIV-positive and HIV-exposed infants and children, the impact of the 13-valent pneumococcal vaccine on nasopharyngeal colonization rates, barriers to vaccination, childhood cancer awareness among healthcare workers, and challenges to cancer care in LMICs. These are areas of ongoing research interest.Selected Publications
Anabel Fernández, Marissa Olson, Ramona Cordero, Francisca Vázquez, Maria Dunn, Andrew Steenhoff: Beyond the Visit: Impact on U.S. staff of a Multi-year, Short-term, Partner-focused Global Health Allies Program in the Dominican Republic. Poster presentation, Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) 2025 Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA April 2025.Marissa Olson, Ramona Cordero, Ivelisse Tavarez, Angie Álvarez Linarez, Danuary Garcia Navarro, Tatidelmis Garcia, Francisca Vázquez, Susannah Anderson, Andrew Steenhoff, Anabel Fernández, Maria Dunn: Rates of Anemia in a Pediatric Clinic in Consuelo, a Rural Community in the Dominican Republic. Poster presentation, Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) 2025 Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA April 2025.
Samantha Brown Stonbraker, Yazmina Espiritusanto Castro, Pamela Baez Caraballo, Stefanie Mayorga, Christine Tagliaferri Rael, Maria Dunn, Sophia Centi, Bryan McNair, Jacob Michel, Molly Goggin-Kehm, Adriana Arcia, Paul Cook: Evaluation of an HIV-related Education Intervention Scale-up: A Hybrid Type 3 Effectiveness-implementation Study in the Dominican Republic. AIDS Behav 29(3): 733-746, March 2025 Notes: DOI: 10.1007/s10461-024-04555-0.
Marissa Olson, Ramona Cordero, Ivelisse Tavarez, Angie Álvarez Linarez, Danuary Garcia Navarro, Tatidelmis Garcia, Francisca Vázquez, Susannah Anderson, Andrew Steenhoff, Anabel Fernández, Maria Dunn: Rates of Child Anemia in a Pediatric Clinic in Consuelo, a Rural Community in the Dominican Republic. Poster presentation, 16th Annual CHOP Global Health Conference, Philadelphia, PA, USA October 2024.
Hannah Mbony, Megha Patel, Maria Dunn, Patricia McQuilkin, Michelle Niescierenko, Jeff Robison, Shela Sridhar, Dorene Balmer, Andrew Steenhoff, Morgan Congdon: What's in a fellowship? How General Pediatric Global Health Fellowships Impact Career Development. Poster presentation, 16th Annual CHOP Global Health Conference, Philadelphia, PA, USA October 2024.
Ramona Cordero, Maria Dunn, Andrew Steenhoff, Anabel Fernández: Niños Primeros en Salud: Reflections on 15 years of community health nursing in Consuelo, Dominican Republic. Poster presentation, 16th Annual CHOP Global Health Conference, Philadelphia, PA, USA October 2024.
Anjalee Bhuyan, Marissa Olson, Ramona Cordero, Angie Álvarez, Andrew P Steenhoff, Anabel Fernández, Maria Dunn: Multi-faceted Interventions to Reduce Childhood Anemia over 9 years in a Rural Community in the Dominican Republic (DR). Poster presentation, 16th Annual CHOP Global Health Conference, Philadelphia, PA, USA October 2024.
Shaikh H, Pimental L, Burris H, Perez K, Fernandez A, Dunn M, Gonzalez A: Risk of mortality among inborn and outborn patients at a regional neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in the Dominican Republic. Poster presentation at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting, Washington, DC May 2023.
Thato Kaang, Maria G. Dunn, Jeremy S. Slone: Managing pediatric chronic myeloid leukemia in Africa: the Botswana experience with two cases. Pediatr Hematol Oncol 38(7): 676-681, Oct 2021.
Maria G. Dunn, Fernanda C. Lessa, Jacqueline Sanchez, Ramona Cordero, Jesus Feris-Iglesias, Doraliza Cedano, Maria de Gloria Carvalho, Josefina Fernandez, Kristen A. Feemster: Impact of PCV13 vaccination status on nasopharyngeal carriage rates of Streptococcus pnuemoniae in a rural community in the Dominican Republic. J Infect Dis 224(12): S237-S247, Sept 2021.