It is our pleasure to announce the recent appointment of Terri H. Finkel, M.D., to the positions of Chief Research Officer and Chair of Pediatrics for Nemours Children’s Hospital (NCH).

As Chief Research Officer, Dr. Finkel will work in close collaboration with our Medical City partners to establish a bold vision for pediatric research in Central Florida. Dr. Finkel also leads efforts to integrate clinical, educational and research programs at NCH to provide exceptional care for children as Chair of Pediatrics.

“We are committed to advancing specialized pediatric care in Central Florida,” said Roger Oxendale, Nemours senior vice president and CEO of Nemours Children’s Hospital. “Dr. Finkel’s expertise and dedication to research excellence further enhances our ability to do so.  We are confident her collaborative research will help to make Medical City a world-class pediatric healthcare destination.”

A leader in pediatric research with an extraordinary list of accomplishments, Dr. Finkel joins the organization from her most recent position as Chief of Rheumatology at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During her career at CHOP, Dr. Finkel held several research leadership positions including Director of Immunology Program and Center for AIDS Research, Director of the BSL-3 Flow Cytometry Facility, and Director of Vaccines and Immune Therapies Research Affinity Group. Her research has consistently received funding from the National Institutes of Health and she currently has three separate federally funded areas of research.

Dr. Finkel received her undergraduate degree, medical degree and Ph.D. in biochemistry and biophysics from Stanford University. After completing her internship at Boston Children’s Hospital and Pediatric Residency at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, she trained as a fellow in both Pediatric Rheumatology and Immunology Research at the National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine in Denver, Colorado.

Demonstrating a commitment to expanding our knowledge of pediatric immunology and rheumatology, Dr. Finkel has published 80 peer-reviewed journal articles. She also served as a reviewer for 30 journals and editor for Apoptosis, Journal of Clinical Immunology and Arthritis Research and Therapy, as well as the Janeway Textbook of Immunology. Dr. Finkel’s work has been recognized with multiple honors such as induction into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame, the Arthritis Foundation’s “Hero” Award, the Lady Barbara Colyton Prize for Autoimmune Research, and the American College of Rheumatology Paula de Merieux Award for minority training, among many others.