

Dani Dumitriu, MD, PhD
Locations and Appointments
CUIMC/Herbert Pardes Building of the New York State Psychiatric Institute
About Dani Dumitriu, MD, PhD
Dani Dumitriu, MD, PhD, is internationally recognized for her expertise in pediatrics; neuroscience; resilience; family-, patient-, and clinician-inclusive study design; and dyadic measures of parent-child health, such as maternal-infant connection, prenatal and early postnatal influences (including stress) on maternal-infant health, and the relationship between early relational health and lifecourse health outcomes. Dr. Dumitriu is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics (in Psychiatry) and the inaugural director of the Center for Early Relational Health. She dedicates 80% of her time to research and 20% to active pediatric practice in the Newborn Medicine Unit at Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York.
The uniting principle of Dr. Dumitriu's multifaceted research program is to actuate a strengths-based pivot in pediatrics: preventing pathology by promoting resiliency. From basic science through clinical & implementation studies, her multi-modal, multi-species, multi-scale research focuses on understanding and harnessing the neurocircuits of resilience, toward spearheading novel approaches to universal primary prevention.
One of the top-funded researchers in the Department of Pediatrics, Dr. Dumitriu, also actively leads field-building work. She co-founded the Maternal Child Research Operations (MaCRO) Consortium at Columbia (a coordinating hub for research that spans obstetrics, pediatrics, and psychiatry) and is revolutionizing family- and pediatrician- inclusive research through a unique partnership between CERH, Reach Out and Read, and Nurture Connection (at Georgetown University's Thrive Center for Children, Families, and Communities). Together, they co-lead the movement to meaningfully advance the field of ERH. Dr. Dumitriu further serves on the steering committee for Nurture Connection and on the Foundation for Social Connection's Scientific Advisory Council.
Board Certifications
- Pediatrics
Expertise
Newborn Care
Newborn Medicine
Newborns
Education
Fellowship: Mount Sinai Hospital
Medical School: Hawaii Pacific University
Medical School: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Residency: Mount Sinai Hospital
Languages
- Romanian
- Swedish
Titles & Positions
Associate Professor of Pediatrics (in Psychiatry)
Chair, the COMBO Initiative
Co-Chair, the WiSE Club, Psychiatry
Inaugural Director, Center for Early Relational Health
Training Faculty, Columbia Doctoral Program in Neurobiology & Behavior
Hospital Affiliations
NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center
NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital
Education
- Medical School: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Fellowship: Mount Sinai Hospital
- Residency: Mount Sinai Hospital
- Medical School: Hawaii Pacific University
Awards & Honors
- 2012: NINDS/AUPN/ANA Combining Research and Clinical Careers in Neuroscience, DC
- 2015: NARSAD Young Investigator Award
- 2016: AAP SOPT Partner for Resilience
- 2016: Reach for Your First R01 Scholar, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, NY
- 2017: Kurt Hirschhorn MD Clinician-Scientist Award, Kravis Childrens Hospital, NY
- 2019: Research Initiatives in Science & Engineering Award
- 2019: Society for Biological Psychiatry Domestic Travel Fellowship Award
- 2020: Society for Pediatric Research New Member Outstanding Science Award
Titles & Positions
- Associate Professor of Pediatrics (in Psychiatry)
- Chair, the COMBO Initiative
- Co-Chair, the WiSE Club, Psychiatry
- Inaugural Director, Center for Early Relational Health
- Training Faculty, Columbia Doctoral Program in Neurobiology & Behavior
Board Certifications
- Pediatrics
Languages Spoken
- Romanian
- Swedish