Dr. David Frim is an internationally recognized neurosurgeon and neurosciences researcher who has specialized in the care of children and adults with congenital central nervous system anomalies for over 20 years. Dr. Frim’s research and his innovative approaches to treating hydrocephalus, Chiari malformation, syringomyelia, and tethered cord syndrome have attracted patients and families from national and international sources. Although Dr. Frim is no longer practicing clinically, the neurosurgical team at the University of Chicago Medicine is continuing his legacy in treating pediatric patients with all forms of neurosurgical pathology. Dr. Frim continues to be an active medical researcher and educator for the Margaret Hackett Family Program, and also serves as principal investigator on laboratory and research studies related to brain injury, intracranial pressure dynamics, and cognitive outcome after treatment of hydrocephalus and Chiari syndrome.

Julie began her career as an educator for students with special needs, including learning and behavior disorders. Her primary focus at the time was working with students in elementary school. After teaching for three years, she transitioned to a career in business where she worked for a small tech firm and then went on to work at the American Medical Association. Julie has always remained passionate about helping students and families, and while pursuing a career in business over the years, she worked with a variety of organizations that focus on the development of youth such as One Million Degrees, GRIP Outreach for Youth, and at City Church Chicago where she plays a lead role on their Family Ministries team. Julie continues her passion for helping youth and families in her role as Program Manager of the MHFP, where she develops and manages community outreach and support services for patients and families at UChicago Medicine.

As the Margaret Hackett Family Program’s administrator and patient advocate, Rosa Velazquez is responsible for the development of the program at the University of Chicago, the program’s research development and expansion, and the program’s patient-centered care and advocacy. Rosa also helps patients and families navigate the multitude of resources available through the Margaret Hackett Family Program, including patient education, advocacy groups, and treatment options related to CNS congenital anomalies. With years of experience working with patients and their families, and her previous experience in clinical database development and research, Rosa is keen to patient and family needs, worries, and much more.

Christine Herrera is a Clinical Research Coordinator II for the Margaret Hackett Family Program at the University of Chicago, where she is responsible for the construction, development, and maintenance of the clinical database. Christine has worked in the medical field for 10 years. She has worked bedside in a neurosurgical intensive care unit, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), as well as in an outpatient adult and pediatric neurosurgical clinical setting. Christine has directed her interest in nursing and patient care to pursue a career in research, seeking greater understanding of complex anomalies in order to provide better resources to patients and families of the Margaret Hackett Family Program.

Judith (Judie) Holleman supports both research and clinical care for the Margaret Hackett Family Program. During her research activities, Judie helps develop clinical research protocols and clinical trials. While working with patients, she operates as an experienced clinician that helps interpret and navigate the pathway of care. She brings a wealth of experience and a strong commitment to caring for patients impacted by CNS anomalies.

Lanie Berk is a Child Life Specialist at University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital. With a background in child development, her role is to help children and families cope with medical stressors that come with illness as well as lessen fears and misconceptions. She is able to support children through play, help reduce anxiety with medical procedures, explain medical conditions in child friendly language, and provide emotional support for patients, siblings, and caregivers.

Child Life Specialist Role in healthcare

Child life specialists are experts in child development and help improve the healthcare experience for children and families. Child life specialists focus on each child’s psychological and developmental needs to help him or her feel more comfortable in the healthcare setting. A child life specialist can assist in explaining a condition to a child, sibling, or peers, prepare a child for surgery or procedure, provide therapeutic play to help a child cope with their illness, and provide resources and emotional support to patients and their families. If you would like to speak to a child life specialist about your child, please contact Lanie Berk.

Dr. Seifollah Gholampour currently works for the Margaret Hackett Family Program at the University of Chicago. He has more than 12 years research experience in Biomedical modeling of CNS, Computational and experimental neuroscience, Cerebral blood hemodynamics, CSF hydrodynamics, Brain morphology, MRI-based fluid-structure interaction simulation in neuroscience, Brain biomechanics, and Neurosurgical drilling system. Currently, he is working on the relationship between morphometric parameters and CSF/blood dynamics in pediatric hydrocephalus and CM-I patients. He also works on the dispersion of intrathecally injected tracer using human CNS phantom models.

A board-certified radiologist/neuroradiologist, Dr. Carina Yang specializes in pediatric neuroradiology with a focus on diagnosing and characterizing the full scope of head, brain, spine and neck conditions. Dr. Yang is an expert in interpretation of computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) examinations, and promotes techniques for pediatric patients to minimize radiation exposure and performing testing without the need for extended sedation. The Margaret Hackett Family Program at the University of Chicago aims to collaborate with physicians who advocate for the education and the advancement of knowledge pertaining to the care of patients. Dr. Yang dedicates time to aid the program’s medical researchers by suggesting the best imaging modalities and how to best evaluate imaging data when evaluating past approaches to treatment and planning innovative clinical trials. Her collaboration ensures an effective multi-disciplinary approach to analyzing clinical data, understanding patient scans, and expanding educational frontiers.