A Poet and a Pediatrician: Meet Amy Goldstein, MD

Editor’s Note: In our Meet Our Investigators series on Cornerstone, get to know our remarkable researchers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute: a colorful collection of profiles that bring out the personality and passion of faculty members who have recently joined the Research Institute.

Name:

Amy Goldstein, MD

Title:

Clinical Director, Mitochondrial Medicine Frontier Program and associate professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Human Genetics at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine

Joined the Research Institute:

July 2017

Hometown:

Cherry Hill, N.J.

Favorite Book or Movie:

“Pride & Prejudice”

Tell us three things most people don’t know about you.

1. I am completely obsessed with “Hamilton” (the musical)!
2. I write poetry and published my first book, “Bearing Witness,” last year.
3. I love being outdoors; I will walk anywhere and everywhere, but especially enjoy nature hikes and being on the water.

What are some of the Research Institute’s unique characteristics that brought you here?

The ability to engage in bench to bedside research with a world-renowned team, including Dr. Doug Wallace and Dr. Marni Falk, brought me to CHOP and the Mitochondrial Medicine Frontier Program. I have been seeing and caring for patients with mitochondrial disease for over 15 years, but I now have more to offer to our patients, including ground-breaking research and unique clinical trials. We are working on improving diagnostics and therapeutic approaches to patient care with a personalized approach to treatment. Throughout CHOP and the University of Pennsylvania, we have experts in different subspecialties who can help us manage the multisystem symptoms of our patients.

Tell us what is innovative about your research and its significance to advancing pediatric healthcare.

My clinical research interests include design of clinical trials and outcome measures for mitochondrial disease. The Mitochondrial Medicine Frontier Program allows for the overall goal of a cure for mitochondrial disease, with integration between clinical, translational, and basic science research. I am focused on standardization of care and creating a national care network for our patients, in order to improve patient access as well as excellent clinical care.

What is the best piece of advice someone has shared with you, professional or personal?

I am the mother of three children; during my training and beyond, the best piece of advice I received was to delegate out any tasks that I could pay someone else to do in order to spend quality time with my family.