Pitt Pediatrics congratulates Uta Lichter-Konecki, MD, PhD, for recently earning a Letter of Recognition from the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) Rare Disease Centers of Excellence Program. Lichter-Konecki is a Professor of Pediatrics in our Division of Genetic and Genomic Medicine, as well as the Director of the Metabolism Program at UPMC Children’s Hospital. She also serves as the Director of the Medical Biochemical Genetics Fellowship Program and the Mitochondrial Medicine Center. 
Lichter-Konecki receives this recognition as a member of NORD’s Policy and Collective Advocacy Working Group, where she helps finds solutions to address gaps in federal, state, and institutional policies affecting access to diagnosis and care in the rare disease community. Her expertise in rare diseases and dedication to the organization’s efforts have led to safe and appropriate advocacy practices, important policy changes, and recommendations for clinicians, researchers, lab directors, and related institutional faculty and staff. Lichter-Konecki’s contributions to the ongoing Transitions of Care project were especially highlighted by the committee.
“We greatly appreciate how [Lichter-Konecki’s] rare disease expertise and knowledge has served the initiatives of the NORD Rare Disease Centers of Excellence Program,” the recognition letter wrote. “[We thank her for her] dedication to the rare disease community as [she] continues to serve an integral role on this internationally recognized Program."
Lichter-Konecki completed her genetics residency and clinical biochemical genetics fellowship at the National Human Genome Research Institute of the NIH in 2003, and later joined the Division of Genetics and Metabolism at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC. She joined our Department of Pediatrics in 2016, and has earned an international reputation in urea cycle disorders and phenylketonuria, which remains her primary research focus.
Join us in celebrating this recognition for Lichter-Konecki, and all ongoing endeavors in our genetic and genomic medicine research.
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