Karena Gildea Lawrence, MD, MS, IBCLC, FAAP

Karena Lawrence is a board-certified Pediatric subspecialist in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine (NPM) and a Clinician-Educator with a Master of Science degree in Medical Education. As part of the NPM fellowship program leadership team, she specializes in the development of educational curricula and evaluation tools. Her most recent education projects within the Division of Newborn Medicine include development of a communication curriculum on difficult conversations, creation of a structured mentorship program, and development of a formal debrief program. In addition, Lawrence also has extensive experience in simulation-based training including recurring interdepartmental sessions on neonatal resuscitation, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) wet labs, and point-of-care ultrasound workshops. As an Assistant Professor with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Lawrence is the Course Director for the required course on Advanced Medical Interviewing.

Professional and Scientific Society Memberships

• American Academy of Pediatrics, 2011-Present
  • Trainees and Early Career Neonatologists, Section on Perinatal Pediatrics, 2017-Present
  • Section on Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, 2017-Present
  • Council on Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, 2017-Present
  • Section on Simulation and Innovative Learning Methods, 2017-Present
• Organization of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Program Directors, 2018-Present
• Association of Pediatric Program Directors, 2020-Present