Kelly Harris, MD

  • Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine

Kelly W. Harris, MD, MS is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and an attending physician in the Division of Palliative Medicine and Supportive Care at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Dr. Harris received a BA with Honors in both Religious Studies and Biology from the University of Chicago, and she received an MD with a Certificate in Biomedical Ethics from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. She completed her residency training in Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and her fellowship training in Hospice and Palliative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She subsequently obtained a Master of Science in Clinical Research during a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Harris aims through her research to improve the long-term health and well-being of families impacted by prenatal diagnoses of serious illness. Her current focus is on understanding and optimizing clinician-parent communication at the time of a prenatal diagnosis of complex congenital heart disease.

Professional and Scientific Society Memberships

  • American Medical Association, 2012-Present
  • American Academy of Pediatrics, 2016-Present
  • American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, 2016-2021
  • American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 2019-Present
  • Palliative Care Research Cooperative, 2019-Present
  • Society for Pediatric Research, Junior Section, 2021-Present
  • Fetal Heart Society, 2021-Present
  • Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Outcomes Collaborative, 2021-Present
  • Academy of Communication in Healthcare, 2021-Present
  • AcademyHealth, 2022-2023

Education & Training

  • BA, University of Chicago, 2011
  • MD, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, 2016
  • MS, University of Pittsburgh Institute for Clinical Research Education, 2023
  • Residency, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 2020
  • Fellow, UPMC, 2021

Selected Publications

Wolenberg KM, Yoon JD, Rasinski KA, Curlin FA. “Religion and United States Physicians’ Opinions and Self-Predicted Practices Concerning Artificial Nutrition and Hydration.” Journal of Religion and Health. 2013;52(4):1051-65. PubMed PMID: 23754580.

Kim D, Curlin FA, Wolenberg KM, Sulmasy DP. “Religion in organized medicine: The AMA’s Committee and Department of Medicine and Religion, 1961-1974.” Perspectives in Biology and Medicine. 2014;57(3):393-414. PubMed PMID: 25959352.

Kim D, Curlin FA, Wolenberg KM, Sulmasy DP. “Back to the Future: The AMA and Religion, 1961-1974.” Academic Medicine. 2014;89(12):1603-1609. PubMed PMID: 24979288.

Harris KW, Brelsford KM, Kavanaugh-McHugh A, Clayton EW. “Uncertainty of Prenatally Diagnosed Congenital Heart Disease.” JAMA Network Open. 2020;3(5):e204082. PubMed PMID: 32369178.

Harris KW, Cunningham TV, Hester DM, Armstrong K, Kim A, Harrell FE, Fanning JB. “Comparison is Not a Zero-Sum Game: Exploring Advanced Measures of Healthcare Ethics Consultation.” AJOB Empirical. 2020;12(2):123-136. PubMed PMID: 33215975.

Harris KW, Ibach MG, Lowen DE, Hills T, Copenhaver EA. “An Unsuspected Case of Child Physical Abuse in a Pediatric Hospice Patient.” Clinical Pediatrics. 2022;61(12):883-886. PubMed PMID: 35792547.

Harris KW, Hammack-Aviran CM, Brelsford KM, Kavanaugh-McHugh A, Clayton EW. Mapping Parents’ Journey Following Prenatal Diagnosis of Congenital Heart Disease: A Qualitative Study. Cardiology in the Young. 2023;33(8):1387-1395. PubMed PMID: 35942903.

Schweiberger K, Harris KW, Kavanaugh-McHugh A, Soudi A, Arnold RM, Merlin JS, Kasparian NA*, Chang JC*. “I Just Want You to Hear That Term”: Characterizing Language Used in Fetal Cardiology Consultations.” Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease. 2023;10(9). PubMed PMID: 37754823. * Shared senior authorship. 

MyNCBI Profile

Academic and Research Interests

Communication

Parent experience

Fetal

Diagnosis

Congenital heart disease

Uncer

 

Research Grants

National Palliative Care Research Center Kornfeld Scholars Program, Investigating Clinician-Parent Communication at the time of Prenatal Diagnosis of Congenital Heart Disease. 2023-202