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Kristina M. Gaietto, MD

  • Instructor of Pediatrics
  • CHP Scholar

Kristina Gaietto, MD MPH, is an Instructor of Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine and a UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Scholar. Gaietto earned her Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and completed medical school at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine where she was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society.

She completed residency in Pediatrics and fellowship in Pediatric Pulmonology at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. During fellowship she was also a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Pittsburgh. After fellowship, she remained at the University of Pittsburgh as faculty. Gaietto is interested in childhood asthma. Her research has focused on the impact of psychosocial stressors on asthma and asthma outcomes, SARS-CoV-2 infection on children with asthma, and asthma endotypes. Her current research is funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Professional and Scientific Society Memberships

  • American Thoracic Society, 2019-Present 
  • American Academy of Pediatrics, Fellow, 2016-2022
  • Gold Humanism Honor Society, 2015-Present
  • Phi Beta Kappa, 2012-Present
  • American Colleeg of Chest Physicians, 2022-2023

Education & Training

  • BA, Zoology & Political Science, Miami University, 2012
  • MD, University of Cincinnati, 2016
  • Residency in Pediatrics, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, 2016-2019

Selected Publications

Gaietto KM, Rumschlag SL, Boone MD. Effects of pesticide exposure and the amphibian chytrid fungus on gray treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis) metamorphosis. Environ Toxicol Chem. 2014 Oct;33(10):2358-62. PMID: 25044296.

Shaffer RC, Pedapati EV, Shic F, Gaietto K, Bowers K, Wink LK, Erickson CA. Brief Report: Diminished Gaze Preference for Dynamic Social Interaction Scenes in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders. J Autism Dev Disord. 2017 Feb;47(2):506-513. PMID: 27878742.

Gaietto K, Han YY, Forno E, Bacharier LB, Phipatanakul W, Guilbert TW, Cabana MD, Ross K, Blatter J, Acosta-Pérez E, Miller GE, de la Hoz RE, Rosser FJ, Durrani S, Canino G, Wisniewski SR, Celedón JC. Violence-related distress and lung function in two longitudinal studies of youth. Eur Respir J. 2022 May 12;59(5):2102329. PMID: 34588198.

Gaietto K, Freeman MC, DiCicco LA, Rauenswinter S, Squire JR, Aldewereld Z, Iagnemma J, Campfield BT, Wolfson D, Kazmerski TM, Forno E. Asthma as a risk factor for hospitalization in children with COVID-19: A nested case-control study. Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2022 Jan;33(1):e13696. PMID: 34775650.

Gaietto K, Han YY, Forno E, Acosta-Pérez E, Marsland A, Miller GE, Rosser FJ, Chen W, Canino G, Celedón JC. Exposure to violence and asthma in Puerto Rican youth with high Th2 immunity. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2023 Aug;58(8):2289-2297. PMID: 37191387.

Gaietto K, Bergum N, Acevedo-Torres N, Snyder O, DiCicco LA, Butler G, Rauenswinter S, Iagnemma J, Wolfson D, Kazmerski TM, Forno E. The Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Infection on Symptom Control and Lung Function in Children with Asthma. Ann Am Thorac Soc. 2023 Jul 26. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37495209.

Gaietto K, Bergum N, Rosser F, Snyder O, Acevedo-Torres N, DiCicco LA, Butler G, Rauenswinter S, Iagnemma J, Wolfson D, Han YY, Kazmerski TM, Forno E. Odds of COVID-19-associated asthma exacerbations in children higher during Omicron wave. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2023 Aug 18. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37594160.

Academic and Research Interests

  • Asthma
  • COVID-19

Research Grants

2K12HD052892-16, MOLECULAR BASIS OF PEDIATRIC DISEASE, 2023-2025

T32HL129949, National Institutes of Health, 2020-2022.

Medical Student Scholars Program in Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, 2013.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute Summer Research Grant, Miami University, 2011.

Stevenson Fund Research Grant, Miami University, 2011.