Laura M. Panko, MD, FAAP

Laura Panko, MD received her medical degree from the Medical College of Ohio, Toledo. She completed her residency in Pediatrics at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Following her residency, Dr. Panko worked as a hospitalist in the pediatric critical care unit at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh until joining the Paul C. Gaffney Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine in 2007. A dedicated clinician-educator, she practices part time as a teaching hospitalist for the PHM division on the general pediatric wards.

Panko is director of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Pediatric Acting Internship elective and in that role serves as an informal core residency advisor for medical students interested in a career in Pediatrics. She also serves as a faculty mentor to pediatric residents as part of the Children's Hospital Bridges Mentoring Program. Due to a special interest in pediatric feeding problems and nutrition, she was a physician member of the Children’s Hospital Feeding and Swallowing Center until 2018. Panko has more recently directed this interest to projects focusing on food insecurity in children and is an active member of the Children's Hospital Food Insecurity Task Force.

Professional and Scientific Society Memberships

• American Academy of Pediatrics, Fellow, 2002-Present