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Melissa M. Tavarez, MD, MS

  • Associate Vice Chair of Faculty Development and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
  • Associate Program Director, Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh

Administrative Assistant: Danielle Harvey

Tavarez received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry from Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, NY in 2003, graduating magna cumlaude. She received her MD degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, NY in 2007. She completed her General Pediatrics residency training at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC from June 2007 until June 2010. She then pursued subspecialty training in Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC, completing her fellowship training in 2013. She is board-certified in General Pediatrics and Pediatric Emergency Medicine.

In 2013, Tavarez joined the Division of Emergency Medicine as faculty in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics. Since assuming her faculty position, Tavarez has completed a Master of Science degree in Medical Education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Institute for Clinical Research Education. In 2019, she was appointed the Associate Program Director for the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship Program.

Professional and Scientific Society Memberships

  • American Academy of Pediatrics, 2007-Present
  • American College of Emergency Physicians, 2010-Present

Education & Training

  • BS, Biochemistry, Roberts Wesleyan College, 2003
  • MD, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, 2007
  • Residency in General Pediatrics, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, 2007-2010
  • Fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Children's National Medical Center, 2010-2013

Selected Publications

Tavarez MM, Saladino RA, Gaines BA, Manole MD. Prevalence, clinical features and management of pediatric magnetic foreign body ingestions. The Journal of emergency medicine. 2013 Jan; 44 (1):261-8. PMID: 22727803. 

Tavarez MM, Ayers B, Jeong JH, Coombs CM, Thompson A, Hickey R. Practice Variation and Effects of E-Mail Only Performance Feedback on Resource Use in the Emergency Department. Acad Emerg Med. 2017 May 4. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 28470786. 

Tavarez MM, Kenkre TS, Zuckerbraun N. Evidence-Based Medicine Curriculum Improves Pediatric Emergency Fellows' Scores on In-Training Examinations. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2017 May 30. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 28562466. 

Pulcini C, Ploof D, Hofkosh D, Tavarez M, Impact of an Institution-Wide Mentoring Program on a Single-Class Cohort of Pediatric Residents, MedEdPublish, 2018, 7, [2], 21, doi:https://doi.org/10.15694/mep.2018.0000089.1 

Ramgopal S, Walker LW, Tavarez MM, Nowalk AJ, Vitale MA. Serious Bacterial Infections in Neonates Presenting Afebrile With History of Fever. Pediatrics. 2019 Aug;144(2). PubMed PMID: 31345996. 

Academic and Research Interests

  • Educator Development of Medical Faculty 
  • Teaching Diagnostic Reasoning & Clinical Decision-Making