Kristine Schmitz, MD, FAAP
Assistant Professor, Physician-Scientist
Division of Population Health, Quality, and Implementation Science (PopQuIS)
Department of Pediatrics, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Dr. Kristine Schmitz is a board-certified primary care pediatrician with a career in advancing the health and well-being of socially complex families through clinical innovation, program development, and research. She earned her medical degree from Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, DC, and completed her pediatric residency at Inova Children’s Hospital in Falls Church, Virginia.

Dr. Schmitz’s research focuses on understanding how social and systemic factors shape family and community health, with a particular emphasis on parental mental health and its influence on childhood outcomes. Her work highlights the critical interplay between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and positive childhood experiences (PCEs) on child health.

Before joining Rutgers, Dr. Schmitz was an Assistant Professor at Drexel University and the founder and medical director of the Center for Collaborative Primary Care at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children.  The Center for Collaborative Primary Care is a trauma- and resilience-informed medical home for families navigating high social risk in North Philadelphia. Prior to that, she was an Assistant Professor at George Washington University and Children’s National Hospital, where she served as Medical Director of the Healthy Generations Program, a multidisciplinary medical home for teen parents and their children in Washington, DC.

Dr. Schmitz’s presentation will explore the often-overlooked topic of fathers’ mental health, its profound effects on child health and development, and the importance of integrating paternal mental health into pediatric care practice.