Christine Pazandak, M.D. Titles and Appointments Assistant Professor Schools Medical School Departments Pediatrics You have reached the Academic Profile. For more information on the doctor and patient care, please visit the clinical profile. Biography Christine Pazandak, M.D., M.S.C.I., M.P.H., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She specializes in neonatal-perinatal medicine. Dr. Pazandak’s research focuses on neonatal brain injury, neonatal brain development, infant-parent bonding, mental health resources for families, medical-legal partnerships, and health care policy. She earned her medical degree at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and simultaneously completed a Master of Public Health through a collaboration with the UT Health Science Center in Houston. Dr. Pazandak completed a residency in pediatrics at UT Southwestern and Children’s Medical Center Dallas and received advanced training through a neonatal and perinatal medicine fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis, where she also earned a Master of Science in clinical investigation. Certified by the American Board of Pediatrics, she joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2021. Dr. Pazandak has presented and published widely within her research areas and has also written a chapter of the book Necrotizing Enterocolitis: Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Treatment. She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, the Newborn Brain Society, and the Academic Pediatric Association. Dr. Pazandak is a scholar in the Academic Pediatric Association’s Health Policy Scholars Program. She is also Vice Chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics National Advocacy campaign, Together in Care, aimed at empowering neonatal teams to improve palliative care for neonatal patients. In 2013, she received the Gold Humanism Award from UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. In 2026, Dr. Pazandak has earned a travel grant from the Committee on Federal Government Affairs/Committee on State Government Affairs to support her advocacy work and is a repeat recipient of UT Southwestern’s PACT award. Education Medical School University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (2014) Residency UT Southwestern/Children's Medical Center (2017), Pediatrics Other Post Graduate Training Washington University (2021) Fellowship Washington University/B-JH//SLCH Consortium Program (2021), Neonatal-perinatal Medicine Research Interest Health Care Policy Infant-Parent Bonding Medical Legal Partnerships Mental Health Resources for NICU Families Neonatal Brain Development Neonatal Brain Injury Quality Improvement Resident/Fellow Education Publications Featured Publications Promoting bonding and secure attachment in the NICU to improve parent-infant mental health: recommendations for clinical practice. Yui Y, Pazandak CC, Barbeau DY, Spencer M, Scala M, Givrad S, J Perinatol 2026 Jan Medical legal partnerships in the neonatal intensive care unit. Pazandak CC, Alden M, Schulman S, Shah S, Schoppa S, Semin Perinatol 2025 Dec 152192 Burden of chronic disease on NICU families: developmental outcomes, psychological effects, and vulnerable child syndrome. Amiri S, Prelipcean I, Pazandak C, Hoge MK, Punar M, Spencer M, Shaw RJ, J Perinatol 2025 Nov Continuum of care for patients through medical-legal partnership: improving the transition from NICU stay to home. Pazandak CC, Shah S, Schoppa S, J Perinatol 2025 Aug Timing of initiation of therapeutic hypothermia in neonates with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy born at a high-volume urban safety net hospital. Pazandak CC, Martinez MG, Whiting ME, Kota S, Brown LS, Chalak LF, Leon RL, Early Hum Dev 2025 Mar 204 106249 Understanding and addressing mental health challenges of families admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. Osborne AD, Yasova Barbeau D, Gladdis T, Hansen K, Branche T, Miller ER, Pazandak CC, Hoge MK, Spencer M, Montoya-Williams D, Barbeau R, Padratzik H, Lassen S, J Perinatol 2024 Dec Implementation of morbidity and mortality conference in a community hospital NICU and narrative review. Chan C, Pazandak C, Angelis D, Front Pediatr 2023 11 1321296 Placental Pathology, Cerebral Blood Flow, and Intraventricular Hemorrhage in Preterm Infants: Is There a Link? Pazandak C, Mir IN, Brown LS, Chalak LF, Pediatr. Neurol. 2020 Jan Blood Pressure Profiles in Infants With Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE), Response to Dopamine, and Association With Brain Injury. Pazandak C, McPherson C, Abubakar M, Zanelli S, Fairchild K, Vesoulis Z, Front Pediatr 2020 8 512 Scrotal Rupture in a Premature Neonate with Cystic Fibrosis as a Consequence of Meconium Periorchitis Bedgood M, Cortelyou C, Blanco C, Fonseca R, Moreira A. Medical Student Research Journal 2016 Results 1-10 of 12 1 2 Next Last Honors & Awards Above and Beyond AwardUT Southwestern Medical Center (2014-2016) Gold Humanism AwardUT Health Science Center at San Antonio (2013) Woman of the Heart recipientCor Jesu Academy, St. Louis, MO (2011) Professional Associations/Affiliations American Academy of Pediatrics American Medical Association Pediatric Society of Greater Dallas Texas Medical Association Texas Pediatric Society The Arnold P. Gold Foundation
