BFAM Member Spotlights

Meet the members of the Stanford Medicine Black Faculty Affinity Meetings (BFAM), a network created through OFDD's Community Support Initiative. BFAM is intended to provide networking and social engagement opportunities for Stanford Medicine faculty across all clinical lines and departments.

Caroline Okorie, MD, MPH

Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pulmonary, Asthma and Sleep

Associate Program Director, Pediatrics Residency Program

Research Interests
Sleep Medicine, Physician well-being, health literacy and how to improve communication between physician and patient in a way that empowers patients and families to take a role in their own care.

Something you wouldn’t know just by looking at me.
I love all music and am currently diligently curating my vinyl record collection.

Full Stanford Profile

Clinical Associate Professor, Pediatrics - Pulmonary Medicine

(650) 497-8845

cokorie@stanford.edu

Bio

Dr. Okorie is board certified in pediatric pulmonology, sleep medicine and general pediatrics and joined the Division of Pediatric Pulmonary, Asthma and Sleep Medicine in 2018. She obtained her medical degree and Master’s in Public Health at the University of Arizona before going on to a residency and chief residency in pediatrics at Oregon Health & Science University. She completed her fellowship training in both pediatric pulmonary medicine and sleep medicine at Stanford University. She has a passion for medical education and serves as an Associate Program Director for the Pediatric Residency Program at Stanford. She treats children with a variety of lung diseases, including: asthma, chronic cough, cystic fibrosis, chronic respiratory failure, and chronic lung disease of prematurity. Her additional training in sleep medicine allows her expertise to treat sleep disorders, including: sleep disordered breathing, parasomnias, narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome, and insomnia.

Publications

Sparking a Movement, Not a Moment: Framework and Outcomes From a Pediatrics Department-Wide Coalition to Advance Anti-Racism ACADEMIC PEDIATRICS Yemane, L., Ramirez, M., Guerin, A., Floyd, B., Okorie, C. A., Ling, W., Addala, A., Figg, L., Talley, E. M., Chamberlain, L. 2023; 23 (5): 886-892 More

View details for Web of Science ID 001039988800001
A Visiting Rotation for Underrepresented in Medicine Pediatric Residents Is Valuable for Recruitment Into Pediatric Fellowships. Journal of graduate medical education Okorie, C. U., Kibrom, S., Rotandi, C. L., Guerin, A., Gans, H. A., Blankenburg, R. 2023; 15 (3): 397-399 More

View details for DOI 10.4300/JGME-D-22-00793.1

View details for PubMedID 37363674
ATS Core Curriculum 2022. Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine: Updates in pediatric neuromuscular disease. Pediatric pulmonology Leon-Astudillo, C., Okorie, C. U., McCown, M. Y., Dy, F. J., Puranik, S., Prero, M., ElMallah, M. K., Treat, L., Gross, J. E. 2023 More

Abstract

The American Thoracic Society Core Curriculum updates clinicians annually in pediatric pulmonary disease. This is a concise review of the Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine Core Curriculum presented at the 2022 American Thoracic Society International Conference. Neuromuscular diseases (NMD) comprise a variety of conditions that commonly affect the respiratory system and cause significant morbidity including dysphagia, chronic respiratory failure, and sleep disordered breathing. Respiratory failure is the most common cause of mortality in this population. Substantial progress has been made in diagnosis, monitoring and treatment for NMD over the last decade. Pulmonary function testing (PFT) is utilized to objectively measure respiratory pump function and PFT milestones are utilized in NMD-specific pulmonary care guidelines. New disease modifying therapies are approved for the treatment of patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), including the first ever approved systemic gene therapy, in the case of SMA. Despite extraordinary progress in the medical management of NMD, little is known regarding the respiratory implications and long-term outcomes for patients in the era of advanced therapeutics and precision medicine. The combination of technological and biomedical advancements has increased the complexity of the medical decision-making process for patients and families, thus emphasizing the importance of balancing respect for autonomy with the other foundational principles of medical ethics. This review features an overview of PFT, noninvasive ventilation strategies, novel and developing therapies, as well as the ethical considerations specific to the management of patients with pediatric NMD.

View details for DOI 10.1002/ppul.26448

View details for PubMedID 37144867
Sparking a Movement, Not a Moment: Framework and Outcomes from a Pediatrics Department-Wide Coalition to Advance Anti-Racism: Running Title: Pediatrics Department Coalition to Advance Anti-Racism. Academic pediatrics Yemane, L., Ramirez, M., Guerin, A., Floyd, B., Okorie, C. U., Ling, W., Addala, A., Figg, L., Talley, E. M., Chamberlain, L. 2022 More

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The Stanford Pediatrics Advancing Anti-Racism Coalition (SPAARC) was created to promote a culture of anti-racism through immediate action, development of nimble systems, and longitudinal commitment towards equity.OBJECTIVE: Evaluate gaps in the Stanford Department of Pediatrics (DoP) efforts to advance anti-racism and form a coalition of faculty, staff, and trainees to prioritize, design, and implement targeted activities with immediate and long-term measurable outcomes.METHODS: A needs assessment was conducted across all DoP members in July-August 2020 to identify gaps in anti-racism efforts. Listening sessions were recorded and transcribed to extrapolate key themes and two rounds of consensus surveys were done to identify and prioritize actions. Actions teams were created and co-led by faculty-staff dyads with trainee representation. A final activity survey was conducted in January 2021 to determine the specific activities (i.e., interventions) each team would design and implement.RESULTS: Ten small group listening sessions (70 participants) and three surveys (1005 responses) led to the creation of seven action teams with associated activities (1) training (2) community engagement and research (3) communication (4) faculty and staff recruitment and advancement (5) leadership representation (6) human resources, and (7) staff engagement. 443 (41%) DoP members were directly involved in SPAARC through participation in the needs assessment, action teams, and/or implementation of activities.CONCLUSION: SPAARC can serve as an adaptable framework for how a DoP can create a coalition to identify gaps in anti-racism efforts and create and implement targeted activities with associated outcomes.

View details for DOI 10.1016/j.acap.2022.10.003

View details for PubMedID 36216211
Pediatric Pulmonary Year in Review 2021: Sleep Medicine. Pediatric pulmonology Okorie, C. U., Afolabi-Brown, O., Tapia, I. E. 2022 More

Abstract

Pediatric pulmonology publishes original research, review articles, and case reports on a wide variety of pediatric respiratory disorders. In this article, we summarized the past year's publications in sleep medicine and reviewed selected literature from other journals in this field. We focused on original research articles exploring aspects of sleep-disordered breathing in patients with underlying conditions such as Cystic Fibrosis, asthma, and sickle cell disease. We also explored sleep-disordered breathing risk factors, monitoring, diagnosis, and treatment; and included recent recommendations for drug-induced sleep endoscopy and ways to monitor and improve PAP adherence remotely. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

View details for DOI 10.1002/ppul.26047

View details for PubMedID 35779240

see all 17 publications

BFAM Member Spotlights

Caroline Okorie, MD, MPH

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