On October 22 at The Lundquist Institute in Torrance, California, the Institute celebrated the investiture of Lynn M. Smith, MD as the J. Usha Raj Endowed Professor of Pediatrics. Smith is an investigator at The Lundquist Institute; professor and chair, Department of Pediatrics, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center; professor of pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; and associate director, clinical and community research resources program, UCLA Clinical and Translational Science Institute at The Lundquist Institute. Her work specializes in understanding the effects of perinatal stress on the developing brain.
Dr. Raj, the award's namesake, is a nationally and internationally renowned neonatologist and clinician and investigator. She is the Anjuli S. Nayak Endowed Professor of Pediatrics, the head of the Department of Pediatrics, and physician-in-chief at the Children's Hospital University of Illinois. Dr. Raj is a friend of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, a WHAMglobal Board member, and a fellow member of the International Women's Forum along with Karen Wolk Feinstein, PhD, President and CEO of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, and Debra Caplan, MPA, Chair of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation and WHAMglobal Boards.