Dr. Pooja R. Spector

Dr. Pooja Reddy Spector is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and an Attending Pediatrician at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital. She practices in the Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation.Prior to her faculty appointment, Dr. Spector earned a BA in Economics from the University of Virginia prior to pursuing her medical education at Emory University School of Medicine. She completed her residency in Pediatrics at The Children's Hospital at Montefiore and clinical fellowships in Pediatric Gastroenterology and Advanced Transplant Hepatology at NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia University Medical Center. During this time, she pursued formal training in Patient Safety research and earned a Master's degree in Epidemiology from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Spector is board certified in Pediatrics, Pediatric Gastroenterology, and Pediatric Transplant Hepatology.Dr. Spector's clinical practice is focused on the management of pediatric patients with a range of liver diseases including neonatal cholestasis, biliary atresia, rare metabolic diseases, viral hepatitis, liver tumors including hepatoblastoma, and autoimmune liver disease. She has completed advanced training in the management of pediatric liver and intestinal failure and is experienced in caring for patients both prior to and after undergoing liver, intestinal and multi-visceral transplants. Dr. Spector performs several procedures including percutaneous liver biopsy, endoscopy, variceal band-ligation and colonoscopy. While caring for patients, she aims to educate both her patients and their families as they work together toward shared decision-making and optimal treatment outcomes.Dr. Spector's research interests include patient safety, quality improvement and assurance, as well as epidemiology and outcomes of pediatric liver diseases and transplant. During her time as a Patient Safety Research Fellow, she focused on utilizing health information technology to prevent medical errors and improve the quality and efficiency with which patient care is delivered. She continues this work as part of the Empire Clinical Research Investigator Program (ECRIP).

Her top areas of expertise are Hepatoblastoma and Biliary Atresia.