Program Leadership

lmcqueen@peds.bsd.uchicago.edu

Dr. Alisa McQueen completed her residency at the Boston Combined Residency in Pediatrics and Fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital.  She joined the University of Chicago faculty in 2008 and now considers herself an official Midwesterner.  She will even eat fried twinkies.  She is dedicated to innovative curriculum development, including the use  of high fidelity simulation based clinical education, and prides herself on getting to know each resident personally.

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norlov@bsd.uchicago.edu

Nicola Orlov is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Program Director for the Pediatric Residency Training Program as well as Associate Chair of Education for the Department of Pediatrics. She is a graduate of the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine (PSOM) and subsequently stayed at the institution where completed her Residency Training and Chief Resident year.  She completed an MPH at Columbia University and graduated from The Medical Education Research Innovation Teaching and Scholarship (MERITS) fellowship from the University of Chicago.  She currently serves as the Chapter Advisor at the PSOM for the Gold Humanism Honor Society. 

Dr. Orlov is board-certified in Pediatric Hospital Medicine.  She is an exemplar educator and mentor who is recognized repeatedly for her teaching and mentorship.   Her clinical research is directed at improving the sleep of hospitalized children. Her medical education scholarship and interests lie in the area of humanism, professional development and mentorship.  She also has a strong interest in teaching communication skills and interprofessional collaboration.   

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rnaylor@bsd.uchicago.edu

An active researcher, Dr. Naylor completed her Pediatric Residency, Chief Residency, and Pediatric Endocrinology Fellowship at the University of Chicago.  When she is not studying intern applicant files, she researches monogenetic diabetes.

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bpalama@bsd.uchicago.edu

Brett Palama is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Section of Pediatric Hospital Medicine.  He completed medical school and a Master’s degree in Clinical Research at the University of Michigan, followed by pediatrics residency and chief residency at University of Chicago Medicine.  He then completed fellowship in Pediatric Hospital Medicine at Stanford Medicine, with a focus on quality and performance improvement.  His academic interests are in the field of pediatric patient safety, as well as resident and fellow education in quality improvement.  He is engaged in improvement projects across Comer Children’s Hospital, and is a mentor for both local and national QI initiatives.

Born and raised on the west coast, Dr. Palama enjoys spending time with his wife and son, traveling, spending time outdoors, and workshopping Hawaiian comfort food recipes.

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malkureishi@bsd.uchicago.edu

Originally from Southern California, Dr. Lolita (Maria) Alkureishi completed her medical school and residency training at the University of California, San Francisco.  She moved to Chicago in 2009 when her husband began his residency training at UofC, and is happy to call Chicago her new home!  Her main clinical focus and happy place is in the outpatient setting, serving as a primary care pediatrician with Friend Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center, where she sees mainly underserved and Spanish-Speaking patients at their Pulaski location, as well as in our newborn nursery.  As Clerkship Director, along with Dr. Erin King, she oversees medical student education in pediatrics for the Prtizker School of Medicine, and as Assistant Program Director of Primary Care Training, she oversees resident training in the ambulatory setting. 

• Scholarly/Clinical Interests:
  • I have an interest in the patient-doctor relationship and communication particularly as it relates to technology use. I'm interested in all aspects of primary care, particularly healthy lifestyle guidance, and I love teaching medical students and residents!
• Where might residents/fellows work alongside you?
  • Probably in clinic seeing patients at Friend Health, an FQHC over on 56th and Pulaski. I do spend some time in the nursery as well!
• What is your life philosophy? Teaching philosophy? Favorite motto?
  • Kindness and gratitude goes a long way in all situations...and seek to fix things where you can!
• If you had to compare yourself to a fruit or vegetable, which one would it be? Why!?
  • Cucumbers and mangos make me happy, and I tend to be a positive person, so if I were a fruit/veggie, I'd hope to be one of them.
• Where might we find you around Chicagoland? Where do you live, favorite neighborhoods, etc.?
  • At home with my girls (Aya is 9, Poppy is 6) and husband, hitting the zoo, swimming at the pool, and doing arts and crafts. Traveling when we can! Just back from Playa Del Carmen and swimming with sea turtles!
• What was the last book you read? Would you recommend it?
  • La Gallinita Roja - highly advise. Great story about the importance of hard work :)
• What do you think you would have pursued if you hadn't gone into medicine?
  • Kindergarten teacher...or librarian.
• Do you have any hidden talents you would like to share? What are you passionate about?
  • No hidden talents, all my talents are on full display!

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wdarlington@bsd.uchicago.edu

Dr. Wendy Darlington completed her pediatric residency at UT Southwestern/Children’s Medical Center Dallas prior to coming to the University of Chicago for pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship. After completing her fellowship, including a Masters of Public Policy at the Harris School, she stayed on as faculty. She is passionate about advocacy of all forms and passing it along to future generations of amazing pediatricians. She loves living in Chicago with her wife, toddler daughter and son, and their dog Cooper.

• Scholarly/Clinical Interests:
  • I'm interested in how social risks play a role in patient outcomes, particularly looking at food insecurity among patients with sickle cell disease. I also hold multiple roles in medical education at both the resident and fellowship level. Clinically, I take care of a broad range of patients with pediatric hematologic and oncologic diseases.
• Where might residents/fellows work alongside you?
  • Comer, La Rabida, Merrillville - lots of places!
• What is your life philosophy? Teaching philosophy? Favorite motto?
  • Life is short, surround yourself by those that you love, doing things you love. Curiosity is key.
• If you had to compare yourself to a fruit or vegetable, which one would it be? Why!?
  • Hmmm...pomegranate? I feel like I might appear to be solid and tough on the outside but on the inside there are lots of different parts of myself - you have to crack through the outside to get to know me.
• Where might we find you around Chicagoland? Where do you live, favorite neighborhoods, etc.?
  • I live in Oak Park with my wife and two young kids. Oak Park is awesome, always happy to have people come out and see what its all about! (If I'm being honest, I love it way more than I thought after being in the city.) Prior to that I lived in South Loop and Roscoe Village.
• What was the last book you read? Would you recommend it?
  • Severance by Ling Ma. It is a good post-pandemic read, somewhat eerie that it was written pre-COVID but has many similarities. You can find me looking for book recs and putting them out there on the book slack for the residency.
• What do you think you would have pursued if you hadn't gone into medicine?
  • Hmmm...well maybe music as I originally thought, but much like medicine I think if you could have pictured doing something else you would have made that decision.
• Do you have any hidden talents you would like to share? What are you passionate about?
  • I started taking ceramics classes and am working on perfecting a cylinder on the pottery wheel, which is fun! Passionate about the people I love in my life - family, friends, and those yet to enter.

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I've lived in and around Chicago since the late 20th century, and plan to stay for at least another century. Passionate about bad jokes, my plant babies, kindness, and working to help provide equitable care for the incredible kiddos in Chicago. Have loved learning about opportunities to do this via primary care as a LUCENT scholar! I'm also a professional dancer with Natya Dance Theatre (a Chicago-based company specializing in Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian art form), and enjoy pretending like the Bulls are serious Finals contenders each year.

I'm from Salt Lake City, Utah and did both undergraduate and medical school training there. You can always find me searching for peanut butter packets in the hospital or looking for my car keys. Outside of work, I love trying new Chicago restaurants with my husband, exploring all the neighborhoods, and finding places in the Midwest to hike and enjoy nature.

Chris was born in Rochester, New York, but grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana prior to attending Indiana University for his undergraduate education. He then came to Chicago for medical school at University of Chicago and has not yet found a reason to leave. He was particularly drawn to the tight-knit community of residents and supportive faculty within the pediatric residency program. In his free time, he enjoys participating in group fitness activities, eating his way around the city, and laying on his couch.