Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine Division Welcomes New Faculty Kristina Gaietto, MD, MPH
May 20, 2022
The Division of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh is pleased to welcome Kristina Gaietto, MD, MPH, FAAP. Dr. Gaietto will join the Division as a clinical instructor of Pediatrics immediately upon completing her fellowship training in the Division in June 2022.
Dr. Gaietto earned her undergraduate degrees in Zoology and Political Science from Miami University College of Arts and Sciences in Oxford Ohio. She then earned her medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, followed by pediatric residency and pediatric pulmonary medicine fellowship at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. During fellowship training she earned the distinction of First Year Fellow of the Year in 2020. In 2015, Dr. Gaietto was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society which recognizes health care providers and students who have demonstrated a commitment and devotion to patient-centric, compassionate care.
In addition to her medical training at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Gaietto also earned a multidisciplinary Master’s in Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health simultaneously with her fellowship training.
Dr. Gaietto also is a NIH T32 postdoctoral scholar conducting research in the laboratory of division chief Juan C. Celedón, MD, DrPH, ATSF, where she has a focus on studying how various forms of stress, including exposure to violence and child maltreatment, affect children with asthma. Dr. Gaietto also is currently studying how the SARS-Cov-2 virus and COVID-19 disease affect children with asthma.
At the 2022 American Thoracic Society annual meeting, Dr. Gaietto’s abstract, “Asthma as a Risk Factor for Hospitalization in Children with COVID-19: A Nested Case-Control Study,” was recognized as “Best of Pediatrics” by the ATS Pediatrics Assembly.
Selection of Recent Published Research
Gaietto K, Celedón JC. Child maltreatment and asthma. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2022 May 18. doi: 10.1002/ppul.25982. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35583017.
Gaietto K, Freeman MC, DiCicco LA, Rauenswinter S, Squire JR, Aldewereld Z, Iagnemma J, Campfield BT, Wolfson D, Kazmerski TM, Forno E. Asthma as a risk factor for hospitalization in children with COVID-19: A nested case-control study. Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2022 Jan; 33(1): e13696. doi: 10.1111/pai.13696. Epub 2021 Nov 24. PMID: 34775650; PMCID: PMC8646549.
Gaietto K, Han YY, Forno E, Bacharier LB, Phipatanakul W, Guilbert TW, Cabana MD, Ross K, Blatter J, Acosta-Pérez E, Miller GE, de la Hoz RE, Rosser FJ, Durrani S, Canino G, Wisniewski SR, Celedón JC. Violence-related distress and lung function in two longitudinal studies of youth. Eur Respir J. 2022 May 12; 59(5): 2102329. doi: 10.1183/13993003.02329-2021. PMID: 34588198; PMCID: PMC8960476.
Shaffer RC, Pedapati EV, Shic F, Gaietto K, Bowers K, Wink LK, Erickson CA. Brief Report: Diminished Gaze Preference for Dynamic Social Interaction Scenes in Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders. J Autism Dev Disord. 2017 Feb; 47(2): -513. doi: 10.1007/s10803-016-2975-2. PMID: 27878742.
Gaietto KM, Rumschlag SL, Boone MD. Effects of pesticide exposure and the amphibian chytrid fungus on gray treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis) metamorphosis. Environ Toxicol Chem. 2014 Oct; 33(10): 2358-62. doi: 10.1002/etc.2689. Epub 2014 Aug 22. PMID: 25044296.
