Adam J. Ratner, MD

I have always enjoyed solving puzzles, and that is why I decided to become an infectious disease specialist. It is both challenging and rewarding to diagnose and manage complicated illnesses in children.

As the director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone, I ensure that children who have an infection or who are at risk of developing one receive the highest-quality care. In this role, I care for premature babies and children with cancer, immune system deficiencies, and other illnesses.

I enjoy collaborating with doctors in every specialty to help children, ranging from newborns to young adults, recover from a variety of infections. I am particularly interested in infections that occur in newborns, including bacterial sepsis and viral infections such as respiratory syncytial virus. During the pandemic, my colleagues and I helped to determine the most effective ways to diagnose and treat COVID-19 in children and prevent the disease through vaccination.

In addition to caring for patients, I enjoy teaching medical students, residents, and fellows. I also direct a National Institutes of Health–funded research laboratory. It is best to prevent infections in the first place, so I conduct research on vaccines and other methods for prevention. One of my main areas of interest is preventing infections caused by group B Streptococcus, which is a leading cause of meningitis and bloodstream infections in newborns.