PolicyLab

Kate Wallis (she/her) is a faculty member at PolicyLab at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), an attending physician in CHOP’s Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania, and an associate fellow in Penn’s Center for Public Health Initiatives. Dr. Wallis has long been interested in understanding what is driving disparities in the identification and age of diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder among children from minority backgrounds. Her recent work has explored referrals made after young children screen positive for autism spectrum disorder during primary care pediatric well-child visits. She aims to continue to focus on improving the equity of identification of young children with developmental disorders and autism spectrum disorder, to help children from diverse backgrounds access earlier intervention.

Dr. Wallis earned her undergraduate degree in Health and Societies with a minor in Hispanic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She attended medical school at Stony Brook University School of Medicine, where she also earned a Master in Public Health degree. She completed pediatrics residency at NYU School of Medicine/Bellevue Hospital, followed by fellowship in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at CHOP. Dr. Wallis is the recipient of a Bright Futures Young Investigator Award from the Academic Pediatric Association.