The Institute introduces first Associate Chief Medical Officer Position

Kennedy Krieger Institute, an internationally renowned organization with the mission of improving the lives of children and adolescents with disorders and injuries of the brain, spinal cord and musculoskeletal system, is expanding its medical leadership team with the appointment of S. Ali Fatemi, MD, MBA, as chief medical officer (CMO) and the introduction of a new position, associate CMO, held by Suzanne Rybczynski, MD.

Dr. Fatemi has been on the faculty at Kennedy Krieger since 2008 and is an associate professor of neurology and pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He most recently served as director of the Institute’s Division of Neurogenetics and Moser Center for Leukodystrophies, a position in which he will continue to hold. As CMO, Dr. Fatemi oversees the Institute’s medical programs, clinical research programs, and related operations.

Dr. Fatemi received his medical degree from the Medical University of Vienna, Austria in 1999, and an MBA from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School in 2016. After graduation from medical school, he served as a researcher and lecturer at the Institute for Medical Chemistry in Vienna and completed an internship in pediatrics at the Vienna General Hospital. He was recruited by Dr. Hugo W. Moser as a post-doctoral fellow in neurogenetics and neuroimaging research at Kennedy Krieger in 2001, and gained expertise in leukodystrophies, a group of rare genetic diseases that affect the brain's white matter. He then left Kennedy Krieger Institute to train in general pediatrics and completed a child neurology residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, in Boston. Dr. Fatemi returned to the Kennedy Krieger Institute in 2008 as a faculty member and founded the Moser Center for Leukodystrophiesin 2013. He conducts both laboratory research and clinical trials in rare genetic diseases and leukodystrophies, and is viewed as one of the top experts for these diseases. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland, with his wife and two sons.

“Dr. Fatemi brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this position, not only as an experienced researcher and clinician but as someone who has been at the organization for over a decade and knows how to execute the organization’s mission,” said Dr. Bradley Schlaggar, president and CEO of Kennedy Krieger. “We know that his leadership will continue to motivate and inspire our medical team to continue to provide the highest quality of care for our patients.”

Dr. Rybczynski, who will serve as the Institute’s first associate CMO, was most recently medical director of the Institute’s Pediatric Rehabilitation Unit and is also a current clinician at Kennedy Krieger and an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. In her new position she will focus on safety, quality and regulatory issues.

“In recognizing the unique breadth of the CMO position, we created the position of associate CMO to provide even more oversight and support for our medical staff,” said James Anders, chief operating officer at Kennedy Krieger. “Dr. Rybczynski was a natural fit given her extensive experience at the Institute. We look forward to her stepping into this new role.”

Dr. Rybczynski received a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Mississippi in 1991 and her Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Mississippi School of Medicine in 1995. She completed her residency in pediatrics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas in 1998. Following her residency, she worked as an attending physician at Children's Medical Center of Dallas. She worked as a general pediatrician and pediatric hospitalist prior to joining the faculty at Kennedy Krieger in 2008. Dr. Rybczynski provides pediatric care to patients on the comprehensive inpatient neurorehabilitation unit at Kennedy Krieger. Her clinical interests include spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, pediatric pain rehabilitation, and post-orthopedic surgery rehabilitation. A published researcher, Dr. Rybczynski lives in Parkville, Maryland, with her husband and two sons.

Michelle Melicosta, MD, MPH, FAAP has been appointed medical director of the Inpatient Pediatric Rehabilitation Unit, the position previously held by Dr. Rybczynski. In this position, she provides comprehensive, pediatric neurorehabilitative care as part of the interdisciplinary care team for infants, children and teens at Kennedy Krieger. Her clinical interests include spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, pediatric pain rehabilitation, and post-orthopedic surgery rehabilitation.

Dr. Melicosta received a Bachelor of Arts and a Doctorate of Medicine from Brown University. She also earned a master’s degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University. She completed her residency in pediatrics at the University of Minnesota in 1997. Following her residency, she worked as the director of the Adolescent Clinic at the Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center. She was then a pediatrician at the Whittier Street Health Center in Boston where she developed a grant-winning program to integrate primary care pediatrics and mental health services. After her time in Massachusetts, she served as a pediatrician for the Indian Health Service in New Mexico and the Weisbaden Army Airfield in Germany. Her volunteer experience includes an internship in the Peace Corps in Swaziland and with the Self-Employed Women's Association in India. She is board-certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She is currently a participant in the multi-center acute flaccid myelitis workgroup. Dr. Melicosta lives in Ellicott City, Maryland, with her husband and two sons.

About Kennedy Krieger Institute:

Internationally recognized for improving the lives of children and adolescents with disorders and injuries of the brain, spinal cord and musculoskeletal system, Kennedy Krieger Institute in the greater Baltimore/Washington, D.C. region serves 24,000 individuals a year through inpatient and outpatient clinics, home and community services, and school-based programs. Kennedy Krieger provides a wide range of services for children with neurological issues, from mild to severe, and is home to a team of investigators who are contributing to the understanding of how disorders develop, while at the same time pioneering new interventions and methods of early diagnosis. Visit KennedyKrieger.org for more information about Kennedy Krieger.