Program Directors and Leadership

Jerry Rushton MD, MPH

is the Pediatric Program Director. Jerry is in his 7th year as Program Director. He was previously a resident and Chief as IU. He was a fellow at the University of North Carolina and completed an MPH at UNC in 1999. Dr. Rushton was on faculty at the University of Michigan in General Pediatrics and Health Services Research. He has published several articles on ADHD and mental health disorders in primary care. Dr. Rushton's clinical practice is at Riley Hospital in the outpatient General Pediatrics clinic. He is on the national Board of Program Directors (APPD).

D. Wade Clapp, MD

is the Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics. He is a neonatologist and physician-scientist who completed his training at Indiana and Case Western. His research work has been pioneering in neurofibromatosis and Fanconi Anemia. His team's research in the Wells Center has translated into clinical trials and improved care. He is still involved actively in clinical care in the NICU. Wade is also a dedicated teacher and mentor, serving as the director of the IU MD/PhD training program.

Mary Ciccarelli, MD

is the Associate Chair for Education of the Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Ciccarelli was the first graduate of the IUSM Medicine-Pediatrics residency program in 1986. She joined the faculty in 1991 and became the first combined Medicine-Pediatrics program director in 1993 until assuming the role of Associate Chair in 2006. She is past president of the Medicine-Pediatrics Program Directors' Association and a participant in the American Board of Pediatrics Residency Review and Redesign Project Committee. She is a primary care Medicine-Pediatric physician, and serves as the medical director of the Center for Youth and Adults with Conditions of Childhood which promotes the transition of youth with special health care needs into successful adulthood.

Alex Djuricich, MD

is the Program Director for Medicine-Pediatrics. Growing up in Chicago and attending Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, he subsequently received his Med-Peds residency training here at Indiana University. He has worked as a Med-Peds physician in a primary care group practice in Michigan. After completing a primary care faculty development fellowship program at Michigan State University, he returned to Indiana University in 2001. His clinical practice includes both adults and children. He has a special interest in adolescent medicine. He is the President-Elect to the national MedPeds Program Director association (MPPDA).

Abigail Klemsz, MD, PhD

is an Associate Pediatric Program Director. Abby received her Ph.D. from Indiana University School of Medicine in the department of Microbiology and Immunology. She also received her MD from IU and stayed at IU for her pediatric residency. She spent 5 years in private practice and a clinic practice before returning to Riley in 2002 to join the section of Developmental Pediatrics as an assistant professor of clinical pediatrics. She is the state medical director for Reach Out and Read, an early literacy program. Her clinical interests include developmental disabilities, failure to thrive, palliative care and children with complex care needs. She is a Board Member of the Indiana Clinic.

Edward Liechty, MD

is an Associate Pediatric Program Director. He is a graduate of Indiana University School of Medicine. He completed a Pediatrics residency and Fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at Indiana University/Riley Children's Hospital. He then was a member if the Faculty at West Virginia University from 1983 - 1987, returning to Riley in 1987. He is presently Professor of Pediatrics. He has spent much of his career conducting basic research in fetal metabolic physiology. He is also interested in International Pediatrics, and was a Fulbright Scholar at Moi University in Kenya for the 2003-2004 academic year.

Emily Walvoord , MD

is an Associate Program Director. She was a resident and Chief resident at Northwestern. She completed her fellowship in Pediatric Endocrinology at IU and has been on faculty for the past 7 years. Her main research interest is in growth disorders and she recently published a textbook about precocious puberty. She joined our leadership team in 2007 and is involved in residency council, conference planning, and medical decision-making.