Dr. Sanaz Devlin
Program Director
Dr. Sanaz Devlin earned her medical degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and completed her pediatric residency at Madigan Army Medical Center. She went on to obtain a Master of Medical Science in Medical Education Leadership in 2016. Dr. Devlin served as a pediatrician in the United States Army for 10 years before continuing her clinical career at Emory. She joined Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters in 2013 and in 2018, she assumed the role of Pediatric Residency Program Director.
Dr. J. Bryan Carmody
Associate Program Director
Dr. Bryan Carmody earned his medical degree from University of Virginia SOM and completed his pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters. He returned to University of Virginia for his fellowship in pediatric nephrology and a master’s in public health, then he joined CHKD Children’s Kidney Center as faculty. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Carmody teaches biostatistics, epidemiology and nephrology at EVMS/ODU. He has served as an Associate Program Director for the Pediatric Residency since 2019. In his spare time, he is known as the “Sheriff of Sodium.”
Dr. C. Jesús Meeks
Associate Program Director
Dr. Jesús Meeks earned his medical degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters. Dr. Meeks grew up in Norfolk, Virginia and was first introduced to Eastern Virginia Medical School and Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters through his participation in a local magnet school program. Dr. Meeks began his clinical career at Pediatric Associates in Norfolk, VA and later transitioned to CHKD Urgent Care. Dr. Meeks has served as an Associate Program Director for the Pediatric Residency since 2024.
Dr. Kaitlin Ryan-Smith
Associate Program Director
Dr. Ryan-Smith earned her medical degree from Drexel University, completed her pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters (CHKD) where she also served as Chief Resident. She went on to complete a fellowship in Neonatology at Duke University School of Medicine. Dr. Ryan-Smith returned to CHKD because of her appreciation for the critical and difficult work carried out by the NICU team, as well as a desire to give back to the residency program that had such a profound impact on her life. Dr. Ryan-Smith previously served as an Assistant Program Director of Simulation and Technology and transitioned to the role of Associate Program Director in 2024.
Dr. Sara Smith
Associate Program Director
Dr. Smith earned her master’s degree in health science reproductive and cancer biology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and went on to earn her medical degree at SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Smith completed her pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters, where she also served as Chief Resident. She currently practices at PDC Pediatrics and joined the Pediatric Residency Leadership Team in 2024 as an Associate Program Director.
Dr. Andria Tatem
Associate Program Director
Assistant Co-Director of Advocacy and Community Outreach
Dr. Tatem, a native of Norfolk, earned her medical degree from EVMS and completed her residency and chief residency at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters. She went on to complete a Fellowship in General Academic Pediatrics at Baylor. Dr. Tatem is an academic general pediatrician who returned to CHKD as the Medical Director for Mental Health Pediatrics and later transitioned to private practice at CHKD’s Pediatric Partners of Hampton Roads. Dr. Tatem joined the Pediatric Residency Leadership Team in 2023 as an Associate Program Director and as an Assistant Co-Director of Advocacy and Community Outreach.
Dr. Alex Leader
Assistant Director of Global Health
Assistant Co-Director of Advocacy and Community Outreach
Dr. Leader earned her medical degree from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and completed her pediatric residency at Mount Sinai Hospital. She went on to complete her Fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters. Dr. Leader has led the Global Health Track since its inception and became Assistant Co-Director of Advocacy and Community Outreach in 2023. Dr. Leader’s dual involvement in both programs has lent coherence and collaborative strength to the educational opportunities and community engagement of our pediatric residents
Dr. Kathryn Colacchio
Assistant Program Director of Simulation and Technology Education
Dr. Colacchio earned her medical degree from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. She completed her pediatric residency at Golisano Children’s Hospital At Strong followed by a Neonatalogy fellowship at Yale-New Haven Medical Center. Dr. Colacchio joined the residency leadership team as Assistant Program Director of Simulation and Technology Education in 2024.
Dr. Heather Slusser
Assistant Program Director of Academic Achievement
Dr. Slusser earned her medical degree from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. She completed her pediatric internship at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth and then was selected to become a naval flight surgeon. In the role, she was stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana as the flight surgeon for Carrier Airwing ONE. After completing her naval service commitment, she went on to complete her pediatric residency at East Carolina University followed by a pediatric critical care medicine fellowship at Duke University. Dr. Slusser joined the residency leadership team as the inaugural Assistant Director of Academic Achievement in 2024.
Dr. Tushar Shah
Assistant Program Director of Scholarly Activity
Dr. Shah is a physician-scientist with a passion for evidence-based medicine, hypothesis-driven research, and teaching. He holds faculty appointments in the divisions of pediatrics, microbiology and molecular cell biology and is an adjunct faculty member in the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program at Eastern Virginia Medical School. As an independent investigator, Dr. Shah’s lab focuses on understanding the role of inflammation in neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), with the goal of developing new therapeutic strategies. Dr. Shah completed his fellowship in neonatology at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and earned a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from Emory University in Atlanta. Dr. Shah joined the residency leadership team in 2023.
