Illinois Medicine

MHA, Lizzie Gilman Professor and head of the Department of Psychiatry at UIC. "In 2020, suicide was the second leading cause of death for people aged 10-14. Despite their devastating impact, these disorders are underdiagnosed and often under- treated. The Raj professorship focused on depression and men- tal health in children will go a long way in supporting research in this critical area and help the University of Illinois College of Medicine become a national leader in this space." "We are incredibly grateful to Dr. Raj for her work in building up the department's clinical, educational and research programs and reestablishing it as one of the leading academic departments of pediatrics in the United States," adds Benja- min Van Voorhees, MD, MPH, head of the Department of Pediatrics. "The new Raj professorship in pediatric psychiatry acknowledges the growing mental health crisis in our nation's children and will directly benefit our most vulnerable patients through focused research and dedicated clinical care while elevating the University of Illinois College of Medicine and UI Health to the national consciousness in this area." Serving Others Around the Globe Meanwhile, Dr. Raj continues to give back in other ways by sharing her resources and expertise through personal charitable endeavors and global health missions. In Nepal, she ventured deep into the backcountry to deliver 45 boxes of crucial medical supplies to prevent early nutritional blindness and helped thousands of children. In Cape Town, she worked with undergraduate bioengineering students as they developed a mobile heart rate and respiration monitor for premature infants without access to incubators. In Mongolia, she helped reduce maternal and neonatal mortality rates as a consultant and adviser to the obstetric and pediatric departments at the Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences. More recently, she delivered over 200 pounds of medical supplies and equipment to several children's hospitals in Havana. She is in the process of securing an academic visa to return to Cuba so that she can teach and set up research programs at these hospitals. A global health mission to Mali in western Africa is also on the horizon. "I chose medicine and pediatrics as a profession because I could conduct discovery research as a physician-scientist while helping poor children. It is a privilege to give back in any way that is meaningful." says Dr. Raj, who contributes more than a quarter of her net income to charitable endeavors and medical missions. "I feel very lucky and blessed that I was able to pursue what I wanted to do, unlike my highly intelligent and educated parents, who sacrificed their careers for their children. I wish the same for everyone and, more importantly, I hope I can inspire others to pursue their dreams. My son, Daniel Sugar, who is my biggest fan, is a landscape architect in Denver, where he is creating parks in the poorest neighborhoods of that city." lades, but creating the chil- dren's hospital and making sure that every child in our communities can see a specialist when necessary is what means the most to me," she says. Today—after nearly four decades as a National Institutes of Health-funded researcher, Dr. Raj shows no signs of slowing down. "I still run a laboratory that conducts 'discovery' research on the mechanisms involved in the development of pulmonary hypertension—a lethal disease that affects people of all ages," says Dr. Raj. "Currently, my research collaborator, Tianji Chen, and I are focused on developing novel therapies based on sound fundamental research for this devastating disease. We have made a unique discovery and established a startup company to convert this discovery into a therapeutic drug." Advancing Medicine Through Philanthropy As Dr. Raj conducts groundbreaking research at the frontiers of medical science, she is also supporting research, education and patient care in perpetuity through a series of endowed funds for the Department of Pediatrics—an endeavor that began with the establishment of a pediatric sickle cell patient fund in 2016 and a pediatric diabetes patient fund in 2019. These endowed funds support summer camp experiences for pediatric patients with sickle cell disease and diabetes, which affect Black and Hispanic children in the communities served by UI Health at disproportionately high rates. In 2019, she established the Savithri and Samuel Raj Endowed Professorship in Pediatrics in honor of her parents. In March 2023, Dr. Raj finalized another generous gift to establish the J. Usha Raj Endowed Professorship in Pediatrics and Psychiatry. "I established this latest professorship to address mental health issues in children, especially in adolescents and young adults," says Dr. Raj. "Too often I have seen children who have mental health issues being labeled as 'problem children' and given no help. I want to support research that will find better ways to diagnose and treat children with mental illness so that they can achieve their full potential." "Mental disorders are among the most challenging ill- nesses in children and adolescents," says Anand Kumar, MD, 34 | Summer 2023 " " J. USHA RAJ, MD, MHA I chose medicine and pediatrics as a profession because I could conduct discovery research as a physician-scientist while helping poor children. It is a privilege to give back in any way that is meaningful.

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