Welcome, Applicants!
We are elated that you are considering the LEAD (Leaders Evaluating and Addressing Disparities) Pediatric Residency Program as your future home to train in the absolute best specialty. Here at Texas Children’s, we are privileged to be stationed at the largest children’s hospital in the world, nestled within the largest medical center in the world, in one of the most diverse and rapidly growing cities in the country! The resulting intersection of exceptional clinical experiences with world-renowned faculty, a dynamic advocacy curriculum, and a welcoming learning environment is truly one of a kind. There is so much to see and do here, but what unites us as a LEAD family is our passion for advocacy and service to this city’s most vulnerable populations.
In Houston, roughly 1 in 5 people live in poverty, and there are more uninsured children in Texas than anywhere else in the country. Statistics like these are what drive everything we do. Our curriculum has a core focus for each residency year: community collaboration, public policy, and public health, respectively, with a month of protected time for advocacy education, leadership development, and production of a final individual or group project in each area. These months are supplemented by a longitudinal sequence of academic half- days, evening sessions, service projects, social activities, and sponsored annual conferences (Texas Pediatric Society and AAP) that allow us to learn from and network with established physician advocates on a local, state, and national level.
Our continuity clinic site in the Westwood/Alief area serves patients primarily with Medicaid through a medical home model that provides General Pediatrics, Pediatric Subspecialties, Ophthalmology, OBGYN, Speech Therapy, Behavioral Health, and Pharmacy under one roof. We experience real-world advocacy opportunities there that shape our future practice as pediatricians. In addition to outpatient clinic, our inpatient schedules are optimized to prioritize experiences most aligned with community pediatrics.
In a class of 65 residents annually, LEAD provides a smaller family of like-minded individuals within the broader BCM pediatric community. The small class size helps faculty tailor the experience to each resident’s individual interests. That flexibility has enabled our alumni to thrive in both general pediatrics and pediatric subspecialties.
We are so excited to meet you all this cycle! We hope we’ve given you a sense of what makes LEAD, Texas Children’s, and Houston such exceptional places to live, work, and enjoy life.
See you soon!
Norman Harris II, M.D.
LEAD Chief Resident, 2026-2027
Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine
Arlene Lopez, M.D., MPH
LEAD Co-Chief Resident, 2026-2027
Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine
