Email

alberth@bcm.edu

Positions

Professor of Pediatrics

Pediatrics-Adolescent Medicine and Sports Medicine
Chief, Adolescent Medicine and Sports Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX US

Addresses

TCH-Mark Wallace Tower (Clinic)

6701 Fannin Street
Room: TXCL-1710.0
Houston, TX 77030
United States
Phone: (832) 822-4887

Education

Fellowship at University of Washington School of Medicine

05/1986 - Seattle, WA

Adolescent Medicine

Residency at Duke University Medical Center

05/1983 - Durham, NC

Pediatrics

Internship at Duke University Medical Center

01/1980 - Durham, NC United States

MD from University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Pittsburgh, PA

Certifications

Adolescent Medicine

American Board of Pediatrics

Sports Medicine

American Board of Pediatrics

Honors & Awards

Presidential Award for Excellence in Education

Barbara and Corbin J. Robertson, Jr.

Thomas E. Shaffer, MD, FAAP, Award

American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness (COSMF)

Pediatric Academic Societies

Ed Tom Worthey Endowed Chair in Pediatrics

Professional Statement

I am board-certified in adolescent medicine and sports medicine. As the Founding Chief of the Division of Adolescent Medicine and Sports Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, my philosophy of combining the two subspecialties in one Division was to provide a framework for serving as broad a spectrum of adolescents and young adults (AYA) as possible. This framework addresses traditional health risk behaviors associated with the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in AYA, e.g. accidents, suicide, homicide and issues related to reproductive health and chronic illness, while promoting healthy lifestyles including sports participation, physical activity, and, therefore, blending exercise physiology and sports medicine with adolescent growth and development and social determinants of health. Addressing common conditions such as anxiety, obesity, eating disorders and chronic fatigue by incorporating healthy eating and physical activity when appropriate has characterized our Division’s approach to clinical care, research, teaching, public health, and advocacy for 38 years and makes us unique among adolescent medicine programs. As Program Director of the HRSA-Maternal and Child Health Bureau-funded Leadership Education in Adolescent Health Training Program training pre-and post-doctoral trainees/fellows in adolescent medicine, nursing, nutrition, psychology, public health and social work I am committed to interdisciplinary care and training the next generation of adolescent health leaders. I have been committed to the care of unhoused youth and young adults as the Medical Director of Covenant House Texas, a homeless, crisis shelter with an on-site medical clinic, since 1987. I saw the need to improve the transition from pediatric to adult-based care for AYA with special health care needs and I founded the Annual Baylor Health Care Transition Conference, which held its 25nd annual meeting in 2024 and, in addition to the live audience will broadcast to academic and community centers across the U.S. and Canada. I have led and collaborated on our Division’s research activities in health care transition (HCT) resulting in publishing a textbook and 13 peer-reviewed publications on HCT (out of more than 100 total peer reviewed publications) and presented 20 HCT abstracts at national meetings over the past 5 years.

Websites

Memberships

American Academy of Pediatrics

Fellow

Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine

Fellow

American College of Sports Medicine

Member

Pediatric Academic Societies

Member

Southern Society for Pediatric Research

Member