Faculty & Staff

Pediatrics

Alberto Allegre Alonso, MD: Assistant Professor of Pediatrics; (956) 296-1960; Alberto.Allegre@utrgv.edu

Alberto Allegre Alonso, MD

Alberto Allegre Alonso, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Pediatrics
EPDSC 1.100 (Edinburg)
Email: Alberto.Allegre@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 296-1960

Dr. Alberto Allegre Alonso received his medical degree from Tec de Monterrey School of Medicine in Monterrey, Mexico in 2010. He completed his residency in pediatrics at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in 2015, followed by a fellowship in developmental and behavioral pediatrics at the University of Arkansas/Arkansas Children’s Hospital in 2018. Dr. Allegre’s areas of interest include developmental disorders and related medical conditions.

In 2018, Dr. Allegre joined the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine as a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics. He practices developmental and behavioral pediatrics at the UT Health RGV Pediatric Specialty Clinic in Edinburg. Dr. Allegre also serves as a member of the Student Education Committee of pediatrics.

Lori Acosta Berry, MD, MPH: Assistant Professor of Pediatrics; (956) 296-1960; Lori.Berry@utrgv.edu

Lori Acosta Berry, MD, MPH

Lori Acosta Berry, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Pediatrics
EPDSC 1.100 (Edinburg)
Email: Lori.Berry@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 296-1960

Dr. Lori Acosta Berry received her master’s in public health, with a concentration in health policy and management at Texas A&M University Health Science Center in 2005. Dr. Berry received her medical degree from Texas A&M College of Medicine in 2008. She completed her residency in clinical and anatomic pathology at Texas A&M Health Science Center.

Dr. Berry was a Clinical Laboratory Assistant for clinical pathology at the Department of Laboratory Medicine, Arlington Memorial Hospital. Later Dr. Berry became the Medical Technologist at the Department of Laboratory Medical Transfusion Services, Scott & White Hospital. Dr. Berry then became the Associate Director and Clinical Assistant at the Surgical Renewal & Aesthetics, in Cedar Park, where she provided clinical services.

In 2019, Dr. Lori Acosta Berry joined the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics.

Kent Carter, MD, MSEd: Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

Kent Carter, MD, MSEd

Kent Carter, MD, MSEd
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Pediatrics
Kent.Carter@utrgv.edu

Cristel Escalona, MD: Assistant Professor of Pediatrics; (956) 665-7182; Cristel.Escalona@utrgv.edu

Cristel Escalona, MD

Cristel Escalona, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Pediatrics
ESTHC 7182
Email: Cristel.Escalona@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 665-7182

Dr. Cristel Escalona Escobar received her medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston in 2004. She completed a pediatric internship in 2005, followed by a residency in pediatrics in 2007 from UTMB. While in residency, Dr. Escalona received the Arlid E. Hansen Award for Outstanding Resident Research in 2007.

In 2017, Dr. Escalona joined the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine as a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Escalona serves as the Medical Director of the Student Health Services clinic in Edinburg, Texas. Additionally, she is the Director of Careers in Medicine, a special program designed by the AAMC dedicated to help medical students through the process of selecting and matching with the residency of their of choice. She also serves as an academic mentor for undergraduate medical education students with the Office of Academic Advising and Academic Support.

Stanley Fisch, MD: Professor of Pediatrics; (959) 296-1414; Stanley.Fisch@utrgv.edu

Stanley Fisch, MD

Stanley Fisch, MD
Professor of Pediatrics
Pediatrics
EMEBL 1.129A (Edinburg)
Email: Stanley.Fisch@utrgv.edu
Phone: (959) 296-1414

Dr. Fisch graduated from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York and completed his residency in pediatrics and social medicine at Montefiore Hospital and Medical Center, Bronx, New York. Then he went to South Texas as a National Health Service Corps physician. From 1973 until 1982, he served on the staff of Su Clinica Familiar, a migrant and community health center serving residents of Cameron and Willacy counties in South Texas, and founded Harlingen Pediatrics Associates, which today comprises eight pediatricians, a nurse practitioner, a social worker, and a counselor.

In the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Fisch served on the Committee on Community Health Services. He played a lead role in drafting the statement, “The Pediatrician’s Role in Community Pediatrics,” published in 1999. In 2006, Dr. Fisch was honored by the Council on Community Pediatrics of the AAP with the Job Lewis Smith Award.

He’s been a member, then chair, of the Council on Medical Education at Texas Medical Association, Physician Distribution, and Health Care Access Committee. He currently serves as a member of the Select Committee on Medicaid, CHIP, and the Uninsured.

In 1995, Dr. Fisch founded and serves as presiding officer of the Cameron/Willacy County Child Fatality Review Team. He worked to create the Child to Adult Abuse Response Team (CAART) at Valley Baptist Medical Center. Dr. Fisch chairs the planning group for the annual Lower Rio Grande Valley Forensic Conference, which will be present its 16th conference in November 2019.

Dr. Fisch participated in the regional campus – Regional Academic Health Center – opened its doors in 2002. Dr. Fisch served as Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Director of Medical Student Education in Pediatrics. In 2018, Dr. Fisch Associate Dean for Student Affairs at the UTRGV School of Medicine.

Jeremy Gibson, MD: Vice Dean Educational Affairs; Jeremy.Gibson@utrgv.edu

Jeremy Gibson, MD

Jeremy Gibson, MD
Vice Dean Educational Affairs
Email: Jeremy.Gibson@utrgv.edu

Ayleen Godreau, MD: Assistant Professor of Pediatrics; Ayleen.Godreau@utrgv.edu

Ayleen Godreau, MD

Ayleen Godreau, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Pediatrics
Email: Ayleen.Godreau@utrgv.edu

Marsha Griffin, MD, FAAP: Professor of Pediatrics; (956) 296-1537; Marsha.Griffin@utrgv.edu

Marsha Griffin, MD, FAAP

Marsha Griffin, MD, FAAP
Professor of Pediatrics
Pediatrics
HCEBL 3.144.12 (Harlingen)
Email: Marsha.Griffin@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 296-1537

Dr. Marsha Griffin received her medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 2003. She completed a pediatric residency at Baylor College of Medicine in 2005 and at UTHSCSA in 2006.

Considering immigration and border militarization as two important social determinants of health on the southern border, Dr. Griffin continues to write and speak nationally about her concerns for the children and families of this region and those who pass through. Her publication in April 2014 Pediatrics “Children’s Lives on the Border” was a call to action. She co-authored the American Academy of Pediatricians most recent Policy Statement on the Detention of Immigrant Children and the Separation of Children from their families. In 2015, Dr. Griffin received the American Academy of Pediatrics Special Achievement Award for her work caring for the children and families crossing the Texas border. She is the Co-Chair of the AAP Special Interest Group on Immigrant Health, and as such is a designated spokesperson for the AAP to the media on issues facing immigrant children and their families.

In 2016, Dr. Griffin joined the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine as a Professor in the Department Pediatrics. She serves as the director of the Division of Child and Family Health. Dr. Griffin is the Co-founder and Director of Community for Children, a 4-week elective course that focuses on exploring the sources of health, disease and healing on the Rio Grande Valley border. Dr. Griffin won the 2018 AAP Clifford G. Grulee Award for her efforts in the Rio Grande Valley.

Humberto Hidalgo, MD: Associate Professor of Pediatrics; (956) 296-1962; Humberto.Hidalgo@utrgv.edu

Humberto Hidalgo, MD

Humberto Hidalgo, MD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Pediatrics
EPDSC 1.100 (Edinburg)
Email: Humberto.Hidalgo@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 296-1962

Dr. Humberto Hidalgo received his medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine in 1981. He completed his residency in pediatrics at the University of Texas Health Science Center in 1984. Afterwards, he worked two years as a pediatrician at Su Clinica Familiar (USPHS Clinica) in Harlingen, Texas. Dr. Hidalgo completed a fellowship in pediatric pulmonology at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans in 1989.

Returning to Texas, he became an Assistant Professor, and then an Associate Professor, at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in the Department of Pediatrics. After many years away, Dr. Hidalgo returned to the valley to run a successful private for Pediatric Pulmonology in Edinburg, TX.

In 2015, Dr. Hidalgo joined the team at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine as an Associate Professor of Pediatrics. He practices pediatric pulmonology at eh UT Health RGV Pediatric Specialty Clinic in Edinburg, TX. Dr. Hidalgo serves as Clerkship Co-Director for the 3rd and 4th year medical student. In addition, he is the Respiratory Module Co-Director and server as a member of the Student Education Committee for Pediatrics.

Robert Nelson, MD, MS, FAAP: Professor of Pediatrics; (956) 296-1430; Robert.Nelson@utrgv.edu

Robert Nelson, MD, MS, FAAP

Robert Nelson, MD, MS, FAAP
Professor of Pediatrics
Pediatrics
HCEBL 3.130.08 (Harlingen)
Email: Robert.Nelson@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 296-1430

Dr. Robert M. Nelson, Jr received a bachelor's degree from Harvard College in 1966 and earned a medical degree from the University of Washington, Seattle in 1970. He completed his residency in Pediatrics and a Fellowship in Neonatology at the University of Florida where he also served on the faculty for 3 years. From 1971-73 he was a Captain in the Medical Corps of the US Army. In 1980 he became the Chief of Neonatology at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, Nebraska for 12 years. Dr. Nelson became Chief of Neonatology at the University of South Florida, Tampa in 1992 and over the next 22 years served in a number of roles there including Chair of Pediatrics (2004-2012) and Associate Vice President for Child Health (2012-2014). He also in 1993 received a Master of Science in Administrative Medicine from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. In August of 2014 he joined the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine as Interim Chair of Pediatrics and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Innovation.

Tara Phillip Vierra, MD, FAAP: Assistant Professor of Pediatrics; Tara.Vierra@utrgv.edu

Tara Phillip Vierra, MD, FAAP

Tara Phillip Vierra, MD, FAAP
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Pediatrics
Email: Tara.Vierra@utrgv.edu

Dr. Tara Phillipp Vierra received her medical degree and graduated with honors from Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine in 2011. Upon graduation, she received the Award for Excellence in Emergency Medicine and the Preceptorship Program Honors Award. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University in Biomedical Science in 2006 and received the Academic Excellence Award and the Patricia A. Ward Award for Medicine. She completed her Pediatric Internship and Pediatric Residency from 2011-2014 at the University of Texas at Houston Health Science Center in the Texas Medical Center with the majority of her training located at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital, the UT Houston Pediatric Specialty Clinics, and MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Dr. Vierra has worked as a pediatric hospitalist since 2014 in the Rio Grande Valley at several hospitals including Edinburg Children’s Hospital, Doctor’s Hospital at Renaissance, Knapp Medical Center and Valley Baptist in Harlingen. Since 2015 she has worked full time as a pediatric hospitalist at Valley Baptist in Harlingen.

Dr. Vierra is passionate about educating medical students and residents. From 2015-2018 she served as an Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics for third-year medical students rotating from UT San Antonio’s Medical School. She has also been an adjunct inpatient pediatric faculty member for the Valley Baptist Family Practice Residency Program since 2015 and in 2018 she received the Most Outstanding Teaching Faculty Award from their residents.

Dr. Tara Phillipp Vierra joined the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine as adjunct faculty in 2018 and in 2020 as a full-time Assistant Professor of Pediatrics.

Keila Rodriguez, MD: Assistant Professor of Pediatrics; Keila.Rodriguez@utrgv.edu

Keila Rodriguez, MD

Keila Rodriguez, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Pediatrics
HCEBL 3.130
Email: Keila.Rodriguez@utrgv.edu

Scott J. Spear, MD, FAAP: Associate Professor of Pediatrics; (956) 665-2511; Scott.Spear@utrgv.edu

Scott J. Spear, MD, FAAP

Scott J. Spear, MD, FAAP
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Pediatrics
ESTHC 1.118
Email: Scott.Spear@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 665-2511

Scott J. Spear MD, FAAP is an adolescent medicine-trained pediatrician who has been an Associate Professor of Pediatrics (CHS) at UW-Madison when he worked as Director of Clinical Services at University Health Services. Dr. Spear had previously been Director of Research and Academic Liaison at the Student Health Center at UT-Austin. He is a contributing editor for the Journal of American College Health and was a surveyor for the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care where he conducted surveys of the Student Health Center at UT-Pan American.

Dr. Spear has served as the medical director of several Planned Parenthood affiliates in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas. He was a clinical assistant professor of OB-GYN while serving as medical director at PP Texas Capital Region. He served as chair of the National Medical Committee of PPFA and as chair of the board of the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals and returned as a member of the NMC in 2017. He was an associate medical director for Concentra, Inc, and more recently for MedSpring Urgent Care, both of which are nationwide providers of urgent and occupational health care services.

In 2020, Dr. Spear joined the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine as an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Spear is excited to join the faculty of the School of Medicine to advance the training of medical students and residents in the holistic care of adolescents and young adults in the Rio Grande Valley.

Beatriz Tapia, MD, EdD, MPH: Associate Professor of Pediatrics; (956) 296-1481; Beatriz.Tapia@utrgv.edu

Beatriz Tapia, MD, EdD, MPH

Beatriz Tapia, MD, EdD, MPH
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Pediatrics
HCEBL 3.130.12 (Harlingen)
Email: Beatriz.Tapia@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 296-1481

Dr. Beatriz Tapia is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and the Assistant Dean of Faculty Development at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Harlingen, Texas. Dr. Tapia is a native of Chicago, Illinois. She attended the Autonomous University of Puebla in Mexico, where she received her MD in 1998, and the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University (JHSPH), in Baltimore, Maryland, where she received her Master’s in Public Health in 2005. In addition to her MPH, Dr. Tapia trained in occupational health and environmental medicine, health disparities, and health inequality at the JHSPH. Dr. Tapia also holds a Doctor of Education in Professional Leadership with an emphasis in Health Science Education from the University of Houston in 2018.

Since her appointment as assistant dean in 2015, Dr. Tapia has led the planning of over 120 faculty development series and workshops for UME and GME. Dr. Tapia is also a founding member for the Texas Consortium for Faculty Success (TCFS) established in 2016. The TCFS is a professional community of faculty affairs and faculty development in Texas’ academic health institutions. Dr. Tapia is also the founding Module Co-Director for Health Systems Science, a longitudinal module for medical students in Year 1 and Year 2 at the UTRGV School of Medicine.

Dr. Tapia is a strong advocate for the medically underserved; she continuously provides environmental and public health education to promotoras (lay healthcare workers), public health professionals, and community centers. Her research interests are border health, environmental medicine, public health, minority health, faculty development, and medical education research.

Faculty & Staff

Department Chair

Robert Nelson Jr., MD, MS, FAAFP

Contact

Department of Pediatrics
2102 Treasure Hills Blvd.
Harlingen, TX 78550
Phone: (956) 296-1604
Email: pediatrics@utrgv.edu

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Resources

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SOM Newsletter

Helpful Links

Texas Pediatric Society
American Academy of Pediatrics
Pediatrics Clerkship - LibGuide

UT Health RGV

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Pediatrics

Faculty & Staff

Pediatrics

Alberto Allegre Alonso, MD

Lori Acosta Berry, MD, MPH

Kent Carter, MD, MSEd

Cristel Escalona, MD

Stanley Fisch, MD

Jeremy Gibson, MD

Ayleen Godreau, MD

Marsha Griffin, MD, FAAP

Humberto Hidalgo, MD

Robert Nelson, MD, MS, FAAP

Tara Phillip Vierra, MD, FAAP

Keila Rodriguez, MD

Scott J. Spear, MD, FAAP

Beatriz Tapia, MD, EdD, MPH

Department Chair

Contact

Events

Resources

Helpful Links

UT Health RGV

Campus Locations

Edinburg

Harlingen

Brownsville

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