Emma Lynch

I am a senior clinical research coordinator with 6 years of experience working at the Pediatric Clinical Trials Office of the University of Chicago primarily with Dr. Sarah Sobotka supporting research projects and scholarship dissemination relating to children with disabilities. My passion for clinical research is rooted in supporting children and families of children with medical technology dependence specifically those with invasive mechanical ventilation and is driven by personal experience. I am sister to an adult with medical complexities including invasive mechanical ventilation and intellectual and developmental disabilities, and my brother has had medical technology and therapy needs throughout his life.

Zhihui Yi (John)

John received his master’s degree at Arizona State University’s Applied Behavior Analysis program, and is currently a doctoral candidate in Rehabilitation Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago. John is dedicated to promoting access and disseminating evidence-based intervention for persons with autism, especially among minority groups. John’s research interests include relational frame theory, early intervention, and the neurological impact of behavior therapy.  John began engaging with research with the Sobotka Lab during his Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities Fellowship (2020-2021). John and Dr. Sobotka co-lead the Jumpstart to Independence: Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Program for Children with Autism.

Kelly Lewis

Kelly is a Registered Behavioral Technician (RBT) who has joined our group to support our Jumpstart to ABA clinical research program. She has been in the applied behavior analysis (ABA) field for about three years now, after receiving her undergraduate degree in Counseling Psychology from Trinity International University. Her interest began in 2020 when working with adults with Autism and she is currently enrolled in the ABA master’s program at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Amanda Calipo

Amanda is a University of Chicago medical student (class of 2026) who has joined our group to support our work researching development in children with tracheostomy and ventilators. She received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Chicago also. Her interests include working with children, qualitative research, as well as improving healthcare delivery and doctor-patient communication.

Danielle Hoffman 

Danielle joined the team as our first Research Assistant-Parent Liaison. Her full time career has been in Hotel Human Resources, however with the birth of her son, Rowen, in 2019, she was introduced to the pediatric trach/vent population. Rowen was born with undiagnosed medical complexities and came home at 4 months of age with a need for round the clock care. Over the past 5 years, Danielle has navigated many systems, as it relates to caregiving for a medically complex child. Danielle is passionate about fostering relationships with in-home nurses, advocating for individuals with disabilities and supporting other parents of children requiring mechanical ventilation. She joined the research team in 2021 and is a graduate of the 2022 LEND Fellowship Program, as a Family Member Advocate. She continues to assist the research team part time, while maintaining her career in HR and raising her thriving 5 year old with disabilities alongside his truly biggest advocate, 8 year old sister, Elliot.

Julia Sadowski

Julia Sadowski is a speech-language pathologist with who has been working with pediatric dysphagia in the medically complex pediatric population since 2007. She has been at Comer Children’s Hospital NICU and pediatric hospital since 2012. She completes Oral-Pharyngeal Motility (swallow) studies as well as helping to grow the pediatric FEES (Flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallow) program within the ENT department to aid in the evaluation and treatment of swallowing disorders.  She is also a Certified Neonatal Therapist with NANT and a Certified Lactation Counselor. Her interest in feeding and feeding disorders led her to her participation in Dr. Sobotka’s Let’s E.A.T. research project exploring ways to support children with gastrostomy feeding tube and tracheostomies to begin to eat by mouth safely to participate in family and social mealtimes.

Amanda Goldstien 

Amanda Goldstein recently graduated from Rush University in Speech-Language Pathology. She joined the Sobotka Lab in 2022 as part of her Illinois Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) Fellowship. Since joining the lab, Amanda has focused on analyzing and synthesizing literature on weaning children from feeding tubes to oral feeding. Her interests include working with infants and children, dysphagia, and child development. 

Dr. Colleen Rusciolelli

Dr. Rusciolelli is currently a third-year fellow in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at The University of Chicago.  Prior to fellowship she served as a pediatric hospitalist and general pediatrician in Chicagoland for 10 years. Her experiences as a parent and pediatrician caring for neurodiverse children inspired her to change career paths and pursue fellowship. She is excited to be under the mentorship of Dr. Sobotka and is currently conducting a qualitative study on primary care perspectives on screening children for learning disabilities in reading. She hopes this research will help inform ways we can improve how children are screened for reading challenges and ultimately allow for earlier identification for learning disabilities in reading.

Annie is a third-year medical student at Loyola Stritch School of Medicine (Class of 2026) and plans to apply for a residency in Pediatrics. She recently joined the Sobotka Lab to contribute to research focused on children who require invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV). Currently, she is working on a project piloting a parent-to-parent coaching program aimed at reducing feelings of isolation among parents of children with IMV, while also providing them with the tools to best care for their child at home. Annie grew up in New Jersey and earned a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania. She became passionate about working with children with medical complexity after her experience at the Center for Autism Research in Philadelphia. Annie is particularly interested in patient-centered communication and care, the transition from adolescence to adulthood, and interdisciplinary care.

Sarah Heigel

Sarah is a pediatric Registered Nurse at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, currently working in the neurodevelopmental follow-up clinic. With over eight years of experience as a home health nurse, her patients drive her to continue advocating for and supporting the medically complex population beyond the walls of the hospital. She earned her MSN from Elmhurst University and holds an undergraduate degree from Loyola University Chicago. Sarah joined the Sobotka Lab group in 2023, and her research focuses on the developmental outcomes of children in the trach-vent population.

Karen Dilfer, MS, OTR/L

Karen is an occupational therapist with over 15 years of experience in pediatrics.  After graduation, Karen completed a fellowship in pediatric feeding with Marsha Dunn Klein, MEd, OTR/L, FAOTA. Karen holds credentials as an Illinois Early Intervention Evaluator and Provider and has taught for the Early Intervention Training Program (EITP). She has extensive experience working with children with sensory, motor, and mealtime challenges . Karen is the co-founder of the Chicago Feeding Group, a non-profit organization that seeks to support parents and professional who work with children who struggle to eat.