Transforming Pediatric Critical Care: UCSF’s Vision for the Future
At UCSF, we care for some of the nation’s sickest children—those arriving by helicopter, on life support, their families clinging to hope. Every day, our Division of Pediatric Critical Care steps into intensive care units ready to do everything possible to give these children a chance to survive and thrive.
Through breakthrough research, a premier education program, and exceptional clinical care, UCSF is shaping the future of pediatric critical care.
Research: Bringing Discoveries to the Bedside
UCSF’s Pediatric Critical Care research team leads cutting-edge discoveries to uncover why children become critically ill—and how to get them well again. Our physician-scientists investigate the biological processes behind organ failure, severe infections, and dysregulated immune responses, translating findings into diagnostics and therapies that improve survival and long-term outcomes.
By unraveling why and how life-threatening conditions occur at a cellular and molecular level, we’re making discoveries and translating them into improved diagnostics and therapies, ultimately leading to better long-term outcomes for children receiving life-saving care.
Because of our discoveries, every critically ill child receives a tailored plan grounded in the latest science.
Education: Training the Next Generation of Pediatric Critical Care Leaders
At UCSF, we know that tomorrow’s breakthroughs begin with today’s trainees. Our Pediatric Critical Care fellowship program is one of the most respected in the country, designed to develop clinical excellence and research leadership.
The fellowship immerses trainees in a rich learning environment, mentored by faculty at the forefront of clinical and research advances. Driven by the complexity of cases and the unique patient population in the Bay Area, fellows are encouraged to explore the full spectrum of critical care medicine during training. Right from the start, they are vital team members, taking ownership of patient care, contributing to discoveries, and finding their voices as physician leaders.
The results speak volumes:
- 73% of UCSF pediatric critical care fellowship graduates hold academic university appointments.
- Alums include three department chairs, three vice chairs, eight division directors, and 15 NIH-funded researchers.
- Notable alum Adrienne Randolph, MD, MSc, was honored with the Critical Care Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Thoracic Society.
Trainees don’t just pass through UCSF–they carry forward our mission to improve the lives of critically ill children everywhere.
Care: Healing the Sickest Children with Compassion and Precision
From fragile newborns to older children facing life-threatening conditions, UCSF delivers expert, compassionate care that gives families hope.
Imagine your toddler is always out of breath, unable to keep up with siblings, with hospital visits becoming routine—until a terrifying diagnosis: pulmonary hypertension (PH). This rare, life-threatening condition makes it hard for the lungs to supply oxygen. UCSF is home to the only pediatric PH program in California and one of the few nationwide recognized as a Center of Comprehensive Care by the Pulmonary Hypertension Association. Our multidisciplinary team—spanning pulmonary, cardiology, and intensive care—provides individualized treatment plans, from medication to surgery and transplant.
For babies diagnosed in utero with complex heart defects, UCSF’s Congenital Heart Program delivers coordinated, expert care starting before birth. Using advanced imaging to plan the safest path forward, our team of surgeons, intensivists, anesthesiologists, and nurses performs surgery just days after delivery when needed.
As part of the Pediatric Heart Center at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, the program performs over 300 pediatric heart procedures annually. Outcomes, even for newborn and preterm infants, are among the best in the nation. Many children with serious heart conditions go on to thrive, reaching milestones once thought out of reach because of treatment received at UCSF.
This is care at its highest level, driven by expertise, compassion, and a relentless commitment to giving every child their best chance.
The Future of Pediatric Critical Care Starts Here
At UCSF, research fuels discovery, education shapes tomorrow’s leaders, and care transforms lives. Our Division of Pediatric Critical Care is more than a response team—it’s a driving force for progress. By uniting science, training, and compassion, we are not only improving survival—we’re rewriting what’s possible for the sickest children and their families, here and around the world.
One child. One discovery. One future leader at a time.
Support the UCSF Department of Pediatrics to drive advances in critical care so that every child has hope for a healthy future.