Lisa C. Stern, MD

My childhood dream was to be an Olympic figure skater (or gymnast) and then to go to medical school. I never made it to the Olympics but those years in the gym fostered the discipline I needed to pursue a career in medicine. ​

My journey meandered from NYC to Childrens Hospital LA where I arrived in 1988 with 2 suitcases and a rarely used drivers license. Those years on the wards and in the clinics at CHLA re-enforced the decision that pediatrics was for me. I continued my move west for a one-year fellowship at UCLA in Pediatric Hematolgy-Oncology before joining Dr Karp in the little house on Pier Avenue in Santa Monica. A few years later we merged with the prestigious Tenth Street Pediatrics and I found my forever home. Along the way, I raised 2 daughters who at times felt like my very own pediatric lab rats (they survived). I have continued to exercise but swapped out gymnastics for skiing, swimming and my newest soapbox, strength training. ​

​I love seeing the breadth of pediatrics from those brand newborn babies to newly minted adults who have graduated from college. My interests at work include ​preventing flat-head syndrome in babies, educating school aged children about being healthy and guiding adolescents through the amazing journey from puberty to young adulthood. I have been writing a book for parents called “Bead in the Nose: A humorous guide to pediatric home remedies” which I hope to finish one day.