Michelle L Macy

Michelle L Macy, MD, MS is Professor of Pediatrics (Emergency Medicine) at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the Mary Ann and J. Milburn Smith Research Professor for the Director of Child Health Research. She serves as Scientific Director for Community, Population Health and Outcomes at Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, leading the Smith Child Health Outcomes, Research, and Evaluation Center with a multidisciplinary team focused on improving children's health through innovative research approaches.

• MD: University of Michigan (2002)
• MS: University of Michigan (2008)
• Intern: University of Michigan Hospital, Pediatrics (2003)
• Resident: University of Michigan Hospital, Pediatrics (2005)
• Fellow: University of Michigan Hospital, Pediatrics Emergency Medicine (2009)
• Fellow: University of Michigan, Child Health Evaluation and Research (2009)
• Fellow: University of Michigan, Health Policy (2013)

Dr. Macy's research centers on identifying and addressing disparities in pediatric care, with particular emphasis on eliminating inequities in motor vehicle collisions and drowning—the two leading causes of childhood injury and death. She leads the NICHD-funded Tiny Cargo, Big Deal / Abróchame Bien, Cuídame Bien adaptive clinical trial testing a bilingual mobile health intervention for child passenger safety, and the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant-funded I CAN RES 3 CUE evaluation of water safety programs in Chicago and Evanston. Her work integrates health services research with community-based participatory methods to develop practical interventions addressing critical gaps in pediatric healthcare access and quality.

Dr. Macy's recent publications reveal a dual research trajectory examining both youth mental health trends and injury prevention mechanisms. Her mental health work analyzes increasing anxiety and depression among U.S. children from 2016-2022, while her injury prevention research investigates suboptimal child passenger safety practices and firearm-related reinjury patterns with attention to neighborhood-level influences and health disparities. These studies consistently employ mixed methods approaches combining epidemiological analysis with community engagement to address health equity.

• Elected Member, American Pediatric Society (2023)
• Faculty Excellence Award in the category of Mentorship, Department of Pediatrics Fellowship Programs (2023)
• Endowed Professorship, Mary Ann & J. Milburn Smith Research Professor (2022)
• Faculty Excellence Award for Scholarship 2019, Northwestern University (2019)
• Elected Member, Society for Pediatric Research (2015)

Dr. Macy contributes her health services research expertise to multiple significant initiatives including Lurie Children's Pediatric Partners Clinically Integrated Network, the CMMI Integrated Care for Kids All Hands Health Network, Lurie Children's Digital Health initiatives, and the Michigan Emergency Department Improvement Collaborative (MEDIC). She serves as principal investigator for the NICHD-funded Tiny Cargo, Big Deal clinical trial and leads the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant-funded I CAN RES 3 CUE evaluation, demonstrating her commitment to translating research into practical interventions addressing health disparities.

As Scientific Director for Community, Population Health and Outcomes at Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute, Dr. Macy leads the Smith Child Health Outcomes, Research, and Evaluation Center—a multidisciplinary team employing innovative social, behavioral, and applied research approaches to improve children's well-being across diverse populations. Her center collaborates with community organizations, healthcare systems, and policy makers to develop and evaluate interventions addressing critical gaps in pediatric care, with particular focus on equity in health outcomes related to transportation safety and aquatic recreation.