Chad K. Brands, M.D.
Director for Medical Education
Dr. Brands earned his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas and then completed a combined internal medicine-pediatrics residency at University of Cincinnati and the Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati. His early career efforts focused on hospitalism, medical education, and transitional medicine including young adult care.
He joined the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota in 2000 where he served as a charter member of the Diagnostic Clinic and the Pediatric Hospitalist Service and then a charter member of the Division of General Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. He served as Chair of that division from 2008 to 2011. The division evaluated patients from around the world and developed internationally recognized clinical and research expertise in orthostatic intolerance syndromes and published the first clinical descriptions of adolescent autonomic dysfunction (AAD), recently disseminating the first set of criteria for the diagnosis of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome in children and adolescents.
At Mayo Clinic he held multiple leadership positions across the continuum of medical education including serving as Mayo Medical School's Pediatric Clerkship Director. He chaired the Mayo Clerkship Directors' Committee, leading efforts across years three and four for the medical school's LCME reaccreditation site visit in 2011. He served as Recruitment Chair for the Pediatric Residency Program. Working as an associate program director, he helped position the residency as an outcomes driven program over the last five years. Dr. Brands also directed the national CME course Pediatric Days.
In recognition of contributions as a hospitalist to patient care, medical education, and leadership, the Society of Hospital Medicine inducted Dr. Brands into its Inaugural Class of Fellows in Hospital Medicine in 2009 and its Inaugural Class of Senior Fellows in 2010. He has recently served as a member of the task force reviewing potential pathways to subspecialty certification for pediatric hospitalists through the American Board of Pediatrics.
Dr. Brands is excited about the multifaceted opportunities in medical education at All Children's Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine and working collaboratively with interdisciplinary colleagues to develop programs in the pursuit of excellence across the entire spectrum of medical education - - from the pre-medical years to the emeritus years. He recognizes the excitement surrounding the incredibly unique opportunities in learning and teaching medicine that exist at All Children's Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Chad and his wife, Marla, are parents of three children. Their family enjoys the great outdoors, music and a number of sports and look forward to exploring the Suncoast of Florida.
Raquel Hernandez, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP
Associate Director for Medical Education
Raquel G. Hernandez, MD MPH is Assistant Professor in the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine in the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Dr. Hernandez completed her medical school, pediatrics residency and a general academic pediatrics fellowship at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Her research efforts have focused on prevention of early childhood obesity, including the role of center-based childcare and the influence of parental perceptions and physician counseling methods on preschool weight risks. During her fellowship, she received her Masters in Public Health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health gaining additional expertise in food policy and public health nutrition needs in pediatrics. Her work has been presented in both national and international settings. Future areas of research include describing the genetic and biochemical markers of early childhood obesity to target prevention strategies in the general pediatric clinic setting. As a general pediatrician, she is committed to providing quality care to underserved populations and reducing healthy disparities. As such, she has been involved in work that examines how to improve healthcare delivery to at-risk groups including patients with limited English proficiency.
As Associate Director of Medical Education at All Children's Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine, Dr. Hernandez's primary goal is to develop an innovative medical home experience for patients, families and trainees in the ACH-JHM residency program. Throughout her training at Hopkins, Dr. Hernandez was a continuity clinic preceptor in the Harriet Lane Clinic and an ongoing contributor to the Internet Learning Center (ILC) residency curriculum. With the experiences and educational skills gained in the Harriet Lane Clinic, she looks forward to embarking on the future of medical education in a new setting at All Children's Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine.
In her spare time, Dr. Hernandez enjoys spending time with her three young children and husband in the beautiful outdoors of Tampa/St. Petersbug. She is also avid reader and enjoys finding great dining in new places within the area.