Michelle C. Gorecki, MD, MPH, FAAP

As a general academic pediatrics research fellow, my clinical focus is general and primary care. I have a particular interest in early childhood development. I enjoy watching patients reach new milestones and helping their caregivers find the best ways to support their child's development. I love working with families, using shared decision-making to find the best ways to support children in reaching optimal health.

When I went to college, my goal was to become a general pediatrician. I enjoyed my science classes and knew I wanted to work with children, so pediatrics seemed the natural fit for me. During college, I worked in a basic science research lab, which led to my interest in the scientific method. I love that my General Academic Pediatrics Research fellowship allows me to practice primary care pediatrics and conduct research to improve the lives of the patients and families we serve.

My research focuses on the early childhood social determinants of health, specifically addressing food inequity. My previous research focused on pediatric obesity; however, with a desire to address health equity and the upstream drivers of obesity, I shifted my research focus to early childhood food insecurity. My long-term goal is to ensure all my patients, especially the youngest ones, have food security and nutrition equity.

I have always been interested in nutrition. What and how we eat has a significant impact on our physical health as well as our mood. Many of my patients and their families need help to afford food or lack consistent access to healthy foods. This situation adds significant undue stress to caregivers. I'm currently limited in the assistance I can offer in the clinic to solve food insecurity. My research goals are to find ways to achieve food equity outside the clinic to ensure my patients have consistent access to affordable healthy foods at home.

I'm currently working on a process to connect our patients to a free fresh produce home delivery program. I aim to leverage the strength of our existing community resources and connect our patients to them.

I am honored to have received the Excellence in General Pediatrics Award from the University of North Carolina (June 2022), the Region IV Resident Research Award from the Academic Pediatric Association (February 2021), the WakeMed Intern of the Year Award, awarded by the University of North Carolina (May 2020) and the Excellence in Public Health Service Award from the United States Public Health Service Physician Professional Advisory Committee (May 2019).