Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Endocrinology

Basic Research Director, The Cincinnati Center for Growth Disorders

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Basic Research Director of the Cincinnati Center from Growth Disorders,Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA. She earnedher PhD in Microbiology from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana,

Illinois, USA, and joined Professor Ron G Rosenfeld, then Chair of Pediatrics,Oregon Health & Sciences University, OR, as a post-doctoral fellow, where theydescribed the first patient with STAT5B deficiency. Dr Hwa and her group over  the years have redefined the molecular diagnosis of human growth disorders  within the GH-IGF-I (growth hormone-insulin-like growth factor-I) axis by  their systematic analysis of novel mutations in genes encoding key signaling   proteins within the pathway. To date, they have made seminal observations   with regard to STAT5B as a crucial signal transducer not only within this growth   regulatory cascade, but also for cytokines important for maintaining normal   immunity. More recent application of whole exome sequencing (WES) analysis   for patients with undiagnosed growth disorders have led Dr Hwa and her  group to identify novel molecular defects within and beyond the GH-IGF-I axis. Dr Hwa has published over 100 articles, including book chapters. Louis