Kristin Van Hook Editor

The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults. The AAP is the largest pediatric publisher in the world, with a diverse list of resources that includes essential clinical and practice management titles and award-winning books for parents.

Dr. Michael Light qualified as a physician at Guys Hospital, London, in 1967. After a few years in general practice in Europe he trained in pediatric pulmonary and critical care at the Brompton Hospital in London. In the 1970s he was medical director of the neonatal intensive care and in the 1980s of pediatric intensive care in Honolulu, Hawaii. He has been a pulmonary, neonatal, pediatric and adult practitioner for more than 50 years. In the 1990s he was chief of pediatric pulmonary at the University of California, San Diego, and in 2000 he joined the University of Miami, where he spent 8 years in the Department of Pediatrics and 3 years in the Department of Medicine. In 2011 he was recruited by Ross University Medical School in Dominica, and in addition to teaching he was medical director of student health for the 1,200 medical students on the island. In 2014 he joined the University of Florida, Gainesville and became chief of pediatric pulmonology. In 2019 he joined Orlando Pediatric Pulmonary and Sleep Associates and participated in the clinic in West Palm Beach. March 2022 signaled his retirement from clinical pediatric pulmonology, but he still teaches introduction to clinical medicine as Assistant Dean for Curacao Medical University. His most recent venture is Light Fantastic Holistic, a weight loss clinic in Orlando.

Kristin Van Hook, MD, MPH currently serves as a Staff Pediatric Pulmonologist at Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. A graduate of Tulane University and Louisiana State University School of Medicine, Dr. Van Hook completed her pediatrics training at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and her fellowship in pediatric pulmonology at Texas Children’s Hospital. Prior to coming to Ochsner, she worked at Nemours Children’s Clinic in Pensacola, Florida, serving as the chair of the Department of Pediatric Pulmonology and as the cystic fibrosis center director from 2006 to 2011. She is active in numerous local and national nonprofit and professional organizations.