Dr. Bradford's journey in pediatric cardiology is marked by an extensive academic and professional career. She was born and raised on the island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a small archipelago of 32 islands in the southern Caribbean. She moved to the United States after high school to attain higher education and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi. She went on to receive her medical degree from Texas A&M University College of Medicine and completed her pediatrics residency training at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee.

Following her residency, Dr. Bradford pursued specialized training in pediatric cardiology through a fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, spanning from 2010 to 2013. She further honed her expertise with an Advanced Fellowship in Heart Failure, Heart Transplantation, and Mechanical Circulatory Support (MCS) at the same institution from 2013 to 2014. In the realm of academic and professional appointments, Dr. Bradford has held significant positions. Since September 2019, she has served as an Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics and Director of Heart Failure/Cardiomyopathy at LSU Health Sciences Center and Children’s Hospital of New Orleans (CHNOLA). Prior to this, she was an Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics and Heart Failure/Transplant Cardiologist at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) from July 2014 to August 2019. Dr. Bradford is board-certified by the American Board of Pediatrics, holding certification in Pediatrics, and subspecialty certification in Pediatric Cardiology. She also maintains active medical and pharmacy licenses in Louisiana, where she has been practicing since 2019.

Her research contributions are notable, with ongoing projects funded by prominent organizations. She is the Principal Investigator for several studies, including the CDC-funded research on COVID-19 among critically ill children within the PALISI Network and the NHLBI/NIH/PHN study on long-term outcomes after Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C). She is also leading the Pfizer-funded CAMP Study, which investigates myocarditis/pericarditis associated with COVID-19 vaccination. Her contributions to the field have been published in reputable journals, including a notable study on the durability of mRNA vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 in children and adolescents, which underscores her ongoing commitment to improving pediatric health through rigorous research and clinical practice.

Dr. Bradford continues to be a leading voice in pediatric cardiology, dedicated to enhancing patient care and advancing the understanding of complex cardiovascular conditions in children. She values the physician/patient relationship because helping people, especially children, has always been a core value and working with kids just makes her happy. One fun fact about Dr. Bradford is that she started college at age 16 years because that is the normal age of high school completion for kids in her home country (12 grades are completed but kids start school at age 4 years).

CHNOLA Bio