Nakiya Naomi Showell, M.D., M.H.S., M.P.H.

Headshot of Nakiya Naomi Showell
  • Medical Director of Harriet Lane Clinic
  • Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Female

Languages: English, Spanish

Expertise

Pediatrics

Research Interests

Child health inequities; primary care delivery; obesity and cardiovascular disease risk disparities ...read more

Locations

The Johns Hopkins Hospital (Main Entrance)

1800 Orleans St.
Sheikh Zayed Tower
Baltimore, MD 21287
Phone: 410-614-3865
The Johns Hopkins Hospital (Main Entrance) - Google Maps

Johns Hopkins Pediatrics

200 N. Wolfe Street
Rubenstein Child Health Building
Baltimore, MD 21287
Phone: 443-997-5437
Johns Hopkins Pediatrics - Google Maps

Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center

4940 Eastern Avenue
301 Building Suite 1100
Baltimore, MD 21224
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center - Google Maps

Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center

4940 Eastern Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21224
Phone: 410-614-3865
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center - Google Maps

Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center

5200 Eastern Avenue
Mason Lord Building, West Tower
Baltimore, MD 21224
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center - Google Maps

Background

Dr. Showell is the Medical Director of the Harriet Lane Clinic (HLC), Associate Program Director of the Pediatrics Residency Program, General Pediatrician, and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She is dedicated to a clinical, educational, and research career focused on addressing pediatric socioeconomic and racial/ethnic health disparities among marginalized and minoritized populations, with a particular focus on obesity and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. In 2020. Dr. Showell was appointed as the Associate Medical  Director of the HLC and subsequently appointed as Medical Director in 2021. She is the first African American faculty member at Johns Hopkins to be named to either position.

Dr. Showell graduated from Bryn Mawr College with a B.A. in Chemistry. She then received her MD from the Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (c/o 2007), where she was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) National Medical Honor Society. In 2010, Dr. Showell completed her pediatrics residency at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). After completing her training, Dr. Showell committed to a career in academic medicine by first earning a Masters in Public Health degree at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH) and subsequently completing a Fellowship in General Academic Pediatrics and Comparative Effectiveness Research at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 2013. Upon completion of her Fellowship, Dr. Showell transitioned into a tenure-track faculty position at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine during which she completed a second Masters degree in Clinical Investigation from JHSPH in 2015. Presently, she serves as core faculty in the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity and has served on several Johns Hopkins Health System committees and workgroups including the COVID Vaccination Executive Committee, and Primary Care Steering Committee.

In recognition of her leadership experience, scholarship and commitment to health disparities research, Dr. Showell was selected as a 2022 National Minority Quality Forum 40 under 40 Leader in Health, 2019-2020 Doris Duke Clinician Investigator Scholar and served as the 2019-2023 elected Co-Chairman of the Academic Pediatric Association Obesity Special Interest Group. She has led several projects dedicated to addressing pediatric obesity and cardiovascular disease disparities and understanding the role of the COVID-19 pandemic on exacerbating health and social inequities among disenfranchised communities. Presently Dr. Showell serves as a Principal Investigator (PI) of two multisite collaborative projects. She is the Site PI of a project examining the impact of an interfaith community-based food delivery program on food insecurity and other health-related outcomes among Baltimoreans. She is also a Co-PI on a Johnson and Johnson Foundation funded project centered on the development and implementation of a family collaborative care intervention to address complex medical and social needs among children and families seen in primary care settings.

In her roles as Medical Director and Associate Residency Program Director, Dr. Showell has focused on enhancing clinical operations, overseeing primary care education for over 100 pediatric residents, expanding access to clinical care and testing for pediatric patients with COVID-19 like symptoms, spearheading COVID-19 vaccination efforts and increasing engagement amongst patients and community members in East Baltimore. Additionally, Dr. Showell has promoted expansion of charitable routine and specialty care for uninsurable patients through the Johns Hopkins The Access Partnership (TAP) Program and has led the Harriet Lane Clinic’s participation in a national multisite collaborative addressing racially just trauma informed pediatric care.

...read more

Titles

  • Medical Director of Harriet Lane Clinic
  • Associate Program Director of the Pediatrics Residency Program
  • Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

Departments / Divisions

Centers & Institutes

Education

Degrees

  • MD; Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (2007)

Residencies

  • Pediatrics; Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (2010)

Fellowships

  • Pediatrics; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (2013)

Board Certifications

  • American Board of Pediatrics (Pediatrics) (2010)

Research & Publications

Research Summary

Dr. Showell is dedicated to a clinical, educational, and research career focused on 1) the design and implementation of primary care delivery models centered on social risk factor mitigation and 2) reducing socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities among marginalized and minoritized populations, with a particular focus on obesity and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.

Selected Publications

View all on PubMed

Showell N, Fawole O, Segal J, Wilson RF, Bleich S, Cheskin L, Wu Y, Lau B, Wang Y. A Systematic Review of Home-based Childhood Obesity Prevention Studies. Pediatrics. 2013 Jul;132(1):e193-200

Showell NN, Washington K*, Johnson K, DeCamp LR, Bair-Merritt M, Thornton RL. Neighborhood and Parental Influences on Diet and Physical Activity Behaviors in Young Low-income Pediatric Patients. Clin Pediatr(Phila). 2017 Nov;56(13):1235-1243

Gregory EF*, Goldshore MA, Henderson JL, Weatherford RD, Showell NN. Infant growth Following Maternal Participation in a Gestational Weight Management Intervention. Child Obes. 2016 Jun;12(3):219-25

Showell NN, Jennings JM, Johnson KA, Perin J, Thornton RJ. Where Children Live: Examining whether Neighborhood Crime and Poverty is associated with Overweight and Obesity among Low-Income Preschool-aged Primary Care Patients. Front.Pediatr. 2019 Jan. doi.org/10.3389/fped.2018.00433

Showell NN, Perin J, Koebnick C, Jimenez J, Gonzalez I, DeCamp LR, Thornton RLJ. Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Parent Activation: Implications for Developing Interventions Addressing Early Childhood Obesity. Acad Pediatr. 2022 Jul;22(5):761-768. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2021.11.008. Epub 2021 Nov 16. PMID: 34798355; PMCID: PMC9108126

Activities & Honors

Honors

  • Johns Hopkins Clinical Research Scholarship Junior Faculty KL2 Award, 2014 - 2017
  • Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, 2006
  • Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Pediatric Award, 2007
  • The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Frank M. Trojan, IV Resident Courage Award, 2009
  • AAMC Early Career Women Faculty Leadership Development Seminar, Participant, 2017
  • NIDDK Nutrition Obesity Research Center at Harvard Medical School, Diversity Scholar, 2019
  • Harrisburg Academy 2022 Service to Humanity Alumni Achievement Award, 2022
  • National Minority Quality Forum 2022 40under40 Leader in Health, 2022
  • Baltimore Magazine Top Doctors Recognition, 2023

Memberships

  • American Academy of Pediatrics
  • Academic Pediatric Association
  • Society of Pediatric Research

Professional Activities

  • Pediatric Diversity Council, Johns Hopkins Children’s Hospital
  • Scholars, Johns Hopkins Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, 2014 - 2017
  • Member, Johns Hopkins Pediatric Residency Intern Selection Committee, 2015

Videos & Media

Recent News Articles and Media Coverage

Addressing the childhood obesity public health crisis with a holistic and family-focused approach, AFRO (October 1, 2023) 

Advancing Health Equity at the Harriet Lane Clinic, Johns Hopkins Medicine (November 11, 2022)

The Impact of COVID-19 on Learning, WYPR Podcast (Recorded August 29, 2022) Interview starts around 11:35, and runs for about 12 minutes

Back to School Routines, Fox45 Baltimore (August 24, 2022)

What Is A Pediatrician? Forbes Health (January 22, 2022)

Johns Hopkins Pediatrics Says, Get Kids Required Vaccines Before Going Back to School. Johns Hopkins Medicine Newsroom (July 15, 2021)

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