Pediatric Clinical Research Minor

Meet the Team

Pediatric Clinical Research Minor

Meet the Team

Dr. Maija Holsti, MD, MPH

Program Director

Maija completed a BS degree in Psychology from Duke University in 1989. She earned her MD and MPH in Maternal and Child Health from the University of North Carolina in 1999. She attended the University of North Carolina for her Residency in Pediatrics in 2002. In 2005, she completed a fellowship in Pediatric Emergency Medicine at the University of Utah. She is board-certified in Pediatric Emergency Medicine and General Pediatrics.

She is currently a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Utah and is in the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Primary Children’s Hospital. As of 2019, Dr. Holsti is also the Howard Corneli, M.D. Endowed Chair in Pediatric Emergency Medicine. She serves as the Director of Research Education for the Department of Pediatrics. She is committed to developing research education for undergraduates, graduates, and trained physicians. Dr. Holsti also has clinical and research interests in the area of pediatric seizure treatment.

Katharine Osborn, MD

Program Director

Katharine Osborn, MD, is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine and an attending in the Emergency
Department at Primary Children’s Hospital. She is board-certified in Pediatrics and board-eligible in Pediatric Emergency Medicine.
Her academic interests include health equity, global health, and medical education.

Dr. Osborn received her undergraduate education at the University of Utah and completed medical school at the University of Utah
School of Medicine. She completed her pediatric residency at the University of California, San Francisco, and a pediatric emergency
medicine fellowship at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland.

Perla C. Rivera

Program Manager

Perla recently finished her Bachelor of Science in Ethnic Studies at the University of Utah. She first became interested in research
through the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) at the U. Her capstone research project was dedicated to
deconstructing the story of the witch in the context of Latin America, specifically Mexico. She loves education and is working on
pursuing her master’s degree and following after with a PhD program. She is very excited about joining this program and is looking
forward to working with students and supporting them in their academic journey.

Kei Wong

Program Coordinator

Kei graduated in Spring 2025 from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Science in Emergency Medical Services with an emphasis in Management. She joined the program in Fall 2023 as a student, later became a TA, and now serves as the Coordinator. Kei plans to attend medical school and hopes to become either a pediatric emergency medicine physician or an orthopedic surgeon. In her free time, she enjoys playing badminton, playing board games, and listening to music.

Sophia Olson

Chief

Sophia has been in the AcA program since Spring 2024, became a TA in Spring 2025 and now is starting her first semester of being Chief! She is a psychology major and will be attending physical therapy school at the University of Utah after she graduates in Spring 2026. She currently works in research through Primary Children’s and the University of Utah hospital studying pediatric neuromuscular disorders underneath a physical therapist. Sophia has also been a tumbling coach for over 8 years now! One of her passions include Greek dance and performs at the Salt Lake City Greek Festival every September as well as instructing the junior high Greek dance group. Sophia is so excited to continue her involvement in the pediatric clinical research program and is always happy to make new AcA friends!

Nathaly

Vice Chief

Nathaly graduated Spring 2025 from the University of Utah with a degree in Biology with an emphasis in Anatomy and Physiology. She has been in the program since Spring 2024 and is currently working as a Resource Float Pool CNA in various hospitals in Utah County. She hopes to get into medical school and become a pediatrician! In her free time, Nathaly loves to spend time with family and friends, run, play pickleball, try new foods, and watch a good T.V. show!