Department of Pediatrics

Education

• BA, Brown University, 1989
• MD, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 1996
• MD, Boston Children's Hospital, 1997
• MD, St. Louis Children's Hospital, 1999

Licensure and Board Certification

• 1999American Board of Pediatrics
• 1999 - PresMissouri Medical License
• 2006American Board of Pediatrics
• 2013 - PresAmerican Board of Pediatrics

Honors and Awards

• Outstanding Resident Award, St Louis Children's Hospital, an award presented by the Missouri Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, 1999
• Recognized by the women Legislators of Missouri in a salute to Women Doctors and Health Care Administrators, 2000
• The Ashley Award, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, an award for children's advocacy, 2002
• The Community Advocate Award, The St. Louis Chapter of the Missouri Association of Social Welfare, 2004
• Excellence in Pediatrics Award, St Louis Pediatric Society, 2005
• Resident Teaching Award-Outstanding Teacher Award, General Pediatric Medicine, 2006
• Progressive Youth Connection Health Award 2007, 2007
• Best Doctors, St. Louis Magazine, 2007 - 2017
• WUSM Distinguished Faculty Award for Community Service, 2008
• Gerry and Bob Virgil Ethic of Service Award, Washington University, 2010
• Health Care Hero Award, St Louis Business Journal, 2010
• Lighting the Way Award, St Louis for Kids, 2010
• Pioneer Award, National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse - St. Louis, 2010
• AAP Promising Practices Award for Promoting Adolescents' Strengths, 2011
• Community Superhero Award, Voices for Children, 2011
• What's Right with the Region - Demonstrating Innovative Solutions, 2013
• Missouri Foundation for Health Corinne Walentik Award, 2014
• Society of Adolescent Health and Medicine, Midwest Chapter Award, 2014
• Missouri Foundation for Health Corinne Walentik MD Award, 2014
• Trouble Maker of the Best Kind Award- St. Louis Cultural Leadership, 2018
• Job Lewis Smith Award- American Academy of Pediatrics, 2019
• Best Doctors, St. Louis Magazine, 2021 - 2022

Recent Publications view all (28)

Publication Co-Authors

Fahd Ahmad, M.D., M.S.C.I.

Sarah Garwood, M.D.

Washington University has a long tradition of collaboration amongst colleagues.The faculty above have co-authored publications with Katie Plax, M.D.

1. Plax K. Making a Difference With Mental Health During Adolescence in a Global Pandemic. Pediatr Ann. 2021;50(12):e494-e497. PMID:34889137 
2. Harrison E, Garbutt J, Sterkel R, Dodd S, Wang R, Newland J, Plax K, ST LOUIS REGIONAL PEDIATRIC COVID-19 LEARNING COLLABORATIVE.. Collaborating to Advocate in Primary Care for Children During COVID-19. Pediatrics. 2021;148(4). PMID:34233918 
3. Kennedy AK, Kaushik G, Dubinsky EL, Huseynli A, Jonson-Reid M, Plax K. Direct and Indirect Cost Savings from STI Testing, Treatment, and Counseling among Foster Youth. Sex Transm Dis. 2021. PMID:34264902 
4. Comulada WS, Step M, Fletcher JB, Tanner AE, Dowshen NL, Arayasirikul S, Keglovitz Baker K, Zuniga J, Swendeman D, Medich M, Kao UH, Northrup A, Nieto O, Brooks RA, Special Projects Of National Significance Social Media Initiative Study Group.. Predictors of Internet Health Information-Seeking Behaviors Among Young Adults Living With HIV Across the United States: Longitudinal Observational Study. J Med Internet Res. 2020;22(11):e18309. PMCID:PMC7669436  PMID:33136057 
5. E G. Frank-Miller, S R. Fox-Dichter,D Gerke,S Slovacek,J Glotfelty,K Gilbert,K Plax . Case managers, HIV-positive youth, and a text messaging intervention: “That care just didn’t happen before.” Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research. 2020. doi:https://doi.org/10.1086/712479  
6. Gerke DR, Glotfelty J, Schlueter J, Freshman M, Plax K. E-VOLUTION: A Text Messaging-Powered Intervention-Connection, Support, and HIV Eradication. Health Promot Pract. 2020;21(5):716-726. PMID:32757840 
7. Medich M, Swendeman DT, Comulada WS, Kao UH, Myers JJ, Brooks RA, Special Projects of National Significance Social Media Initiative Study Group.. Authorship Correction: Promising Approaches for Engaging Youth and Young Adults Living with HIV in HIV Primary Care Using Social Media and Mobile Technology Interventions: Protocol for the SPNS Social Media Initiative. JMIR Res Protoc. 2019;8(8):e15660. PMID:31502543 
8. Garbutt J, Sterkel R, Ruecker K, Dodd S, Smith E, Plax K. Ready for the Challenge of Depression Care in the Medical Home. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2019;58(7):816-818. PMID:30866675 
9. Medich M, Swendeman DT, Comulada WS, Kao UH, Myers JJ, Brooks RA, Special Projects Of National Significance Social Media Initiative Study Group.. Promising Approaches for Engaging Youth and Young Adults Living with HIV in HIV Primary Care Using Social Media and Mobile Technology Interventions: Protocol for the SPNS Social Media Initiative. JMIR Res Protoc. 2019;8(1):e10681. PMCID:PMC6374729  PMID:30702434 
10. Garbutt JM, Kulka K, Dodd S, Sterkel R, Plax K. Opioids in Adolescents' Homes: Prevalence, Caregiver Attitudes and Risk Reduction Opportunities. Acad Pediatr. 2018. PMID:29981856 
11. Johnson, S, Trejo, G, Beck, KL, Worsley, C, Tranberg, H, Plax, K, Linton, J. "Building Community Support for Pregnant and Parenting Teenagers using Modified World Cafe' Method" jpag. 2018;18. PMID:29960076 
12. Ahmad FA, Jeffe DB, Plax K, Schechtman KB, Doerhoff DE, Garbutt JM, Jaffe DM. Characteristics of youth agreeing to electronic sexually transmitted infection risk assessment in the emergency department. Emerg Med J. 2018;35(1):46-51. PMCID:PMC5783299  PMID:28801483 
13. Ahmad FA, Jeffe DB, Plax K . Characteristics of youth agreeing to electronic sexually transmitted infection risk assessment in the emergency department Emerg Med J Published Online First. 2017. doi:10.1136/emermed-2016-206199  
14. Gerke D, Budd EL, Plax K. Measurement Noninvariance of Safer Sex Self-Efficacy Between Heterosexual and Sexual Minority Black Youth. J Soc Social Work Res. 2016;7(3):569-584. PMCID:PMC5014365  PMID:27617061 
15. Gerassi,L, Jonson-Reid, M, Plax, K, Kaushik, G.. "Trading Sex for Money or Compensation: Prevalence and Associated Characteristics from a STI clinic sample." Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma. 2016;25(9):909-920. doi:10.1080/10926771.2016.1223245  
16. S Mermelstein,K Plax. "Contraception" Curr Treat Options Peds. 2016;2:171-183. doi:10.1007/s40746-016-0053-9  
17. Mermelstein, S & Plax, K. "Sexually Transmitted Infections" Curr Treat Options Peds. 2016;2:156. doi:10.1007/s40746-016-0058-4  
18. Hoffman BD, Barnes M, Ferrell C, Gellin C, Lichtenstein C, Donnelly J, Kaczorowski J, CHAMP Study Group.. The Community Health and Advocacy Milestones Profile: A Novel Tool Linking Community Pediatrics and Advocacy Training to Assessment of Milestones-Based Competence in Pediatric Residency Training. Acad Pediatr. 2016;16(4):309-13. PMID:27002213 
19. Plax K, Donnelly J, Federico SG, Brock L, Kaczorowski JM. An Essential Role for Pediatricians: Becoming Child Poverty Change Agents for a Lifetime. Acad Pediatr. 2016;16(3 Suppl):S147-54. PMID:27044693 
20. Gerassi LB, Jonson-Reid M, Plax K, Kaushik G. Trading Sex for Money or Compensation: Prevalence and Associated Characteristics from a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Clinic Sample. J Aggress Maltreat Trauma. 2016;25(9):909-920. PMCID:PMC5302119  PMID:28190952 
21. Plax K. Plax Responds. Am J Public Health. 2015;105(11):e5-6. PMCID:PMC4605174  PMID:26378835 
22. Garwood SK, Gerassi L, Jonson-Reid M, Plax K, Drake B. More Than Poverty: The Effect of Child Abuse and Neglect on Teen Pregnancy Risk. J Adolesc Health. 2015;57(2):164-8. PMCID:PMC4653097  PMID:26206437 
23. Plax K, Garbutt J, Kaushik GN. HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infection Testing Among High-Risk Youths: Supporting Positive Opportunities With Teens (SPOT) Youth Center. Am J Public Health. 2015;105(7):1394-8. PMCID:PMC4463384  PMID:25973833 
24. Baker LM, Paul RH, Heaps JM, Westerhaus E, Chang JY, Williams S, Brier MR, Plax K, Ances BM. Impact of human immunodeficiency virus on neurocognition and risky behaviors in young adults. J Neurovirol. 2014;20(5):466-73. PMCID:PMC4305333  PMID:24970235 
25. Ahmad FA, Jeffe DB, Plax K, Collins KK, Schechtman KB, Doerhoff DE, Garbutt J, Jaffe DM. Computerized self-interviews improve Chlamydia and gonorrhea testing among youth in the emergency department. Ann Emerg Med. 2014;64(4):376-84. PMCID:PMC4156563  PMID:24612901 
26. Kaushik G, Plax KL, Constantino JN, Lewis L, Mamah D. Mental health care utilization at a free drop-in youth center in St. Louis, Missouri. Mo Med. 2012;109(6):475-81. PMID:23362652 
27. Plax K, Seifert RW. Medical debt, health care access, and professional responsibility. Virtual Mentor. 2006;8(3):166-9. doi:10.1001/virtualmentor.2006.8.3.msoc1-0603  PMID:23232350 
28. Sanders LM, Robinson TN, Forster LQ, Plax K, Brosco JP, Brito A. Evidence-based community pediatrics: building a bridge from bedside to neighborhood. Pediatrics. 2005;115(4 Suppl):1142-7. PMID:15821298