Lanre Falusi

Olanrewaju (Lanre) Falusi, MD, MEd, FAAP is a primary care pediatrician at Children’s National Hospital and an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences focused on the intersection of advocacy, community engagement, and health professions education. As Medical Director of Advocacy Education at Children’s National, Dr. Falusi develops community-based training for trainees and staff, leads faculty development initiatives in advocacy, and supports the development of policies to promote health equity. She is the co-director of the Community Health & Advocacy Track within the GW Clinical Public Health Graduate Medical Education program, training an interdisciplinary cohort of residents and fellows to incorporate public health principles into everyday practice and advocacy.

Dr. Falusi has led the creation, implementation, and evaluation of the Trainee Education in Advocacy and Community Health (TEACH) curriculum on addressing child poverty, now freely available on OPENPediatrics.org for any learner. Supported by a 5-year, $1 million federal grant, the TEACH curriculum was co-created with community organizations to innovatively teach about social drivers of health with interactive modules, simulations, and hands-on experiences. As a Macy Faculty Scholar, she has expanded upon this work to lead additional community-engaged medical education research initiatives, innovating patient and family engagement into teaching and assessment. Dr. Falusi also co-leads a Community-Engaged Research and Training Hub at Children’s National, grounded in the principle that patients, families, and communities are essential partners in research and care.

Dr. Falusi is the recipient of several honors, including the 2026 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Education Award, a national honor given to just one physician annually. She has held local and national leadership positions in the AAP, currently serving as an AAP Spokesperson, a member of the Committee on Federal Government Affairs, and an Ambassador for the Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health. She has testified before Congress, spoken at national conferences, and appeared in media on topics including poverty, immigrant health, and antiracism. Along with another doctor-mom, she co-hosts Health and Home with the Hippocratic Hosts, a podcast on health and parenting.

Prior to joining the faculty at Children’s National, Dr. Falusi was the Director of Pediatrics and Educational Programs at CCI Health and Wellness Services, a federally-qualified health system serving over 50,000 individuals in Maryland. Her role at CCI included strategic planning for pediatric healthcare delivery and leading cross-disciplinary quality improvement initiatives, while also precepting learners in the health centers that served a largely Spanish-speaking population. Dr. Falusi attended medical school at the University of Virginia and completed residency and chief residency at Children’s National.