Our mission is to become the premier pediatric program in Illinois while providing outstanding medical education to UICOMP students and residents.
Discover the exceptional opportunities offered by the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Peoria (UICOMP). In collaboration with OSF Healthcare Children's Hospital of Illinois, Easter Seals-UCP, and various community partners, we are dedicated to delivering comprehensive pediatric care to children in Central Illinois.
With 145 faculty members, our department offers a wide range of general pediatric services and pediatric subspecialty coverage. Our residency program, conducted in partnership with Children's Hospital of Illinois, accepts up to 12 residents each year. The Department of Pediatrics also offers three fellowships.
Meet Our Department Head
Manu R. Sood, MBBS, FRCPCH, MD, MSc
Professor, Head and William H. Albers Endowed Chair in Pediatrics
Dr. Manu Sood is a pediatric gastroenterologist and an accomplished clinical investigator with years of experience in academic medicine.
Department of Pediatrics Research
The Department of Pediatrics has 58 sponsored research projects with a total direct award amount of over $4.6 million, with more than $2.4 million being from new studies in the past year. We have over 160 ongoing non-sponsored research projects, with 13 additional pending IRB approval. The Department is also very active in quality improvement work, with about 50 approved QI projects. These are the projects that have been approved by the Joint Pediatric Advisory Committee in partnership with OSF Healthcare Children’s Hospital of Illinois. Thirteen of these QI projects include concurrent IRB approval. Between January 2024 and January 2025, our faculty published 82 manuscripts and 4 book chapters — and presented 60 oral research abstracts and over 100 posters at research meetings.
Patient Care View Our Clinical Sections
Education
Community Partners and Learning Facilities
We perform our mission in the context of collaboration with OSF Healthcare Children’s Hospital of Illinois, Easter Seals-UCP, and multiple other partners within the community.