Dr. Karin Claussen

Dr. Karin Claussen always knew she wanted to go into medicine, but it wasn’t until elementary school that she decided to pursue pediatrics.

A proud Dallas native, she grew up in the Lake Highlands area and attended Hamilton Park Elementary. “It is a school that pulls children from all over the district to create a diverse environment,” she said. “They taught me from a young age the power of supporting childhood imagination, pursuing your dreams, and cherishing the power that comes when people of different backgrounds are brought together. This was the beginning of my aspirations to become a physician, specifically a pediatrician, given my love for science and heart for people at a young age.”

Dr. Claussen is the 2018 recipient of the Pediatric Society of Greater Dallas Award for Excellence in Pediatric Medicine, which recognizes an outstanding graduate who has the personal character and dedication to serve as well as be an advocate for children. She described the award as “an incredible honor.”

Her mentor called Dr. Claussen very deserving of the award and was also pleased she will be serving her residency at UT Southwestern.

“I have had the pleasure of knowing Karin for all four years of her medical school career,” said Dr. Soumya Adhikari, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Pediatrics Clerkship. “I remember when she first shared with me how her early dancing career taught her resilience and to value that teacher-student relationship. Now she is on the verge of becoming that mentor to so many of her future patients. She is humble, genuine, humanistic, driven, and caring – all character traits that set her up so perfectly for a long and successful career working with children.”

A lifelong dancer, Dr. Claussen trained in ballet, jazz, modern, and tap. She was captain of her high school drill team and part of a hip-hop dance team at UT Austin, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry.

At UTSW, she choreographed and performed a dance for fourth-year students in this year’s Celebration of Cultures showcase. She also served as President of the Geriatric Interest Group her second year, was heavily involved with the United to Serve community health fair program, and took on a research project with Dr. Craig Rubin, Professor of Internal Medicine. “He taught me about clinical research and how to maintain a longitudinal eye on a project when other activities are going on,” she said.

During her clerkship period, Dr. Claussen slipped on the shoes of every specialty as if it was her future career. Pediatrics was still the perfect fit. “It is the ultimate field combining preventive care, anticipatory, family-centered guidance, and interesting physiology. It took my love of fostering the best for kids that I learned so long ago in elementary school and incorporated that love with medicine.”

A self-described old soul, she enjoys knitting in her free time. “My mom, who taught me how me how to knit, says it feels so good to make something with your hands when you’re in such a technology-driven world.”

Dr. Claussen said her parents, brother Sam, and boyfriend Collin Hager share the excitement about her UTSW residency.

“It feels great to have a wonderful, built-in support system for the next steps,” she said. “I’ve lived in Texas my whole life and so I applied really broadly for the interview process because I thought it was a great opportunity to spread my wings a little bit. And then throughout the interview season, I just realized how wonderful it is here. My heart was telling me I needed to stay in Dallas – that these are my people and my patients.”

Dr. Rubin holds The Margaret and Trammell Crow Distinguished Chair in Alzheimer’s and Geriatric Research, the Seymour Eisenberg Distinguished Professorship in Geriatric Medicine, the Sinor/Pritchard (Katy Sinor and Kay Pritchard) Professorship in Medical Education Honoring Donald W. Seldin, M.D., and the Walsdorf Professorship in Geriatrics Research.