Alexandra Paige Volk, MD $$

Critical Care Specialist

Associate Professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center
Service Chief at Children's Health

Languages Spoken:
English

Locations

UT Southwestern Pediatric Group

Biography

Alexandra Paige Volk, M.D., is a physician at Children’s Health℠ who specializes in Pediatric Critical Care.

Dr. Volk earned her medical degree at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. She completed her residency in Pediatrics and a fellowship in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

She is currently Medical Director for the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Children’s Medical Center Plano. Dr. Volk also serves as Medical Director for Respiratory Care Services and Service Chief of Intensive Care and Inpatient Services.

She has a special interest in how compassion for patients, their families and health care providers supports improvement in patient safety. Dr. Volk is the Physician Leader for the Children’s Medical Center Plano Schwartz Center Rounds program, established to increase compassion and more meaningful collaboration between patients and medical professionals.

She has also performed scientific research on the innate immune system and the role of neutrophil chemotaxis during infection or sepsis.

I'm blessed to work as a pediatric intensive care doctor.
Dr. Alexandra Volk

“I'm blessed to work as a pediatric intensive care doctor,” says Dr. Volk. “My goal is to translate medicine into language children and families can understand. I may not always succeed, but I keep focusing on the fact that there's nothing ‘routine’ about a child being in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).”

Dr. Volk learned that she has a heart for medicine when her grandfather became ill and passed away following surgery for an abdominal aortic aneurysm. “My mother and I spent months caring for him with my grandmother in their home and then in the hospital,” she says. “Although I considered being a geriatrician, I could not shake my love for children.” She finds that caring for children and their families during the most difficult times of their lives is an honor.

When not working, she loves spending time with her family, playing outside with her kids and supporting her family's baseball obsession. For "me time" Dr. Volk enjoys reading and rejuvenating at the spa with massages.

Education and Training

Medical School
University of Iowa College of Medicine (2000)
Residency
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (2003), Pediatrics
Fellowship
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (2006), Pediatric Critical Care
Board Certification
American Board of Pediatrics/Critical Care

Departments and Programs

  • Research Interests

    • Neutrophil chemotaxis
    • NADPH oxidase and the reactive oxygen species signaling
    • Cell volume regulation
  • Publications

    • Correction: Interferon Regulatory Factor 6 Has a Protective Role in the Host Response to Endotoxic Shock. Joly S, Rhea L, Volk P, Moreland JG, Dunnwald M PloS one 2017 12 1 e0171459
  • Professional Activities

    • University of Iowa Inflammation and Immune Diseases Center (2012)
    • Midwest Society for Pediatric Research (2009)
    • Pediatric Academic Society (2008)
    • Society for Leukocyte Biology (2004)
    • Society of Critical Care Medicine (2003)
    • American Academy of Pediatrics (2000)
    • Phi Beta Kappa Society (1996)
    • Mortar Board National Honor Society (1995-1996)
  • Awards and Honors

    • D Magazine Best Pediatric Specialists 2019, 2021
    • PEO Scholarship for International Study 1998, University of Iowa Healthcare
    • Phi Beta Kappa 1996, Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, IA
    • Mortar Board National Honor Society 1995-1996, Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, IA
    • Election to Society for Pediatric Research 2010
    • Above and Beyond Award 2003, University of Iowa Healthcare

Where I Provide Care: