Melissa Sundberg

Melissa Sundberg is a pediatric emergency medicine physician and quality improvement researcher at Boston Children’s Hospital. Her work focuses on improving the quality and safety of pediatric care across academic and community hospital settings, with particular emphasis on reducing variation in care and translating evidence-based practices into diverse clinical environments.

She has led local and multicenter quality improvement initiatives addressing diagnostic safety, appropriate imaging, antibiotic stewardship, asthma care, among others. A central focus of her work is improving pediatric care in community hospitals, where most children receive emergency care but pediatric-specific resources and quality improvement infrastructure may be limited. Her research seeks to develop scalable approaches to measuring pediatric quality, implementing evidence-based practices, and improving outcomes for children across health systems.

Selected Publications

1. Tyler, J.S.; Mills, M.J.; Friedman, D.I. “The operator and early promoter region of the Shiga toxin type 2-encoding bacteriophage 933W and control of toxin expression.” J. Bacteriol. 2004. 186:7670-7679.
2. Sundberg, M, Parver, S., Morin, M. Stack, A. “An Intervention to Improve Caregiver Adherence to Oral Rehydration Therapy.” Pediatric Quality and Safety. 2017. 2(3): 1-7.
3. Smith, A. Sundberg, M. Pediatric Quality Improvement Engagement In The Community Setting. Clinical Pediatric Emergency Medicine. 2017 18 (2). 138-144.
4. Sundberg, M, Perron, C. Kimia, A, Landschaft, A, Nigrovic, L, Nelson, K. Fine, A, Eisenberg, M, Baskin, M, Neuman, M, Stack, A. (2018). A method to identify pediatric high-risk diagnosis missed in the emergency department. Diagnosis, 5(2), pp. 63-69
5. Smith, A, Gruskin, K, Monuteaux, M, Stack, A, Sundberg, M, Yim, R, Seneski, A, Becker, T.Reducing the Cranial CT Rate for Pediatric Minor Head Trauma at Three Community Hospitals. Pediatric Quality and Safety. 2019 4(2) 147.
6. Sundberg, M., Sexton, J, Gruskin, K. Pediatric Emergency Medicine Quality of Care: Pediatric Emergency Medicine Quality of Care: Strategies for Continued Improvement. Clinical Pediatric Emergency Medicine. September 2019 20(3): 100712 DOI:10.1016/j.cpem.2019.100712.
7. Humphrey, K, Sundberg, M, Milliren, C., Graham , D., Landrigan , C. Frequency and Nature of Communication and Handoff Failures in Medical Malpractice Claims. J Patient Saf 2022 Mar 1;18(2):130-137. Doi: 10.1097/PTS.0000000000000937.
8. Foster AA, Sundberg M, Williams DN, Li J. Emergency department staff perceptions about the care of children with mental health conditions. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2021 Oct 15;73:78-83. Doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2021.10.002.
9. Sundberg, M, Sexton, J, Smith, A, Toomey, S. Quality Improvement Collaborative in Community Emergency Departments: Antibiotics for Pneumonia. Pediatrics 2023 Jul 1;152(1):e2022059201. doi: 10.1542/peds.2022-059201. PMID: 37282885.
10. Dodderer, JK, Meyer, E, McAnally, M, Falcone, MM, Sundberg, M, Nihalani, BR. Infant with inability to abduct left eye. JACEP Open. 2021; 2:e12381. https://doi.org/10.1002/emp2.12381