BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Hassink is the director of the Nemours Pediatric Obesity Initiative at A.I. Dupont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE which is part of the Division of General Pediatrics. Dr. Hassink is the Chairperson of the Ethics Committee and a member of the Institutional Review Board for duPont Hospital for Children. She is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics for Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University.
Dr. Hassink is an active member of the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions and serves on a focus group on Obesity. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She has been a member of the AAP Task Force on Obesity, Delaware Chapter President, and District Chair for Region III. She is a Pediatric Consultant for the Delaware Office of Disability and a member of the Committee on Environmental and Public Health for the Medical Society of Delaware
She has written several articles and books, including A Parent’s Guide to Childhood Obesity, Pediatric Obesity: Prevention, Intervention, and Treatment Strategies for Primary Care, and Clinical Guide to Pediatric Weight Management.
Additionally, Dr. Hassink has collaborated in research efforts to identify pathophysiologic mechanisms of obesity, centering on the role of leptin. She is a frequent lecturer on the topic of childhood obesity, obesity prevention and weight management.
Dr. Hassink received her medical degree from Vanderbilt Medical School and a Masters in Pastoral Care and Consulting from Neumann College.