Dr. Rice is a Professor of Pediatrics in the University of Arizona Department of Pediatrics.  She holds a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, a doctoral degree in Medicine from the University of Arizona, and a master’s degree in health evaluation sciences from the University of Virginia.She received residency and chief residency training in pediatrics at the University of Arizona where she received multiple teaching awards.

She worked for several years as a general pediatrician on the Arizona-Mexico border as part of the National Health Service Corp. During this time she developed a particular interest in children with special needs and policy issues related to their care. She then took a position on the faculty at the University of Arizona Department of Pediatrics working as a primary care provider for children with special health care needs and serving as a medical director for the Children’s Rehabilitation Services.

In 1999, Dr. Rice returned to fellowship training in developmental pediatrics at the University of Virginia and was granted an Individual National Research Service Award to support the development of a risk- adjusted model for functional outcome after traumatic brain injury in children.  She completed fellowship training at UVA and remained on faculty in Developmental Pediatrics, working clinically with children with traumatic brain injury and autism and was Medical Director of Head of the Kluge Children’s Rehabilitation Center and Research Institute, University of Virginia.

She returned to Arizona in April, 2005 to join the Department of Pediatrics at the UA. She has a special interest in children with traumatic brain injury, autism and myelomeningocele.  She works clinically on many different multi-disciplinary teams with children with varied disabilities. 

She teaches in the UA medical school in both the basic science and the clinical medical curricula. She is active with the American Academy of Pediatrics as an editor of an online publication for developmental pediatricians, PREPDB.  She is also active in the Arizona chapter of the AAP and multiple community and state boards.

Areas of Expertise: Brain Injury, Autoimmune Encephalopathy, Autism, Spina Bifida
Projects: Development of an Autism Core Curriculum for Nurse Practitioners; Neurodevelopmental Education Related to Zika (American Academy of Pediatrics); Interdisciplinary Professional Training in Rural Arizona; Healthy People 2020 grant to support increased developmental screening in primary care
Community organizations: Autism Society of Southern Arizona Board Member; Arizona State Autism Spectrum Disorder Advisory Council; Children’s Clinics for Rehabilitative Services
Grants: University of Arizona Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Training Grant; Arizona Biomedical Research Center-Research in Autoimmune Encephalopathy; Centers for Disease Control Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Project