Phone: 845-249-2510
available 24/7
Fax: 845-249-2505
Bambini Pediatrics PC
For the last seven years, Dr. J had been a staff pediatrician at Cornerstone Health Center in Newburgh. During that time, she also served on the attending staff at Montefiore St. Luke's Cornwall and taught students as a clinical preceptor for Touro College of Medicine.
She is a diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine and received an Obesity Prevention in Pediatrics Award in 2015 from the NYS Department of Health. Like all the clinical staff at Bambini, she has a budding interest in the functional and integrative care of children.
From 2012 through early 2015, she worked in Mt. Kisco with Dr. Daniel Cameron, an internist with a special interest in tick-borne illness and president of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS). She also spent several years working as a staff nurse in the ICU / PCU at Hudson Valley Hospital Center and as a nurse practitioner East Coast Pain Management. She has experience with both trigger-point injections and Botox for migraine.
She has been a member of both ILADS and the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. She has clinical interests in the areas of PANDAS/PANS, Lyme disease, holistic management of ADHD, and adolescent health.
During much of 2017, Jen spearheaded Bambini's efforts at certification as a Level-3 Patient Centered Medical Home (a recognition that was granted to us by NCQA in January 2018). She is a member of our management team.
Formerly, she volunteered her time as treasurer for an organization called Friends of Kel, which aided cancer patients with uncovered medical expenses. She helped found the organization in honor of her best friend, Kelly Giancotti, who died from a brain tumor at the age of 22. Jen and her husband live in Hopewell Junction with two very active little boys, one very frisky Labrador retriever, and four suburban chickens.
He then spent two years as a pediatric hospitalist at the University of Florida- Jacksonville – caring for some very sick children. For the last eight years, Dr. Miller has been on the pediatric staff at Orange Regional Medical Center and a large medical practice in the Middletown area. He also served as chair of pediatrics at Catskill Regional Medical Center.
Dr. Miller is board-certified in both pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases. He is fluent in Spanish. He has three children, ages 26, 15 and 9. Hobbies outside the office include sports, exercise, cooking, gardening, and travelling.
He has a special interest in PANDAS and pediatric tick-borne illnesses. He is available to see newborns and new pediatric / adolescent patients as well as infectious disease consults / second opinions.
Bianca Stefanacci, PA-C
Bianca Stefanacci, PA-C also joined us in February 2024. She grew up in Milford, CT and only recently moved to Poughkeepsie in 2020. Bianca graduated from Albertus Magnus College in 2018 with a Bachelors degree in Biology. Afterwards she went on to become a surgical dental assistant and a medical scribe for a year -- gaining clinical experience and prepping for physician assistant school.
Michael A. Miller, MD
Michael Miller MD joined the medical staff at Bambini in September 2020. Dr. Miller graduated from the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ in 1998.
After completing medical school at Rutgers four years later, he spent a year at Beth Israel as a resident in Internal Medicine before heading back to Rutgers to complete his pediatrics residency. In addition, he went on to a fellowship in pediatric infectious disease at Yale University from 2007 through 2010. His post-graduate research there focused on polyomavirus.
Jennifer Bybel Lown, RN, MSN, FNP-BC
Jen Lown joined us in February 2015. A Dutchess County native, Jen graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in physics in 2004 from Fordham University. She was a Clare Booth Luce Scholar, National Science Foundation Scholar, and member of Alpha Sigma Nu, a Jesuit Honor Society.
From there, she obtained a BSN with Honors in 2007 and a MSN degree with a concentration in the Family Nurse Practitioner field in 2011 from Pace University.
Katherine Lockhart, BSN MSN FNP
Katherine Lockhart FNP is a lifelong Hudson Valley resident. She grew up right here in Poughkeepsie, and attended Dutchess Community College for her associates degree in elementary education.
She worked for a short time in real estate and had plans to become an elementary school teacher but then found her calling in healthcare.
Mukai Jaravaza, MD
Another recent member of our medical staff, Mukai Jaravaza MD, came aboard in December 2019. “Dr. J” graduated from North Carolina A&T University in May 1999. From there, she obtained her degree in medicine from St. Georges University School of Medicine and completed an internship in Queensland, Australia.
She finished her pediatric residency (including a year as chief resident) at Brooklyn Hospital Center in June 2010. The following year, she spent time as a volunteer physician at Chinyaradzo Children’s’ Orphanage in her native Zimbabwe.
Bianca then graduated from Marist College with a Masters in physician assistant studies in 2022. She then took a position on the Trauma and General Surgery service at Mid-Hudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie. There, she specialized in both adult and pediatric emergencies, orthopedics, and neurosurgery. She was credentialed in placing chest tubes, inserting central lines, suturing wounds, and casting /splinting. She is board certified by the NCCPA.
In her free time, Bianca enjoys soccer, hiking and spending time with her fiancé and family! She also spent many years coaching and volunteering at a youth soccer camp for children with disabilities. She has a special interest in integrative and functional medicine as well as pediatric orthopedic and neurodevelopment care!
She attended Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh for her BSN degree and has been a registered nurse for since 2013. Her first position was as a pediatric home care nurse for disabled and terminal patients. Her next position was a certified hospice & palliative care nurse.
Returning to Mount St. Mary College, she completed her Master of Nursing, and became a Family Nurse Practitioner in early 2023. She is board-certified by ANCC.
Katherine has four daughters, all of whom have been Bambini patients from birth to college. She knows all about estrogen! She enjoys the great outdoors, including her mini-farm of chickens and ducks. She also loves to hike, especially around the many waterfalls in our area.
He then got his first "real job," working at a staff model HMO on Union Street in Poughkeepsie. The organization later merged with CHP, and in the late 90's, joined Kaiser. As Kaiser Permanente closed its operation in the region in 1999, Dr. Malak established a large local practice. Starting with about 3,000 patients, it grew over the next ten years to serve about 15,000 children.
From 1996 through 2002, he was chairman of the division of pediatrics at St. Francis Hospital. And from 2003 to 2008, he served as associate chairman of the department of pediatrics at Vassar Brothers Medical Center. Over the years, he served on a number of committees at both hospitals. He helped establish the Center for Bloodless Care at Vassar. Since 1995, he has served on the scientifica advisory panel of the Xeroderma Pigmentosa Society.
Dr. Malak is a single parent with two adopted children. Some years ago, his son suffered a traumatic brain injury. He is thus empathic to other single parents, to those with internationally-adopted children, and to parents of children with special needs. He has been through hyperbaric oxygen treatments and stem cells with his son.
In recent years, Dr. Malak has developed a growing interest in the field of integrative pediatrics. He was a charter member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Complementary, Holistic, and Integrative Medicine. He has also been a member of the Holistic Pediatric Association. His interests currently include whole food nutrition (he is a past member of the Weston A. Price Foundation), the Body Ecology diet, and biomedical treatment approaches to autistic spectrum disorders, asthma, allergy, ADHD, and PANDAS.
In April 2012, he became a charter member of the Medical Academy of Special Needs Children. More recently, He became a board member at Meds4Kids Research Collaborative LTD.
Joseph T. Malak, MD
Dr. Malak is the founder of Bambini Pediatrics. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, he attended Western Reserve College (graduating magna cum laude with honors in biology) and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
He then moved to Kansas City, and completed a residency in pediatrics at Childrens Mercy Hospital in 1984. From there, he went on to serve as chief resident in pediatrics at Albany Medical Center.
In 2005, Dawn joined the nursing team of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at White Plains Hospital. There, she helped care for premature infants as tiny as 18 ounces. She enjoyed the long term interactions with both the babies and parents, and provided families much needed guidance along the way. It was around this time that she began her graduate studies at Lehman College in the Bronx.
In 2006, Dawn moved from White Plains to Wallkill where she continued her career in the NICU at St. Luke's Hospital in Cornwall. In 2011, she received her MSN degree and became a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. She is a member of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and is certified by the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board. She received the "Top Doc" award by Hudson Valley Parent Magazine (nurse practitioner category) every year from 2015, through 2019.
Dawn resides in Wallkill with her husband and three young daughters. There is a family history of dyslexia, which has led Dawn to develop a strong interest in this condition as well as related learning challenges. In 2019, she helped organize a dyslexia awareness group for parents in her school district.
Dawn Prati, MSN, RN, CPNP-PC
Dawn Prati MSN, RN, CPNP-PC joined Bambini in June 2013. Mrs. Prati (who goes by "Dawn" in the office) received her BSN degree from Pace University in Pleasantville, NY in 2000.
For the next five years, she staffed the inpatient pediatric services at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital in Valhalla. During this time, she also provided homecare nursing for respirator-dependent cerebral palsy patients.