Dr Donna J. Perlin is a pediatric emergency physician at The Children’s Hospital at Tristar Centennial in Nashville, Tennessee. Previously she was on the faculty at The University of Maryland Medical Center, The Johns Hopkins Medical Center and Vanderbilt Medical Center. 

Dr Perlin earned her MD from Virginia Commonwealth University, Medical College of Virginia, in 1989 and she completed her internship and residency in general pediatrics there. She performed a fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine at The Johns Hopkins Medical Center. 

She is keenly interested in improving patient experience and patient care in the emergency department for children on the autism spectrum. Dr Perlin led a team as they developed the first sensory friendly emergency facility in Middle Tennessee. This initiative has spread throughout The Children’s Hospital at Tristar Centennial and the blueprints are being used by hospitals around the country to establish more sensory friendly departments. 

Dr Perlin is on the Board of Autism Tennessee and is the parent of a young adult on the autism spectrum.