"We go above and beyond by providing a huge amount of knowledge and support to families." – Paul Thornton, M.D.
"After our baby didn't grow (height or weight) for over 6 months, we switched to Dr. Thornton and her growth has been right on target for years- she is now 5 years old and thriving! We adore Dr. Thornton and the whole Endocrinology care team. We have been incredibly blessed by them. They are top notch." - Patient family
I was born in Dublin, Ireland, and completed my medical school education there (hence the funny looking MD degree). After medical school, I moved to London and did some pediatric training there. Then, I moved to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where I completed my residency and a fellowship in pediatric endocrinology. I stayed on staff at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for several years before returning to Ireland in 1996 to run the National Center for Inherited Metabolic Diseases. In 1999, I moved back to Philadelphia and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to become the clinical director of the Congenital Hyperinsulinism Center, working closely with Dr. Charles Stanley. In 2003, I moved to Cook Children's Medical Center where I am very happy to continue working and hope to retire.
I knew I wanted to become a doctor at the age of 12 and never had plans to do anything else with my life, except perhaps become a chef. Once I got into medical school at 18, I very quickly realized I wanted to be a pediatrician. However, I didn't decide to become a pediatric endocrinologist until I started my training at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (where I was fortunate to work with the world's experts in hypoglycemia who taught me everything they knew and were responsible for fostering my love for helping babies and children with hypoglycemic disorders).
As the director of Cook Children's Endocrinology department, I have focused my energy on running the Congenital Hyperinsulinism Center and participating in the congenital adrenal hyperplasia, differences of sexual differentiation and Silver Russel clinics. I continue to see a few of my patients with general endocrine disorders that I have treated over the last 13-15 years so I can help transition them to adulthood.
My passion is for clinical medicine, making children comfortable at their medical visits and about their medical conditions, making the correct diagnosis and implementing the right treatment, while doing the least amount of testing and incurring the least amount of cost for families and yet providing the best quality of care. I like to approach my interactions with families with humor, while at the same time demonstrating empathy and understanding of the difficulties they are faced with on a daily basis managing a complex medical condition. I love to do research and travel around the world educating doctors about the rare diseases I treat. I especially love this now that my wife can travel with me because at the end of the day work is not just about taking care of patients, but also being able to spend time with and enjoy family.
