Dr. Deborah Lowen

Deputy Commissioner, Child Health
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Dr. Deborah Lowen serves as the Deputy Commissioner of Child Health for the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.

Dr. Lowen has been working as a child abuse pediatrician since 1997, performing medical evaluations of children suspected of being abused or neglected.  Prior to joining DCS, she was the head of the child maltreatment program at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, building a team of clinicians and providing education within the medical center and in the community.  She has also worked in Tulsa, OK, Stratford, NJ, and Providence, RI, providing her with the experience of practicing in different medical settings as well as working with diverse child welfare systems.

Having medically evaluated thousands of children due to concerns of abuse or neglect, Dr. Lowen has testified numerous times in multiple different court settings in multiple states, including civil, criminal, and federal courts.  She has spoken at multiple local, state, and national conferences on various topics related to child abuse and neglect.

Dr. Lowen has served on state, local, and national committees related to her work.  In 2019 she finished a 2-year term as chair of the Child Abuse Pediatrics Sub-board of the American Board of Pediatrics, the certifying body for pediatricians seeking board-certification in this specialized field.

Dr. Lowen received her undergraduate degree from Duke University and her medical degree from Wake Forest School of Medicine.  She completed her residency in Pediatrics in Denver at The Children’s Hospital affiliated with the University of Colorado.  Her fellowship in Child Abuse Pediatrics was completed at Hasbro Children’s Hospital, affiliated with Brown University.  She is board-certified in both General Pediatrics and Child Abuse Pediatrics.