Dr. Hajjar graduated from Smith College in 1974, and from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1978. She completed a residency in Pediatrics at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh (1978-1981) where she also served as Chief Pediatric Resident (1981-1982). She undertook a Fellowship in Pediatric Hematology-Oncology at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (1982-1984), including a year of cell biology research training with Professor Vann Bennett. In 1984, she joined the faculty of the Departments of Pediatrics and Medicine, and obtained further research training under Professor Ralph Nachman, then Chief of the Division of Hematology-Oncology in the Department of Medicine. She was named the Stavros Niarchos Professor of Pediatrics (1997-2002), served as Chair of the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology (2002-2014), and has held the Brine Family Professorship of Cell and Developmental Biology since 2005. Dr. Hajjar is credited with the discovery of the cell surface receptor for tissue plasminogen activator (annexin A2), and with demonstrating its importance in vascular homeostasis and angiogenesis. She is an elected member of the Society for Pediatric Research, the American Pediatric Society, the American Society of Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, the American Clinical and Climatological Association, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
