Tamara Palka, MD was born and raised in Shavertown, PA. She currently resides in Cape Elizabeth. Tamara attended Saba University School of Medicine, and then went to University of Maryland/Sheppard Pratt for General Psychiatry Residency. She attended MMC for Child Psychiatry Fellowship and now works at Spring Harbor Hospital’s developmental disorder unit. There are about a dozen specialized inpatient hospital units for children with autism/developmental disabilities in the nation and she has worked on 3 of them. She teaches both residents and fellows from MMC. Involved in ongoing research with the Autism and Developmental Disorders Inpatient Research Collaborative (ADDIRC) and presented a poster at the national AACAP (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) meeting in October. She is also the state delegate for MCCAP (Maine Council of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) as well as an executive committee member. In her free time she loves to enjoy seasonal activities, spending time with her family and baking.