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Dear Friends,
I hope you all had a wonderful February.
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The first phase of the NCCC expansion is complete, and the second phase, which will increase the NCCC to 74 beds, is scheduled to be completed on 8/5/2024. The PCICU expansion planning is underway, and planning is ongoing for both the cardiac OR and the Children’s annex renovation. We expect our OR and procedure capacity to increase by over 33%.
Benny took a swing with a hammer during the ongoing renovation and expansion of the NCCC. The video below is just a bit of the phase 1 ribbon cutting, including the new Ronald McDonald House Family Kiosk.
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I am excited to announce that Sam Young, PhD has accepted the position as a Roper Investigator, Professor with Tenure and Director of the UNC Gene Therapy Center. He will join UNC Children’s on June 28th. He is currently at the University of Iowa where he is a Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology and serves as the Director of Molecular Auditory Research in the Department of Otolaryngology. His primary areas of research interest involve the synaptic control of auditory information processing and viral vector mediated gene therapy approaches for hearing and balance disorders.
We also have a few UNC Children’s leadership updates:
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Dr. Benny Joyner has been named an Associate Chief Medical Officer for UNC Medical Center. He will lead all medical clinical operations for inpatient and outpatient care for Children’s.
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Dr. Ceila Loughlin is the medical leader for all outpatient operations.
- Dr. Scott Elton continues as Executive Medical Director of the Children's Operating Room and within UNC Children's, serves as Surgeon in Chief.
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Dr. Lane Donnelly has been appointed as the Chief Quality and Safety Officer for UNC Children's. He will take over leading all work on quality, safety, and clinical guidelines within UNC Children's.
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Dr. Mike Steiner will continue to lead outreach work and our Wilmington Regional Campus.
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Our Genetics and Metabolism Division hosted a Rare Disease Day booth on 2/29! Rare Disease Day is a global initiative to raise awareness and generate support for everyone who is on a rare medical journey. It takes place on the last day of February, which this year was February 29th, the rarest day of the year. It was a great success!
I am excited to announce we will have a new combined Pediatrics and Genetics/Genomics residency program opening this recruitment cycle! We are also increasing our number of FIRST students, for the next two years, with the goal of increasing retention of children’s providers in N.C.
Recruitment for our physician-scientist pediatrics residents and fellows is underway! We are in the middle of recruitment season for our physician-scientist residents, we had interest from many highly qualified applicants. We currently have three residency PSTPs and are recruiting a potential of two more. We also currently have three fellowship PSTPs and are interviewing applicants.
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We also had a great second-look day for pediatrics residents. We continue to have over 1500 pediatric applicants for our program every year.
Quick reminder, if you are in a USNWR ranked specialty, please vote ASAP in the Doximity survey, and of course, vote for US! Emails with the survey link were sent on February 22nd.
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We also had a few physicians attend the 2024 AAMC Early-Career Women Faculty Leadership Development Seminar in San Diego, CA. See the picture of Katie Jordan, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Genny Taylor, MD, Assistant Professor in the Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, and Arshiya Ahuja, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Hospital Pediatrics at the conference!
As always, I am very thankful to work with such inspiring and motivated faculty and staff! Thank you for everything you do for our patients and families.
Gratefully,
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Please Welcome our New Children's Providers! | |
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Theresa Heifert, MD
Assistant Professor
Pediatric Gastroenterology
| Dr. Heifert joined the Department of Pediatrics as an Assistant Professor with the Division Pediatric Gastroenterology on February 12, 2024. Dr. Heifert earned her medical degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, completed her pediatric residency at the Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, WA, and completed her subspecialty training in Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD. Most recently she has been Staff Pediatric Gastroenterologist and Chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition at Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, NC. Welcome Theresa! | | | | |
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Bob Hanfland, MD joins us as Associate Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery.
Dr. Hanfland earned his MD from Southern Illinois University in 2004. He also completed the Surgical Leadership Program at Harvard. Coming to UNC from Nicklaus Children’s hospital, he has worked within several congenital heart programs. As a junior partner, he also helped usher in new senior surgeons for two different programs.
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Thane Blinman, MD, MBA joins us as Professor of Pediatric Surgery.
Dr. Blinman earned his MD from Vanderbilt in 1994. Along with a background in Pediatric Minimally Invasive and Pediatric Trauma Surgery, he held roles such as Director of Pediatric General Surgery Fellowship Program and Vice Chair of Surgical Education. He comes to us from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine bringing over 20 years of faculty experience.
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Abajas Promoted to Associate Professor | Yasmina Abajas, MD was promoted to Associate Professor of Pediatrics effective January 1, 2024. Dr. Abajas has been a faculty member in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology since 2016. | | | |
Jordan Promoted to Associate Professor | Katie Jordan, MD was promoted to Associate Professor of Pediatrics effective February 1, 2024. Dr. Jordan has been a faculty member in General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine since 2018. | | | |
Lercher Promoted to Associate Professor | Dan Lercher, MD was promoted to Associate Professor of Pediatrics effective February 1, 2024. Dr. Lercher has been a faculty member in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine since 2017. | | | |
Orr Promoted to Associate Professor | |
Colin Orr, MD, MPH was promoted to Associate Professor of Pediatrics effective February 1, 2024. Dr. Orr has been a faculty member in Pediatrics since 2019.
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Schwartz Promoted to Associate Professor | Stephanie Schwartz, MD was promoted to Associate Professor of Pediatrics effective February 1, 2024. Dr. Schwartz has been a faculty member in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine since 2018. | | | |
Zheng Promoted to Professor of Pediatrics | |
Xiaojing Zheng, PhD was promoted to Professor of Pediatrics effective February 1, 2024. Dr. Zheng has been a faculty member in Pediatric Infectious Diseases since 2013.
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Davis Receives 2024
Elizabeth A. Rich, MD Award
| Stephanie D. Davis, MD, Chair and Edward C. Curnen, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics has been selected by the American Thoracic Society (ATS) as the 2024 recipient of the Elizabeth A. Rich, MD Award. Each year award is presented to an outstanding woman in ATS who has made significant contributions in the fields of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine. The recipient is also recognized as an enduring leader and exceptional mentor who has made significant contributions to the ATS and impacted the lives and careers of mentees. | | | |
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Belhorn Receives 2024
UNC School of Medicine Distinguished Faculty Award
| Tom Belhorn, MD, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases, has been selected by UNC School of Medicine Medical Alumni to receive the 2024 UNC School of Medicine Distinguished Faculty Award. This award recognizes Dr. Belhorn's decades of leadership within pediatric infectious disease and his commitment to training the next generation of providers. The Distinguished Faculty Award honors excellence in teaching, contributions to medicine in the state, leadership in continuing education of practicing physicians and improvement of communication between UNC faculty, alumni, and residents of the state. | | | | |
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If you couldn't join us for the
UNC Children's Meeting
on Thurs, February 15th,
the slides can be found here!
Click to see the Slide Deck
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Redding-Lallinger Visiting Rotation Program | Pediatric Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiong would appreciate help promoting our visiting Redding-Lallinger Visiting Rotation for 4th year medical students. The University of North Carolina Department of Pediatrics is excited to offer the Redding-Lallinger Visiting Pediatric Rotation for fourth-year medical students who have an interest in contributing to the Diversity Equity and Inclusion efforts in Pediatrics. We are taking applications until June and the instructions for applicants is on the website. | | | The UNC Health Social Media team has been busy! If you don't already follow UNC Children's on Instagram, please take a second to check out this recent content. Click on the images below for these features and the additional reels below. Please follow UNC Children's to keep up with all of the future content featuring your friends and colleagues! | |
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Dr. Sam Young Joins UNC as Gene Therapy Center Director | |
The Department of Pediatrics is thrilled to announce that Samuel M. Young, Jr., PhD has accepted the position as a Roper Investigator, Professor with Tenure and Director of the UNC Gene Therapy Center. Dr. Young will join the Department on June 28th, 2024.
Dr. Young joins the Division of Pediatric Genetics & Metabolism from the University of Iowa where he is currently appointed as a Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology and serves as the Director of the Molecular Auditory Research in the Department of Otolaryngology.
Dr. Young’s primary areas of research interest involve the synaptic control of auditory information processing and viral vector mediated gene therapy approaches for hearing and balance disorders.
Please join us as we welcome Sam to Chapel Hill!
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The UNC Pediatric Allergy/Immunology team was well represented at the 2024 AAAAI Annual Meeting, February 22-26, in Washington, DC. Take a look at their schedule of appearances!
Dr. Yazan Alwarawrah – Endocrinology – was awarded a $50,000 Pilot & Feasibility (P&F) Program award from the UNC Nutrition Obesity Research Center (NORC) and SPLENDOR-NC (SPLENDOR-NC: Supporting, Promoting, and Launching the Expansion of Nutrition, Diabetes, and Obesity Researchers in North Carolina) for his project entitled, “IL-6 metabolic regulation of T cell immune response to viral infection in obesity.”
Dr. Melissa Bauserman – Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine – published :Neurodevelopment of Children Whose Mothers Were Randomized to Low-Dose Aspirin During Pregnancy. Hoffman MK, Goudar S, Dhaded S, Figueroa L, Mazariegos M, Krebs NF, Westcott J, Tikmani SS, Karim F, Saleem S, Goldenberg RL, Lokangaka A, Tshefu A, Bauserman M, Patel A, Das P, Hibberd P, Chomba E, Mwenchanya M, Carlo WA, Trotta M, Williams A, Moore J, Nolen T, Goco N, McClure EM, Lobo MA, Cunha AB, Derman RJ. Obstet Gynecol. 2024 Jan 23. PMID: 38262066
Drs. Melissa Bauserman and Jackie Patterson – Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine – published: Incidence of possible serious bacterial infection in young infants in the three high-burden countries of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, and Nigeria: A secondary analysis of a large, multi-country, multi-centre clinical trial. Lokangaka A, Ramani M, Bauserman M, Patterson J, Engmann C, Tshefu A, Cousens S, Qazi SA, Ayede AI, Adejuyigbe EA, Esamai F, Wammanda RD, Nisar YB, Coppieters Y. J Glob Health. 2024 Feb 2;14:04009. PMID: 38299777
Dr. Allison Burbank and Michelle Hernandez – Allergy/Immunology – published: Home spirometry monitoring to identify loss of asthma control in adolescents. Burbank AJ, Laux J, Brown J, Sims M, Ivins S, Hernandez ML. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2024 Jan 15. doi: 10.1002/ppul.26856. Online ahead of print. PMID: 38224240
Dr. Cara Beth Carr - Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine – published: Implicit Bias and Health Disparities Education in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Dyess NF, Carr CB, Mavis S, Caruso CG, Izatt S, French H, Dadiz R, Bonachea EM, Gray M. Am J Perinatol. 2024 Jan 8. PMID: 38190976
Dr. Ilona Jaspers - Allergy/Immunology – with post-doctoral scholar Dr. Timothy Smyth – published Diesel exhaust particles induce polarization state-dependent functional and transcriptional changes in human monocyte-derived macrophages. Smyth T, Jaspers I. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2024 Jan 1;326(1):L83-L97. doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00085.2023. Epub 2023 Dec 12. PMID: 38084400, recently featured in American Physiological Society APSSelect
Dr. Matthew Laughon – Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine – published:
Secular Trends in Patent Ductus Arteriosus Management in Infants Born Preterm in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network. Kaluarachchi DC, Rysavy MA, Carper BA, Chock VY, Laughon MM, Backes CH, Colaizy TT, Bell EF, McNamara PJ. J Pediatr. 2023 Dec 20;266:113877. PMID: 38135028
Prescribing practices of inhaled corticosteroids for premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit. Tang M, Ibrahim A, Laughon C, Moore K, Tejada A, Tran D, Kilpatrick R, Greenberg RG, Hornik CP, Zimmerman K, Laughon MM, Clark RH, Lang JE. J Perinatol. 2024 Jan 31. PMID: 38297180
Dr. Amalia Lee – Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine (second year fellow) - was invited to present her research at the AAP Perinatal & Developmental Medicine Symposium in January 2024..
Dr, Mike O’Shea – Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine – published:
Mechanisms and timing of brain injury among persons with cerebral palsy. O'Shea TM. Dev Med Child Neurol. 2024 Jan 18. PMID: 38238983
Placental cellular composition and umbilical cord tissue metal(loid) concentrations: A descriptive molecular epidemiology study leveraging DNA methylation. Bulka CM, Rajkotwala HM, Eaves LA, Gardner AJ, Parsons PJ, Galusha AL, O'Shea TM, Fry RC. Placenta. 2024 Jan 24;147:28-30. PMID: 38281400
Two-Year Autism Risk Screening and 3-Year Developmental Outcomes in Very Preterm Infants. Shuster CL, Sheinkopf SJ, McGowan EC, Hofheimer JA, O'Shea TM, Carter BS, Helderman JB, Check J, Neal CR, Pastyrnak SL, Smith LM, Loncar C, Dansereau LM, DellaGrotta SA, Marsit CJ, Lester BM. JAMA Pediatr. 2024 Feb 1;178(2):168-175. PMID: 38147347
Contributions of prenatal risk factors and neonatal epigenetics to cognitive outcome in children born very preterm. Camerota M, Lester BM, McGowan EC, Carter BS, Check J, Dansereau LM, DellaGrotta SA, Helderman JB, Hofheimer JA, Loncar CM, Neal CR, O'Shea TM, Pastyrnak SL, Smith LM, Abrishamcar S, Hüls A, Marsit CJ, Everson TM. Dev Psychol. 2024 Feb 15. PMID: 38358663
Agreement Between Two Behavioral Rating Scales in Preschoolers Born Very Preterm. Camerota M, Bagley J, McGowan EC, Carter BS, Check J, Dansereau LM, DellaGrotta SA, Helderman JB, Hofheimer JA, Loncar CM, Neal CR, O'Shea TM, Pastyrnak SL, Smith LM, Everson TM, Lester BM. J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2024 Jan 1;45(1):e72-e78. PMID: 38146850
Dr. Keia Sanderson – Pediatric Nephrology and Dr. Mike O’Shea – Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine – published: Adolescent Kidney Outcomes after Extremely Preterm Birth and Neonatal Acute Kidney Injury: There May be More to the Story. Lupo R, Chang E, Bjornstad EC, O'Shea TM, Sanderson KR. Am J Perinatol. 2024 Jan 9. PMID: 38195965
Dr. Sahal Thahir - Fellowship Physician-Scientist Training Program/Carolina Child Health Scholar – with Lauren Hernandz - Hematology/Oncology Fellow, and Dr. Zach Willis, Infectious Diseases – published Disseminated Nocardia nova in a child with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a case report. Arahirwa V, Thahir S, Hernandez L, Willis ZI. BMC Infect Dis. 2024 Feb 1;24(1):154. doi: 10.1186/s12879-023-08895-5. PMID: 38302864
Dr. Steven Trau – Pediatric Neurology – published: Tourette Syndrome and Tic Disorders. Trau SP, Singer HS. Pediatr Rev. 2024 Feb 1;45(2):85-95. doi: 10.1542/pir.2023-006014. PMID: 38296781
Dr. Rebecca Vitale – Endocrinology – was awarded a $10,000 Pilot & Feasibility (P&F) Program award from SPLENDOR-NC (SPLENDOR-NC: Supporting, Promoting, and Launching the Expansion of Nutrition, Diabetes, and Obesity Researchers in North Carolina) for her project entitled, “An Exploration of the Associations Between Executive Function Challenges and Type 1 Diabetes Management and Outcomes.”
Dr. Zach Willis – Infectious Diseases – published: Guidance for prevention and management of COVID-19 in children and adolescents: A consensus statement from the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society Pediatric COVID-19 Therapies Taskforce. Willis ZI, Oliveira CR, Abzug MJ, Anosike BI, Ardura MI, Bio LL, Boguniewicz J, Chiotos K, Downes K, Grapentine SP, Hersh AL, Heston SM, Hijano DR, Huskins WC, James SH, Jones S, Lockowitz CR, Lloyd EC, MacBrayne C, Maron GM, Hayes McDonough M, Miller CM, Morton TH, Olivero RM, Orscheln RC, Schwenk HT, Singh P, Soma VL, Sue PK, Vora SB, Nakamura MM, Wolf J. J Pediatric Infect Dis Soc. 2024 Feb 10:piad116. doi: 10.1093/jpids/piad116. Online ahead of print. PMID: 38339996
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Fellowship Program Coordinators
Department of Pediatrics
Nominated by: Amy Levinson, MD Fellowship Director
The Pediatric Fellowship Program Coordinators at UNC are unsung heroes and play a pivotal role in the success and smooth functioning of our pediatric fellowship programs, demonstrating a remarkable commitment to the comprehensive development of future pediatric specialists.
Their contributions extend across various domains, encompassing critical support for both fellows and program directors. These dedicated professionals skillfully navigate and manage the intricate logistics of our fellowship programs, managing everything from recruitment and onboarding processes to overseeing day-to-day operations to compliance with ACGME regulations.
Their role is crucial in fostering a positive and enriching learning environment, ensuring that fellows receive the necessary resources and guidance for their training. Our Pediatric Fellowship Program Coordinators contribute to the mission of UNC Pediatrics by helping to ensure that the next generation of pediatric specialists is well-trained to provide outstanding clinical care to all children.
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