July 2023

Dear friends,

I hope you have had some time to relax this summer! 

I recently had the privilege of joining our Neurology colleagues in celebration of Dr. Bob Greenwood's years of service. Dr. Greenwood joined the UNC Department of Neurology in 1977. Dr. Greenwood’s accomplishments over the past 40 years are extensive. He served as the Child Neurology Division Chief and Child Neurology Program Director for 33 years. In addition to his leadership roles, Dr. Greenwood also has had many productive years in research ranging from bench epilepsy research to translational work in neurocutaneous disorders. He and his lab were the first to make several discoveries relating to neurofibromatosis type I. He has also participated in multiple studies of antiepileptic drugs that have led to improved treatment of children with epilepsy. Dr. Greenwood helped to launch the first neurocutaneous disorder clinic at UNC and has served as the director or co-director for the last 30 years. The clinic is now a part of the Children’s Tumor Foundation Neurofibromatosis Network and serves the largest number of neurofibromatosis patients in the Southeast. We will certainly miss Dr. Greenwood!

Two other long time UNC faculty members also retired earlier this month. Kaye Gable and Ola Akintemi recently stepped down from their faculty roles based at Cone Health. Dr. Gable directed the teaching program at Cone Health and played a critical role in developing the UNC Pediatrics primary care focused residency training program at Cone Health. She had a wide variety of clinical interests including newborn care and helped to dramatically improve the care of newborns at this high volume center. Dr. Akintemi was well known for his bedside teaching and his love of diagnostic and clinical dilemmas. Both of these faculty have shaped generations of students and residents and will be deeply missed!

The Children’s Hospital, regional care sites, and outpatient clinics have been very busy. We are planning for several exciting physical plant changes including expansion of both the NCCC and PICU as well as renovation of the Children’s OR (with the move of the adult OR to the new tower). Within the past six months we have opened new clinic locations in Brunswick County and Jacksonville and are working on re-establishing a presence in Lumberton.

Also, I want to welcome our new fellows who recently joined UNC Children’s! We have a great group - we are excited you're here!

I wanted to share a quick reminder that the Liam Strong Beach 5K is Sunday, September 17^th, at Wrightsville Beach. We are looking forward to another successful event!

As always, I am thankful for your dedication and advocacy for the children of North Carolina.

Gratefully,

Please Welcome our New Children's Providers!

If you couldn't join us for the

Department of Pediatrics

Faculty & Staff Meeting

on Thurs, July 20th,

the slides can be found here!

Click to see the Slide Deck

Orr Awarded K23

Dr. Colin Orr, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, received a K23 Career Development Award from NIDDK to support his research program and career. His project is titled “Understanding and Addressing Food Insecurity and Obesity Among Infant-Parent Dyads.”

Congratulations Colin!

Powerful Pulmonary Team Work!

We are happy to highligh the ongoing key roles of UNC Pediatrics investigators in studying the application of highly-effective cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) in the care and treatment of kids with cystic fibrosis. These are life-changing therapies and a shining example of successful clinical trials in young children. 

Phase 3 Open-Label Clinical Trial of Elexacaftor/Tezacaftor/Ivacaftor in Children Aged 2-5 Years with Cystic Fibrosis and at Least One F508del Allele. Goralski JL, Hoppe JE, Mall MA, McColley SA, McKone E, Ramsey B, Rayment JH, Robinson P, Stehling F, Taylor-Cousar JL, Tullis E, Ahluwalia N, Chin A, Chu C, Lu M, Niu T, Weinstock T, Ratjen F, Rosenfeld M. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2023 Jul 1;208(1):59-67. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202301-0084OC. PMID: 36921081

Long-Term Safety and Efficacy of Elexacaftor/Tezacaftor/Ivacaftor in Children Aged ⩾6 Years with Cystic Fibrosis and at Least One F508del Allele: A Phase 3, Open-Label Clinical Trial. Wainwright C, McColley SA, McNally P, Powers M, Ratjen F, Rayment JH, Retsch-Bogart G, Roesch E, Ahluwalia N, Chin A, Chu C, Lu M, Menon P, Waltz D, Weinstock T, Zelazoski L, Davies JC. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2023 Jul 1;208(1):68-78. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202301-0021OC. PMID: 37154609. 

Accompanying editorial: Cystic Fibrosis: From Tragedy to Triumph. Ramsey B, Bush A. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2023 Jul 1;208(1):9-11. doi: 10.1164/rccm.202305-0785ED. PMID: 37167625

Dr. Bianca Allison – General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine – published: Single-visit insertion of long-acting reversible contraception in a single health system. Stuart GS, Yates L, Crump J, Allison BA, Navarro AL, Tadikonda A, Neal-Perry G, Arora KS. Contraception. 2023 Jul;123:110009. doi: 10.1016/j.contraception.2023.110009. Epub 2023 Mar 15. PMID: 36931546.

Dr. Melissa Bauserman – Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine – published:

Aspirin delays the onset of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy among nulliparous pregnant women: A secondary analysis of the ASPIRIN trial. Kavi A, Hoffman MK, Somannavar MS, Metgud MC, Goudar SS, Moore J, Nielsen E, Goco N, McClure EM, Lokangaka A, Tshefu A, Bauserman M, Mwenechanya M, Chomba E, Carlo WA, Figueroa L, Krebs NF, Jessani S, Saleem S, Goldenberg RL, Das P, Patel A, Hibberd PL, Esamai F, Bucher S, Koso-Thomas M, Silver R, Derman RJ. BJOG. 2023 Jul 20. PMID: 37470099.

COVID-19 symptoms and antibody positivity among unvaccinated pregnant women: An observational study in seven countries from the Global Network.  Kavi A, Goudar SS, Somannavar MS, Moore JL, Derman RJ, Saleem S, Naqvi S, Billah SM, Haque R, Figueroa L, Mazariegos M, Lokangaka A, Tshefu A, Esamai F, Mwenechanya M, Chomba E, Patel A, Das P, Bauserman M, Petri WA Jr, Krebs NF, Carlo WA, Bucher S, Hibberd PL, Koso-Thomas M, McClure EM, Goldenberg RL. BJOG. 2023 Jul 20. PMID: 37470094.

Neurodevelopment, vision and auditory outcomes at age 2 years in offspring of participants in the 'Women First' maternal preconception nutrition randomised controlled trial. Fernandes M, Krebs NF, Westcott J, Tshefu A, Lokangaka A, Bauserman M, Garcés AL, Figueroa L, Saleem S, Aziz SA, Goldenberg RL, Goudar SS, Dhaded SM, Derman RJ, Kemp JF, Koso-Thomas M, Sridhar A, M McClure E, Hambidge KM; Women First Preconception Nutrition Trial Study Group. Arch Dis Child. 2023 Aug;108(8):622-631. PMID: 37142335.

Dr. Molly Berkoff – General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine – published: Combined rapid sequence MRI protocol and skull radiography as an alternative to head CT in the evaluation of abusive head trauma in children: a pilot study.  Franklin D, Tiwari C, Zamora C, Barnett R, Woolard A, Hung SC, Berkoff M, Quinsey C. Neurosurg Rev. 2023 Jul 14;46(1):175. doi: 10.1007/s10143-023-02084-3. PMID: 37450200.

Dr. Toni Darville - Infectious Diseases – published: A Machine Learning-Based Analytic Pipeline Applied to Clinical and Serum IgG Immunoproteome Data To Predict Chlamydia trachomatis Genital Tract Ascension and Incident Infection in Women. Liu C, Mokashi NV, Darville T, Sun X, O'Connell CM, Hufnagel K, Waterboer T, Zheng X. Microbiol Spectr. 2023 Jun 15:e0468922. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.04689-22. Online ahead of print. PMID: 37318345.

Dr. Neal deJong – General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine – published: Associations between social health factors, cognitive activity and neurostructural markers for brain health - A systematic literature review and meta-analysis. Duffner LA, DeJong NR, Jansen JFA, Backes WH, de Vugt M, Deckers K, Köhler S. Ageing Res Rev. 2023 Aug;89:101986. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2023.101986. Epub 2023 Jun 24. PMID: 37356551.

Dr. Lauren Frazer – Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine -was awarded an NIH Loan Repayment Award from NIAID! Dr. Frazer was also invited to present her research at the Japanese Pediatric Society in April 2024. Congratulations Dr. Frazer!

Dr. Tisu Mvalo – General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine – published:

Safe infant feeding in healthcare facilities: Assessment of infection prevention and control conditions and behaviors in India, Malawi, and Tanzania. Caruso BA, Paniagua U, Hoffman I, Manji K, Saidi F, Sudfeld CR, Vernekar SS, Bakari M, Duggan CP, Kibogoyo GC, Kisenge R, Somji S, Kafansiyanji E, Mvalo T, Nyirenda N, Phiri M, Bellad R, Dhaded S, K A C, Koppad B, Nabapure S, Nanda S, Singh B, Yogeshkumar S, Fleming K, North K, Tuller DE, Semrau KEA, Vesel L, Young MF; LIFE Study Group. PLOS Glob Public Health. 2023 Jun 8;3(6):e0001843. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0001843. eCollection 2023. PMID: 37289720.

Changes in moderately low birthweight infant feeding, care, and health outcomes before compared to during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malawi.  Saidi F, Mokhtar RR, Hoffman IF, Phiri M, Nyirenda F, Msimuko K, Chiume M, Vesel L, Semrau KE, Mvalo T. J Glob Health. 2023 Jun 30;13:06025. doi: 10.7189/jogh.13.06025. PMID: 37387545.

Dr. Colin Orr – General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine - published:

Three Lessons About Diabetes and the Social Determinants of Health. Berkowitz SA, Orr CJ. Diabetes Care. 2023 Jun 24:dci230045. doi: 10.2337/dci23-0045. Online ahead of print. PMID: 37354315.

Examining Full-Time Academic General Pediatric Faculty Compensation by Gender, Race, and Ethnicity: 2020-2021. Omoruyi EA, Brown CL, Orr CJ, Montez K. Acad Pediatr. 2023 Jun 5:S1876-2859(23)00200-0. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2023.05.017. Online ahead of print. PMID: 37285912.

 Dr. Mike O’Shea – Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine – published: Child and family factors associated with positive outcomes among youth born extremely preterm. Emmanuel C, Yi JX, Joseph RM, Kuban KKC, Knafl KA, Docherty SL, Hodges EA, Fry RC, O'Shea TM, Santos HP Jr. Pediatr Res. 2023 Jul;94(1):172-177. PMID: 36639518.

Dr. Andrea Trembath – Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine – published: Rapid Whole-Genomic Sequencing and a Targeted Neonatal Gene Panel in Infants With a Suspected Genetic Disorder.  Maron JL, Kingsmore S, Gelb BD, Vockley J, Wigby K, Bragg J, Stroustrup A, Poindexter B, Suhrie K, Kim JH, Diacovo T, Powell CM, Trembath A, Guidugli L, Ellsworth KA, Reed D, Kurfiss A, Breeze JL, Trinquart L, Davis JM. JAMA. 2023 Jul 11;330(2):161-169. PMID: 37432431.

Dr. Jessica Young – General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine – published: her work with CCNC on healthcare disparities. She is the lead author on this CCNC report on health disparities, which reports racial disparities in child vaccinations in nearly every region in North Carolina. Thank you for the important work that highlights this finding! https://www.communitycarenc.org/data-brief-14

Mandy DuPont

Director of Research Administration

Nominated by: Dr. Mike Steiner

Mandy has been with the Department of Pediatrics in the C&G group since 2014. She has helped lead our grants management team for more than 5 years. As proposal submissions and grant awards have grown exponentially in recent years, she has bridged lean times in the team and also lead the unit during the recent period of team growth. She is highly thought of by her peers and colleagues and well respected by the investigators that are fortunate enough to work with her.

Her great talent is in acting as the interface between the university's research infrastructures and the investigators. She brings not only incredible expertise and knowledge, with a ‘can do’ attitude and flexibility that seems to always make things work!