Winter 2024

USF Health Pediatrics Newsletter Winter 2024

Chair's Message

“Children don’t vote.” “Children are our future.”



We hear statements like these all the time. They are reminders that the majority of patients that we care for do not vote, are poorer than our adult patients, perhaps they are immigrants struggling to stay in the US or are children who have faced multiple adverse events in their short lifespans. But in the same breath, most folks acknowledge that the future of our country – and frankly our world – will be in the hands of our children. So why don’t we put a greater emphasis on their needs? Why can’t we take a lifespan approach to health and agree that investing in our children makes good economic sense? More than 25% of children have a chronic health condition such as asthma, ADHD, obesity or anxiety; our healthcare teams have a major impact on the trajectory of their health. I believe that we make a difference every day with the work we do in our hospitals and clinics. And that is why the fourth pillar of our departmental mission is advocacy. Pediatrics as a specialty was born with advocacy at its core. Did you know that the AAP was started when pediatricians pulled out of the AMA because it would not support the first federal feeding program which formed the basis of WIC? We need to continue to advocate for reimbursement of multidisciplinary care, and for the recognition of the importance of social work, nutrition and psychology – to name some of the key specialties that help families navigate the world of chronic diseases. And we need to advocate for economic parity with our adult specialty colleagues. I am inspired by my first pediatric chairman, Dr. Gerold Schiebler from UF, who recently passed away. He demonstrated an unrelenting passion to improve the lives of children and pushed all the pediatricians he knew to do the same. He helped pass a vast array of legislation, from seatbelt laws to congenital heart screening. He leaves a lasting legacy, but there is still much work to be done. I hope that we can honor Dr. Schiebler and all who came before him in our field and who continue to fight for our children’s future – our future….  

Happenings

Children's Gasparilla Parade

Pediatrics faculty, staff and their families had lots of fun at this year’s Children’s Gasparilla Parade held on January 20th! The TGH Muma Children’s Hospital sponsored a float.

The YYC clinic recently had an art installation done by Embracing Legacy, an organization that provides youth with artistic and educational opportunities. The open house was held on Feb 10.

Patty Emmanuel, MD and Tanner Wright, MD presented to the USF LIFT (Leadership and Innovation Forum of Tampa) group at the University Club March 7th and highlighted initiatives by USF Pediatrics including the substance exposed newborn program and PediClinic at MaryLees house. 

Faculty Promotions

We congratulate the seven faculty members who were successfully promoted this year!

Larry Dishaw, PhD,

Professor

Claudia Espinosa, MD, Professor

Keyur Donda, MD,

Associate Professor

Racha Khalaf, MD,

Associate Professor

Meredith Plant, MD

Associate Professor

Danielle Reynolds, MD, Associate Professor

Tanner Wright, MD, Associate Professor

In Memoriam

Kudos

• Dr. Dennrik Abrahan received GME program enhancement funds to purchase a point-of-care ultrasound for the residency program. Congratulations!

• Kudos to Drs. Tanner Wright, Claudia Espinoza and coordinator Marcia Kneusel - the Pediatric stars of the CDC initiative known as MATLINK (Maternal and Infant Network to Understand Outcomes Associated with Medication for Opioid Use Disorder During Pregnancy). USF is the only institution doing the full scope of surveillance and has been asked to share their secrets with other sites nationally. 

• Drs. Michelle Edward and Ciara Alvarez were chosen to attend the 2024 Frontiers in Science Symposium through the Association of Medical School Pediatric Departments Frontiers in Science Symposium. The event highlights pediatric research and provides information and mentoring to residents considering fellowships and academic medicine. The event was held in New Orleans, Feb 29 - March 1.



• The TGH NICU has been awarded $20,000 through the We Care Grant from the Jennie K. Scaife Foundation. Dr. Patoula Panago-Billiris is the lead on this multidisciplinary grant that includes team members from nursing, social work, case management and psychiatry. The grant provides resources to support parents who participate in the care of their infants in the NICU. The award is linked to the NICU team’s participation in a state-wide quality improvement initiative with the Florida Perinatal Quality Collaborative to improve the NICU discharge process and transition to families having their parents at home.

• Congratulations to Dr. William Hudson for passing his General Psychiatry Boards and Chief Residents Drs. Ivy Wilson and Andrea Lafnitzegger for passing their Peds boards!

• Congratulations to med-peds resident Alaina Mui, MD for being named a GME Culture Champion!  

• Drs. Andrew Galligan, Roshini Pukhucode and Jonathan Slimovitch were elected to the Gold Humanism Society. The Society recognizes physicians for their compassionate care and strives to foster leadership. Physicians are nominated by third and fourth-year students, and are selected by faculty and student members of the Society. Congratulations!

• Dr. Vinita Kiluk is the faculty lead on a multidisciplinary proposal  that was recently awarded $10,000 in funding from the NICHE program of the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry. Dr. Andrew Galligan is a co-Investigator. The goal is to provide training to medical students and inspire a medical career focused on individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Clinical Team Members of the Month

January: No awardee

February: Mary Leavitt, RN, at the North Riverview clinic location

Welcome New Faculty

Marta Toth, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher, Allergy & Immunology. Dr. Toth is completing her predoctoral fellowship with the University of Debrecen, Hungary.

Katrina Scarimbolo, PhD, Postdoctoral Clinical Scholar, Rothman Center. Dr. Scarimbolo received her PhD from USF in 2023, where she also completed her internship.

Tammy Fried, LCSW, Director of Social Work and Integrated Services. Tammy received her MSW from New York University in 2006. Her previous experience includes service as Assistant Clinical Director at the Rose F. Kennedy Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center.

Resident Fellowship Matches

We are very proud of our third-year residents who successfully matched into subspecialty fellowships!

·        Kate Finely: Adult Cardiology, University of Florida

·        Landon Smart: Critical Care Medicine at UC-San Diego

·        Nikhil Vallabhaneni: Critical Care Medicine at Medical College of Georgia

·        Libby Havlicek: Critical Care Medicine at the University of Utah

·        Jessica Hukill: Neonatology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital

·        Roshni Pudhucode: Child Psychiatry, Medical College of Georgia (2025)

Welcome New Staff

Melissa Whitebread, Program Planner/Analyst; Child Development

Keiren Goldstein, Human Services Practitioner; Referral Center

Elena Contreras, Human Services Practitioner; Child Protection Team

Celia Miller, Technical and Paraprofessional; ID/YYC

Betsy Harrisberger, Technical and Paraprofessional; Early Steps

David Hoffman, Program Planner/Analyst; ID/YYC

Melanie Ryerson, Human Services Practitioner; Child Development

Felicia Nguyen, Student Assistant; Dr. Larry Dishaw

Michelle Robisch, APRN; Student Health

Katelyn Kulas, APRN; Student Health

Bushra Ahmed, Insurance Specialist; Early Steps

Bridget Mulhall, Community Outreach Caseworker; Early Steps

Marta Toth, Postdoctoral Scholar Researcher; Allergy & Immunology

Jenny Clanton, Technical and Paraprofessional; Neonatology/Dr. Tanner Wright

Venus James, APRN; Student Health

John Slimak, Community Outreach Caseworker; Early Steps

Rahim Miller, Student Assistant; Infectious Diseases/YYC

Abby Schneider, Technical and Paraprofessional; Neonatology/Dr. Tanner Wright

Ashley Iannizoto, Program Planner/Analyst; Child Development

Scientific Review

Faculty and trainees are reminded that all investigator-initiated studies need to be submitted for departmental scientific review prior to being submitted to the IRB. Departmental review is required before the IRB will consider the application. Please send your protocols and any inquiries about the process to Jane Carver (jcarver@usf.edu).

Publications

Dr. Jolan Walter is an author on:



·        Identification of unstable regulatory and autoreactive effector T cells that are expanded in patients with FOXP3 mutations. Sci Transl Med. 2023 Dec 20;15(727)

·        Editorial: Mechanisms of dysregulated antibody responses in inborn errors of immunity. Front Immunol. 2023 Nov 21;14:1335217

·        Disease-associated AIOLOS variants lead to immune deficiency/dysregulation by haploinsufficiency and redefine AIOLOS functional domains. J Clin Invest. 2023 Nov 28:e172573.

·        Clinical, immunological features, treatments and outcomes of autoimmune hemolytic anemia in patients with RAG deficiency. Blood Adv. 2023 Oct 26.

·        Disease-associated AIOLOS variants lead to immune deficiency/dysregulation by haploinsufficiency and redefine AIOLOS functional domains. J Clin Invest. 2023 Nov 28:e172573

·        PLCG2-associated immune dysregulation (PLAID) comprises broad and distinct clinical presentations related to functional classes of genetic variants. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2023 Sep 26:

Presentations

Kumar M. Common diagnoses: uncommon presentations, common presentations, uncommon diagnosis. Medanta Hospital Gurugram, India.

Walter JE: CMV-specifically adaptive immune response in U.S. Mennonite patients with hypomorphic RAG1 and RAG2 mutations presenting with clinical variability. Foundation for Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases 18th International Symposium on Inborn Errors of Immunity. Newport Beach, CA, Nov 18, 2023

Walter J. CMV and human milk: risk of infection in SCID. Immune Deficiencies in the Plain Community, Rochester NY, Oct 6, 2023

USF Health Research Day, March 1st

Southern Society for Pediatric Research, New Orleans, Feb 22-24

• Riley V, Estrada S, Hukill J, Kumar A, Cain M, Randis T, Ford S. Platform presentation: Body composition in low birth weight preterm infants born to mothers with hypertensive disorders.

• Eiges A., Ford S, Obican S, Kumar A, Flores-Torres J. Poster: The impact of visual aids on parental anxiety and understanding during prenatal consults for prematurity between 22-32 weeks gestation – a randomized controlled trial.

Latin American Society for Immunodeficiencies International Congress, Mexico City,

Oct 20

• Dr. Walter was an author on a poster titled Recommendations from the ClinGen SCID VCEP: Implementation of ACMG/AMP variant curation guidelines for severe combined immunodeficiency disease.

• Dr. Walter made an oral presentation titled Spectrum of disease in RAG deficiency.

12^th Annual JHACH Research Symposium, October 27-28

• Dasso J, Ujhazi B, Csomos K, Franson B, Blair G, Gordon S, Nagy T, Zhao L, Walter J. Low fiber diet promotes immune dysregulation in a mouse model of a genetic combined immunodeficiency.

American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology Annual Meeting, Anaheim CA, Nov 9-13, 2023

• Drs. Patel and Nguyen each received $800 Fellows in Training scholarships to attend the meeting and present their ePosters:

• Nguyen M, Melander M, Metts J, Hajirawala M. A rare case of neuroblastoma and hypereosinophilia successfully treated with mepolizumab.

• Patel P, Potts DE, Dasso J, Hajirawala M, Sriaroon P, Walter J. Clinical history and management of a family with activated phosphoinositide-3-kinase δ (PI3Kδ) syndrome.

• Dzoba E, Dimitrova D, Walter J. Poster: Chance for a better life: Severe case of immune dysregulation treated with bone marrow transplantation.

• Patadia P, Alas E, Bar N, Peng X, Walter JE. Poster: Importance of establishing genotypical-phenotypical relationship in patients with NFKB1 deficiency.

• Walter JE. Oral presentation: Emerging approaches to management of SID: What’s the data?

• Sher MR. Oral presentation: Treating the patient with chronic cough as main complaint.

Save the Dates

March 15th: Match Day

April 13 & 14th: TGH and USFTGP Team Member Appreciation Day, Busch Gardens

April 18th: Barness Lecture and Fellows Forum

May 2-6th: Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting - Toronto

May 9th: USF Health Graduation

May 7, May 22, June 10: Promotion and Tenure Workshops

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Please send content for the next newsletter to pedicom@usf.edu by 6/03/2024