Pediatric Fellows' Research in Progress takes place on the first Thursday of each month. Third and second-year fellows present their ongoing academic scholarship work. This month's presenters were:

Dr. Brittany Groh (Third Year Critical Care Fellow)

Topic: "The Airway Microbiome in Bronchiolitis-Associated Respiratory Failure." 

Dr. Mia Spad (Third Year Critical Care Fellow)

Topic: "Child Life After PICU-2 Study"

ACIP December Meeting: Submit Your Comment by November 24

The ACIP December meeting comment period is now open. See the information below to help craft your comment submissions. You don’t need to cover each point shared below. Just choose whichever issue you want to highlight. Submit your comment by November 24!

Use your OUTSIDE voice to advocate for vaccine access and community safety. More information is available here.

How to Submit a Comment:

1. Go to this site. https://www.regulations.gov/
2. Copy and paste this docket number into the search tab at the top: CDC-2025-0783
3. Click the blue comment box and type your comment.

Key Points to Include:

Process Concerns: Since June, ACIP has excluded external experts from Work Group discussions and stopped using evidence frameworks (EtR and GRADE), reducing transparency in decision-making.

Hepatitis B Protection: ~1,000 U.S. infants get hepatitis B annually through perinatal transmission, with 90% developing chronic infection. The vaccine has reduced cases by 90% and is proven safe for newborns.

Outbreak Risks: The Americas lost measles-elimination status in November 2024. U.S. kindergarten vaccination rates are declining while exemptions rise. Measles and pertussis cases are increasing, and outbreaks cost $7,000-$243,000 per case.

Combination Vaccines: These reduce shots and visits while providing on-time protection. Changes to single-vaccine recommendations impact multi-disease combination products.

Safety Evidence: Vaccines undergo extensive testing and continuous monitoring. Multiple studies confirm vaccines don’t increase risk of chronic disease, autism, or death.

Yasmine Issah, a PhD student in the Permar Lab within the Immunology & Microbial Pathogenesis program, advanced to the finals and competed in the 2025 Three Minute Thesis Competition.

Dr. Duncan Hau, was selected as an awardee for the WCM EDgeGrant for his project, "Using AI-Powered Virtual Patient Simulations to Teach Cross-Cultural and Ethical Decision-Making in Global Health Education".

Dr. Karen Acker

Investigation and control of an outbreak of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus skin and soft tissue infections in a neonatal intensive care unit

Changing epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 positivity rates in a diverse population of children and adults during variant evolution and progressive vaccination eligibility in New York City

Dr. Melanie Dubois

Metagenomic next-generation sequencing reveals cross-reactivity of lateral flow cryptococcal antigen assay with Trichosporon inkin

Dr. Laurie Gordon et al.

Teaching pediatric residents to be advocates. Journal of Pediatrics: Clinical Practice

Dr. Priyanka Tiwari et al.

A multidisciplinary quality improvement initiative to improve neonatal end-of-life care in a level IV NICU

Dr. Sallie Permar explains on Bloomberg News how vaccines have significantly improved pediatric care, even though the specialty often faces financial challenges. Read more here!

Dr. Karen Acker presented a talk titled “Epidemiology of Healthcare-Associated Respiratory Viral Infections in Children” during the SHEA/PIDS Virtual Workshop on Challenging Topics in Pediatric Healthcare Epidemiology.

Dr. Aliza Solomon presented two abstracts at the NASPGHAN Annual Meeting in Chicago on "Natural History and Nutritional Impact of Pediatric EoE: A Single-Center Prospective Registry" and "Design and Implementation of a Multidisciplinary Patient Support Program for Pediatric Food Allergy and Intolerances (FAIT)."

Dr. Solomon was also appointed Vice President of the Bockus International Society of Gastroenterology this month.

Dr. Laurie Gordon conducted a webinar for the APA Public Policy and Advocacy Committee’s Advocacy Skills-Building Campaign on “Artivism: Using Art for Activism.” The skills-building campaign is available to APA members. Blakely Rice and Shao Ting also took part in the webinar. View infographic here!

Dr. Asim Shahid discusses seizures and epilepsy that can impact children in last week's Kids Health Cast Podcast episode. Listen to the podcast here!

We’re excited to announce the launch of our department’s new blog — a space to share stories, research, and insights from across our community. Our second post, “Why Pediatrics is the Ultimate Investment in Health and Humanity,” examines how collaboration can create healthier, more supportive environments for children. Featuring everything from research spotlights to personal reflections, the blog is intended to serve as a platform where all voices are welcomed and heard.

Schedule your Professional Headshot

External Affairs has established "headshot days" to fill the business need for standardized institutional headshots, particularly for clinical faculty profiles. 

Employees in need of headshots may sign up for a 10-minute time slot through Microsoft Bookings (login required).

Upcoming headshot days:

December 8, 2025

Register Here!

2nd Annual Multidisciplinary Care of Autistic Youth Conference

This two-day virtual event is open to all, including mental health and pediatric professionals and trainees, parents and caregivers, self-advocates, and members of the community.

CME and CE credits will be offered.

Dates: January 22, 2026 | 8:30am - 4:30pm

January 23, 2026 | 8:30am - 4:15pm

Location: Virtual

Register by emailing wcmpsychiatryce@med.cornell.edu

Global Infectious Diseases Across a Woman's Lifespan Course

Date: May 13-15, 2026

Deadline to apply: October 31, 2025

Email wgh@med.cornell.edu for more information.

The Health Management Academy - AI 101 for Healthcare Professionals free webinar

December 3rd 1:00 - 2:00pm | Register here

December 4th 1:00 - 2:00pm | Register here