USF Health Pediatrics Newsletter Winter 2026 | | |
I love when I get the draft of our department newsletter. Often, I learn for the first time of some faculty or staff accomplishment or award. Besides pride, it reminds me to celebrate the good. It’s important to take the time to recognize the hard work that goes into each of these recognitions and to be grateful for that extra effort. I hope that you will acknowledge and appreciate these individual and group accomplishments as I do. This newsletter also reflects the diverse activities that are the lifeblood of an academic department.
Please take a moment to thank Stacey Martin, Jane Carver and Barbara Cockream who make this publication happen every quarter. And let us continue to celebrate each other and the work that we do on behalf of our students, trainees and patients.
| | Congratulations to Dr. Ariel Offutt on being selected as a 2026 New Century Scholar by the Academic Pediatric Association! | |  | Congratulations to Dr. Katiana Garagozlo on being named a Fellow of the American Thoracic Society! | | | Congratulations to all our top providers for 2024/2025! USF MCOM hosted the '24-'25 Patient Experience Provider Award Celebration at the Tampa Club on Feb 6th. This event awards, recognizes, and celebrates our USF Health Providers who are in the top 97th percentile of healthcare providers surveyed by Press Ganey. Pediatrics was well represented. Our Med-Peds group led the pack with John McCormick recognized for the 8th consecutive year, and Jameson Kuang and Hugo Narvarte (Med-Peds) also received awards. Many congratulations to Marisa Couluris (Pulmonology) for her seventh year of recognition. Other multi-year winners included Valerie Panzarino (Nephrology), Eliana Piedrahita (General Pediatrics) and Danielle Reynolds (Endocrinology). Jacqueline Larson (Gastroenterology) received recognition for the first time this year. | | Kudos to Melissa Racolbaldo, MS, CGC, and Kara Morgan, APRN, who represented the Division of Genetics and presented to Representative Adam Anderson and the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) regarding the clinical utility of whole genome sequencing for diagnosis. | | Kudos to Dr. Tina Ho for developing and launching our First Annual Research Training this January! We also extend our thanks to Dr. Jane Carver, Dr. Rahul Mhasker, Stephanie Tomlinson from USF Health Libraries, and Marcia Kneusel, RN/Clinical Research Information Specialist with Neonatology for their valuable participation in this day-long event, which was a great success! | | Dr. Elimarys Perez-Colon has been appointed Program Director for the Med-Peds Residency Program after serving 8 years as Associate PD. Dr. Perez-Colon is known for her exceptional humanitarian work, and is a sought-after speaker for topics including AI in medicine and innovations in GME; she received the 2025 Brendan Kelly Outstanding Med-Peds Associate PD-PD award in 2025. She has advanced resident education through quality improvement activities and her leadership – she is currently Chief of Medicine at TGH. Dr. Perez-Colon takes the helm following the remarkable leadership of Dr. Erika Abel, who has served as the PD for the last 18 years. She developed a strong, nationally-recognized training program and has won numerous awards for her teaching and humanitarian efforts. Dr. Abel is currently chief of staff at TGH. Thank you for your service, Dr. Abel! | | We are thrilled to announce that our Allergy and Immunology Fellowship Program has once again received full ACGME accreditation with zero new citations! This incredible achievement is the result of a massive team effort. Heartfelt thanks to all our faculty, fellows, and the USF GME team who make excellence in training possible every day. | | Dr. Jolan Walter is the recipient of the USF World Excellence in Global Research Award in recognition of exceptional contributions to the University of South Florida’s global research portfolio in 2025. | | | Congratulations to Dr. Claudia Gaviria Agudelo on her appointment to the USF Faculty Senate. Her three-year term (2026–2029) will begin in Fall 2026. | | | Ana Bonafacio, PhD, Assistant Director of Research Services, has been offered the Erasmus+ Programme Staff Training grant at Ankara University in Türkiye. This program enables academic and administrative staff from partner institutions to participate in professional development activities. Monica Watson, Fiscal & Business Analyst, will also attend. Heather Agazzi, MD, previously participated in the program. | |
Dr. Nicole Dinescu-Munoz was selected as a 2026 Outstanding Young Alumni! Dr. Dinescu-Munoz completed her Med-Peds residency at USF in 2013 and currently serves as Medical Director for the Tampa General Medical Group. The award event will be held on April 9.
| | Dr. Heather Agazzi is a recipient of the USF 2026 Excellence in Undergraduate Research Mentorship Award. The award, which recognizes and honors faculty with outstanding achievements and contributions, will be given at the USF Faculty Honors & Awards Ceremony on April 14. Congratulations! | | | The 2026 Lewis Barness Lecture and Fellow’s Forum will be held on Thursday, April 9. This yearly event honors our founding Chair, Dr. Lewis Barness. This year’s lecture, titled From the Clinic to the Health Department: Shared Decision-Making in the Mid-21st Century, will be delivered by Jeffrey Brosco, MD, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics and Director of Population Health Ethics at the University of Miami. The grand rounds lecture will be followed by the Fellows’ Forum, during which fellows give oral presentations of their ongoing or proposed research. We encourage you to attend both of these important events! The Barness Lecture will be held in TGH’s Valdes Auditorium from 8 to 9, while the Fellows Forum will be held at STC 7030 from 9:45 am to approximately 1:00 pm. | |
The Mentor Clinician Program (MCP), led at USF by Drs. Andrew Galligan and Karyn Gerstle, brings a nationally recognized model of mentorship and humanistic teaching to our pediatric clerkship. Originally developed 10 years ago at UC San Diego School of Medicine, the MCP provides individualized coaching to third-year medical students. The program, which emphasizes clinical excellence, compassionate care, and meaningful mentor-mentee relationships, is expanding to seven institutions nationwide.
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In February, Dr. Jennifer Takagishi, along with residents Drs. Alexaundria Barnes and Kirstie Walters, attended the annual Children’s Day at the Capitol to advocate for child health and policies that support the well-being of children and families.
| | Muma Children’s Hospital at TGH will present a Child Abuse Prevention Symposium on April 2. This day-long event is designed to increase understanding of child maltreatment, abuse, and trafficking. The symposium will be followed by a Pinwheel Planting Ceremony in the Rose Garden. Register here: https://www.tgh.org/child-abuse-prevention-symposium | | The MCOM Faculty Council is seeking nominations to serve on the Review Committee, Curriculum Committee, and Medical Student Selection Committee . Nominations are due April 3, and the term of service is two years. Service on these committees is a great way to learn about USF governance, strengthen your CV, and get to know faculty from other departments. | | Promotion and Tenure Workshops are scheduled for April 23 (1:00 to 3:00), May 14 (1:00 to 3:00) and June 10 (5:30 to 7:30). Even if you aren’t planning to go up for promotion this year, it’s a good idea to attend a workshop to get in-depth information about the process and requirements. | | Camp Boggy Creek is accepting patient applications to attend camp this summer in Orlando. The camp, which is staffed by volunteer subspecialists, makes it possible for children with serious, chronic illnesses to experience a free, life-changing camp. They are hosting an event for new, current and alumni campers, families, volunteers, donors and healthcare partners on April 25 at Carrollwood Village Park. https://www.boggycreek.org | | | | |
2026 Bernard Pollara Resident Lectureship
This year’s lecture, given by Dr. Alexandra Carey, was titled Beyond Survival: Redefining Outcomes in Pediatric Intestinal Failure through an Interdisciplinary Approach. This annual lecture, delivered by a pediatric resident alumnus, honors the legacy of Dr. Bernard Pollara who served on the USF Peds faculty as a passionate educator from 1995 to 2015. The lectureship provides education and training opportunities for USF Peds trainees. We want to thank Jeannette Fleischer for coming again this year, and for her continued support of the lectureship.
| | We are seeking ideas for Grand Rounds speakers and topics – a Qualtrics Survey was sent out on March 20 to faculty and housestaff. Please complete the survey and let us know your thoughts. We would like ideas for topics and the names of people who can give a lecture, either from USF or other institutions. Please consider developing a lecture yourself – delivering a Grand Rounds lecture counts as a regional invited lecture for promotion purposes, and it provides a great opportunity to further develop expertise in an area of interest. Speakers often develop review articles based on a grand rounds lecture they have given. Here is the link to the survey: https://usf.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_56XmT9ttp3wy60K | | Congratulations to our faculty who were promoted this year! | | |
Dr. Vinita Kiluk:
Professor
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Dr. Ali Sanati-Mehrizy:
Associate Professor
| | | Madeline Mlynczak, MD, MS, will serve as assistant professor in MedPeds. She earned her MS in bioethics from Columbia University, her medical degree from the University of Central Florida College of Medicine, and she completed her residency in MedPeds at Tulane University. | | Ankit Sharma, MD, will serve as assistant professor in Student Health. He earned his medical degree at Kasturba Medical College in Mangalore, India, completed his family medicine residency at the University of Tennessee. He also completed a fellowship in Opioid Use Disorder at Rush University and a fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, Phoenix, and was an assistant professor at South Illinois University for several years. | | Cheri Mitchell, MPH, CPH, Associate in Research, Infectious Diseases | | Anthony Wright, Hospital Medicine-St. Joseph’s Hospital | | | Jenna Kelemen, General Pediatrics-Health Park and Riverview | | | |
Natali De La Cruz, Genetics (OPS)
Marcy Diamond, Neonatology (OPS)
Jemma Parsons, Student Assistant/Dr. Dishaw (OPS)
Matthew Perez, Human Services Practitioner, Child Protection Team
Luisa Rodriguez-Zmoda, Community Outreach Caseworker, Early Steps
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MATCH DAY
Match Day, held on March 20 at Ulele, was a great success! We look forward to welcoming our new residents in July.
All of our MCOM students who chose Pediatrics or Med-Peds were successful. A big Thank You to all of the faculty and house staff who have assisted in interviews and mentored students. Your participation is essential to our student and residency match success!
Pediatrics
Kritikka Ajit Kumar; Maulana Azad Medical College
Daniela Avila; Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
Sarah Brouwer; Lincoln Memorial University, DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine
Diana Bueno; Lincoln Memorial University, DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine
Britany Dyer; Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Kayla Fox; St. George’s University
Sireen Hilo; Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine
Jordyn Hollander; USF
Jessica Lundy; Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine
Brunilda Neufeld; George Washington University
John O’Connor; University of Medicine and Health, St. Kitts
Bethany Wilkinson; Oklahoma State University
MedPeds
Joseph Stepp; University of North Carolina
Evan Carey; Touro University
Stefanos Belavilas; USF
Pranjal Gaur; Central Michigan University
Karin Zikra; University of Central Florida
| | Clinical Team Members of the Month | | January: Kalye Nathan, RN; Complex Care team at TGH at Chalsty CMS and at 17 Davis ambulatory clinics. | | February: Tyreonna Williams, CMA; 17 Davis 2 clinic. | | March: Yesleni Chico Carbajal, LPN, ACH OCC clinic. | | Dr. Carina A. Rodriguez and Dr. Elizabeth Bruce Enriquez are authors as part of the Stomp/A5418 Investigators on Tecovirimat for the Treatment of Mpox. N Engl J Med. 2026 Feb 26;394(9):884-895 | | |
Pediatric Research for the Future of Children
Geneva, Switzerland. Feb 2026
Chenneville T, Bilali K, MA, RMHCI; Marion A, Colon A, Rodriguez C: Do Demographic Variables Shape Risk? Exploring Subgroup Differences in Mental Health Screenings among Youth Living with HIV in Integrated Settings
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Conference on Antiretroviruses and
Opportunistic Infections
Denver, CO Feb 2026
Rodriguez C: Efficacy and Safety of B/F/TAF in Children and Infants Aged ≥ 1 Month, Weighing 3 to < 25 kg: Week 24
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USF Health Research Day
March 6, 2026
Oral Presentation:
Goff W, Quinn N, Gutierrez A, Rodriguez C, Sanders L: Access to Preventive Services and Response to Antiretroviral Therapy in Youth with Newly Diagnosed Horizontally Acquired HIV Infection
| | 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). | | |
April 9: Lewis Barness Lecture and Fellows Forum - Dr. Jeff Brosco - Valdes Auditorium
April 23: Promotion and Tenure Workshop
April 28: Resident Quality Presentations - 12 pm - 1 pm - STC 7030
May 7: MCOM Graduation
May 14: Promotion and Tenure Workshop
June 10: Promotion and Tenure Workshop
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