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I hope you all are enjoying the warmer weather! I have several important updates to share.
I wanted to thank Dr. Mackenzie Esch for her dedication to, and leadership in, the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Division. She will be leaving UNC Children’s on April 30th to join Moses Cone. While at UNC Children’s she served as the Rotation Director for the Pediatric Urgent Care, presented various lectures to students, residents, and fellows, and completed the School of Medicine’s Teaching Scholars Program. We are going to miss Dr. Esch for her strong leadership – we wish her the best!
I am excited to share that Dr. Ian Davis will be starting as the new Division Chief in Pediatric Hematology Oncology starting July 5th. Since 2019 he has served as the Associate Chief of Hematology Oncology Division, Director of the Pediatric Physician-Scientist Training Program, and Associate Director for Basic Research for CRI. He has also received various awards including the Award for Excellence in Basic Science Mentoring. We are so excited for Dr. Davis to serve as Division Chief in a few months!
I want to also thank Dr. Stuart Gold for serving as Division Chief for Hematology Oncology since 2008. During his tenure, the division has greatly expanded to 19 faculty, 13 APPs, 9 fellows, 5 research staff, and 3 administrative staff. He has also led several successful fundraising efforts, including the Reelin’ for Research event, which has raised over $5M since 2009. From a research perspective, $5.4M in research funds have been awarded to Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Division faculty, which is truly outstanding. Also, under Dr. Gold’s leadership, Hematology-Oncology now has a presence in Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Sanford, and Wilmington. We are truly thankful for his exceptional leadership!
The Department of Surgery is in the final recruitment stages for the Pediatric General Surgery Chief. Kudos to Sean McLean, Michael Phillips and Adesola Akinkuotu for their incredible commitment and hard work caring for the children and families during this time! We appreciate you!
Congratulations to our fantastic Education Team – Meg Kihlstrom, Sofia Aliaga, Michael Brown, Kaye Gable, Whitney Haddix, Katie Jordan, Christian Lawrence, Rasheeda Monroe, Martha Perry, Eric Zwemer, Michael Contarino, Ria Dancel, Jenn McCauley, Kelly Lear, Denita Moore, Robin Howard, Julie Seger, and Lynn West! We had an exceptional match as noted below. We have several interns joining us in July from all over the country. Thank you to those who participated in the interviews.
Congratulations to our NIH funded investigators! Our Department moved up three spots to #22 in Blue Ridge rankings this year. This represents a lot of hard not just from our investigators, but also our grants management team, led by Kira Frediani and Mandy DuPont.
As always, we are happy to welcome a new babies to our Pediatrics family!
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Stephanie MacPherson, MD, Assistant Professor in General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, welcomed a new addition to her family, Lucas Isaac MacPherson, on Monday, February 20! Congratulations! | |
Samantha Jemiolo, MSN, C-PNP, Advanced Practice Provider in Pediatric Pulmonology welcomed her 6lbs 15oz baby, Lucy Elizabeth Renshaw, at 12:08a on Sunday, March 5! Congratulations! | |
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I am grateful and inspired by each of you! Thank you for all you do!
Take Care,
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Please Welcome our New Children's Providers! | | |
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Sara H. Duffus, MD
Assistant Professor
Endocrinology
Sara Duffus joined the Division of Endocrinology as an Assistant Professor on March 1, 2023. Dr. Duffus earned her MD at the Wake Forest School of Medicine in 2015. She completed her pediatric residency with us at UNC Children’s in 2018, followed by a pediatric endocrinology fellowship at Vanderbilt University Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital. Welcome back, Sara!
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New Service in Sanford
The UNC Pediatric Diagnostic Clinics expanded further this week with services launching in Sanford.
Thank you to Dr. Maria Ferris for leading the expansion of access to Sanford, beginning March, 7.
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Success in FY23 Hospital Wide LOSI Reduction Project
6CHs is meeting our LOSI reduction goal - We're crushing it!
FY22 Baseline for 1 peds service: 1.24
Target (7% reduction): 1.15
FYTD LOSI: 1.11
The group has focused improvements on the seizure patients and the bronchiolitis patients and wanted to emphasize the hard work of our nurses, RT and Pediatric Hospitalists
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DJ McLeod, 18, passes after terminal cancer diagnosis | The Laney football team announced, "Sadly, we are informing you that Darnell McLeod, AKA DJ, has passed away peacefully. DJ's personal drive and work ethic as not only a student-athlete but as a young teenager battling cancer helped galvanize all of us to take on each day with a positive attitude and to keep working hard no matter what the situation." Just weeks ago, McLeod participated in his high school graduation ceremony at UNC Children's Hospital in Chapel Hill. | | | |
The NCCC Expansion Construction Kicked-Off on March 20 | |
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The Allergy-Immunology team members at Blue Ridge are STARS!
A young adult with primary immunodeficiency present this month for an appointment with respiratory distress.
- Loretta was outstanding in identifying the acuity of the situation during triage and pulling me out of a patient room to examine this patient.
- Mallory was amazing at coordinating EMS, starting oxygen, and getting everyone where they needed to be.
- Mario was outstanding in supporting Mal.
The situation was under control the entire time and some folks in the clinic didn't even realize what was going on. We are so lucky to work with these folks!
And we still ran clinic on time. AMAZING.
Michelle L. Hernandez, MD - Professor of Pediatrics - Division of Allergy & Immunology
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Welcome the new members of our Pediatrics Family! | March 17th was Match Day! We are thrilled to welcome the following students to our Pediatrics Family. | | | | |
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Morrison Joins UJMT Fogarty Global Health Fellowship
Seth Morrison, MD, a fellow in Pediatric, Gastroenterology has been accepted to the 2023-2024 class of the UJMT Fogarty Global Health Fellowship Program. He will relocate to Zambia for his project upon completion of his pediatric GI fellowship training.
Seth is committed to alleviating the consequences of diarrhea and malnutrition in children who live in developing countries. Dr. Sylvia Becker-Dreps mentored him during his fellowship. Seth is on track to complete his MPH at The Gillings School for Public Global Health by the end of his fellowship in June 2023. He is funded by the Unified Program for Therapeutics in Children (UPTiC) T32.
Congratulations Seth!
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If you couldn't join us for the
Department of Pediatrics
Faculty Meeting
on Thurs, March 16th,
the slides can be found here!
Click to see the Slide Deck
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2022 ABP Annual Report
The 2022 American Board of Pediatrics Annual Report has been posted online. UNC is well represented throughout the report, including the publications section, on subcommittees, and in leadership roles.
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Weiss Named Simmons Scholar | The UNC Department of Pediatrics is pleased to announce that Jasmine Weiss, MD, MHS, FAAP, has been named as a UNC School of Medicine Simmons Scholar. Since its launch in 1994, the Simmons Scholars Program has offered support to faculty members from groups traditionally underrepresented in medicine, while also placing an emphasis on building a community of scholars that spans multiple disciplines. | | | |
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Meet NCPeds’ Leaders:
Kenya McNeal-Trice, MD, FAAP
Ensuring that all patients are listened to and cared for is something that means a lot to NCPeds President Kenya McNeal-Trice, MD, FAAP.
When the nurses at UNC Hospitals realized that patients didn’t have haircare products to fit all hair types, she worked with them to ensure that combs, brushes and products for patients with thick, curly, coiled natural hair were available to all.
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Aliaga Promoted to
Professor of Pediatrics
| Sophia Aliaga, MD, MPH was promoted to Professor of Pediatrics effective March 1, 2023. Dr. Aliaga has been a faculty member in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine since 2010. Dr. Aliaga's research focuses on perinatal epidemiology and healthcare quality improvement measures. | | | |
Smitherman Promoted to Associate Professor of Pediatrics | Andrew Smitherman, MD, MSc was promoted to Associate Professor of Pediatrics effective March 1, 2023. Dr. Smitherman has been a faculty member in Pediatric Hematology-Oncology since 2017. Dr. Smitherman is the Medical Director of the UNC Adolescents and Young Adults Oncology Program. | | | |
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Good Invited to Give
Gerald Merenstein Lecture
| Misty Good, MD, MS, Associate Professor and Division Chief of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, has been invited to give the Gerald Merenstein Lecture at the AAP National Conference and Exhibition (NCE) to share her research in neonatal nutrition and intestinal health, and how research in this area has informed current best practices and recent innovations in clinical care. | | | |
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Celebrating a Successful
Region IV APA Annual Meeting
Dr. Neal deJong led a very successful annual meeting as Co-Chair of Region IV of the Academic Pediatric Association.
Dr. Kenya McNeal-Trice was honored with the Greenberg-Serwint Award for her accomplishments in medical education.
Dr. Jennifer Gutierrez-Wu, Dr. Colin Orr, and Dr. Mike Steiner were among those that had work presented.
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Please Welcome our New Children's Researchers! | | |
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Assistant Professor
Allergy/Immunology
Elizabeth Corteselli joined the Division of Allergy/Immunology and the Center for Environmental Medicine, Asthma and Lung Biology (CEMALB) as an Assistant Professor on March 15, 2023. Dr. Corteselli received her PhD from the UNC Gilling’s School of Global Public Health under the mentorship of Dr. Jim Samet from the U.S. EPA. She conducted her postdoc with received her PhD from the UNC Gilling’s School of Global Public Health under the mentorship of Dr. Jim Samet from the U.S. EPA. She conducted her postdoc with Dr. Yvonne Janssen-Heininger at the University of Vermont where she received a Parker B. Francis Fellowship. Her research interests focus on adverse respiratory effects caused by oxidative stress using innovative experimental models and state-of-the-art techniques. We are thrilled to welcome her back to UNC!
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Bianca Allison, MD, MPH – General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine – presented: "A qualitative study on adolescent perceptions of two contraceptive decision aids" as the platform presentation at the 2023 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. The UNC Adolescent Medicine team gave multiple presentations at the March conference in Chicago.
Julie Blatt, MD - Hematology/Oncology - was included in the Technology Network article: Blood-Vessel-on-a-Chip Furthers Understanding of Vascular Malformations.
Kristen Cole, RN, CPNP – Gastroenterology – presented: “How to wean medically complex babies from NG and G tubes to oral feeding and breastfeeding” at the 2023 New Mexico Breastfeeding Taskforce Annual Conference.
Maria Ferris, MD – General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine – published: Stakeholders' perspectives on caregiver outcomes for health care transition for adolescents and young adults with special health care needs: A qualitative study.
Fair CV, Betz C, Naranjo D, Porter J, Bailey EC, Korycinski H, Ferris M. Child Care Health Dev. 2023 Mar 10. doi: 10.1111/cch.13114. Online ahead of print. PMID: 36905081
Lauren Frazer, MD, PhD and Misty Good, MD, MS – Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine –published: Microfluidic device facilitates in vitro modeling of human neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis-on-a-chip. Lanik WE, Luke CJ, Nolan LS, Gong Q, Frazer LC, Rimer JM, Gale SE, Luc R, Bidani SS, Sibbald CA, Lewis AN, Mihi B, Agrawal P, Goree M, Maestas MM, Hu E, Peters DG, Good M. JCI Insight. 2023 Mar 7:e146496. PMID: 36881475
Jennifer Goralski, MD – Pediatric Pulmonology – was included in the Daily Tar Heel article: Faculty Council addresses University DEI efforts, School of Civic Life and Leadership
Amari Howard, MD – Wilmington Pediatric Specialty – Gastroenterology – was included in the WECT article: Doctor offers advice to help children fighting constipation.
Corinne Keet, MD, PhD – Allergy/Immunology – presented: “2521 Beyond LEAP: NIAID-Supported Studies in Peanut Allergy Prevention” as the Isil Berat Barlan Memorial Lecturer at the 2023 AAAAI meeting.
Dr. Keet was also included in the WNCN-TV CBS 17 news story: UNC professor talks about allergy season possibly getting longer
Edwin Kim, MD – Allergy/Immunology – published:
Open-label study of the efficacy, safety, and durability of peanut sublingual immunotherapy in peanut-allergic children. Kim EH, Keet CA, Virkud YV, Chin S, Ye P, Penumarti A, Smeekens J, Guo R, Yue X, Li Q, Kosorok MR, Kulis MD, Burks AW. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2023 Feb 23:S0091-6749(23)00218-X. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2023.01.036. Online ahead of print. PMID: 36828080
A clinical focus on oral tolerance in the development, prevention, and management of food allergy. Macdougall JD, Kim EH. Cell Immunol. 2023 Apr;386:104693. doi: 10.1016/j.cellimm.2023.104693. Epub 2023 Feb 24. PMID: 36854214
Dr. Kim was also included in several recent news stories:
Study on Peanut Allergy Treatment Offers Promise for Allergic Kids (Parents.com)
OTC meds vs. allergy shots: A UNC doctor weighs in on NC’s early pollen season (News & Observer)
Allergy Desensitization: How We Can Phase Out ‘Peanut-Free’ Tables at School (Labroots)
Dogs and Cats Linked to Reduced Child Food Allergies (The Wall Street Journal)
Margaret Leigh, MD, Tom Ferkol, MD and Stephanie Davis, MD – Pulmonology – as part of the Genetic Disorders of Mucociliary Clearance Consortium recently had their work, Investigating the Role of Airway Inflammation in Children with Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia, shared by the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network.
Lauren Lucas, NNP, Mary Earp, NNP, and Melissa Bauserman, MD, MPH – Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine – published: Not Just an Intrapartum Problem: Late-Onset Group B Streptococcus Disease. Lucas LH, Earp MT, Bauserman M. Neonatal Netw. 2023 Mar 1;42(2):81-87. doi: 10.1891/NN.2022-0027.PMID: 36868807
Mike O’Shea, MD, MPH – Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine – published:
Prenatal and perinatal factors associated with neonatal neurobehavioral profiles in the ECHO Program. Camerota M, McGowan EC, Aschner J, Stroustrup A, Karagas MR, Conradt E, Crowell SE, Brennan PA, Carter BS, Check J, Dansereau LM, DellaGrotta SA, Everson TM, Helderman JB, Hofheimer JA, Kuiper JR, Loncar CM, Marsit CJ, Neal CR, O'Shea TM, Pastyrnak SL, Sheinkopf SJ, Smith LM, Zhang X, Lester BM. Pediatr Res. 2023 Feb 25. PMID: 36841884
Sex-based differences in placental DNA methylation profiles related to gestational age: an NIH ECHO meta-analysis. Bulka CM, Everson TM, Burt AA, Marsit CJ, Karagas MR, Boyle KE, Niemiec S, Kechris K, Davidson EJ, Yang IV, Feinberg JI, Volk HE, Ladd-Acosta C, Breton CV, O'Shea TM, Fry RC; program collaborators for Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes. Epigenetics. 2023 Dec;18(1):2179726. PMID: 36840948
Analysis of Pregnancy Complications and Epigenetic Gestational Age of Newborns. Ladd-Acosta C, Vang E, Barrett ES, Bulka CM, Bush NR, Cardenas A, Dabelea D, Dunlop AL, Fry RC, Gao X, Goodrich JM, Herbstman J, Hivert MF, Kahn LG, Karagas MR, Kennedy EM, Knight AK, Mohazzab-Hosseinian S, Morin A, Niu Z, O'Shea TM, Palmore M, Ruden D, Schmidt RJ, Smith AK, Song A, Spindel ER, Trasande L, Volk H, Weisenberger DJ, Breton CV; Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes Program. JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Feb 1;6(2):e230672. PMID: 36826815
When a birth cohort grows up: challenges and opportunities in longitudinal developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) research. Oken E, Bastain TM, Bornkamp N, Breton CV, Fry RC, Gold DR, Hivert MF, Howland S, Jackson DJ, Johnson CC, Jones K, Killingbeck M, O'Shea TM, Ortega M, Ownby D, Perera F, Rollins JV, Herbstman JB; program collaborators for Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes. J Dev Orig Health Dis. 2023 Apr;14(2):175-181. PMID: 36408681
Comparing autism phenotypes in children born extremely preterm and born at term. Joseph RM, Lai ER, Bishop S, Yi J, Bauman ML, Frazier JA, Santos HP Jr, Douglas LM, Kuban KKC, Fry RC, O'Shea TM.
Autism Res. 2023 Mar;16(3):653-666. PMID: 36595641
CpG methylation patterns in placenta and neonatal blood are differentially associated with neonatal inflammation. Eaves LA, Enggasser AE, Camerota M, Gogcu S, Gower WA, Hartwell H, Jackson WM, Jensen E, Joseph RM, Marsit CJ, Roell K, Santos HP Jr, Shenberger JS, Smeester L, Yanni D, Kuban KCK, O'Shea TM, Fry RC. Pediatr Res. 2023 Mar;93(4):1072-1084. doi: 10.1038/s41390-022-02150-4. Epub 2022 Jun 28. PMID: 35764815
Dan Park, MD – Emergency Medicine – was included in the UNC Health Talk article: 10 Actions That Can Keep Your Child Out of the Emergency Department.
Martha Perry, MD – General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine – was recently included in the JAMA Network article: Teen Girls Are Faring Worse Than Boys on Nearly All Mental Health Measures—Here’s Why.
Matt Pizzuto, MD with colleagues – Pediatric Critical Care – published: Characteristics and Outcomes of Patients Discharged Directly Home From the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Pizzuto MF, Sutton AG, Schroeder KS, Bravo MA, Li L, Kihlstrom MJ. J Intensive Care Med. 2023 Mar 9:8850666231162530. doi: 10.1177/08850666231162530. Online ahead of print. PMID: 36895117
Keia Sanderson, MD, MSCR – Pediatric Nephrology – received an award notification for the K23 project “Machine Learning Risk Prediction of Kidney Disease After Extremely Preterm Birth” from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Samantha Schilling, MD, MSHP – General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine – published: Child Adult Relationship Enhancement in Primary Care (PriCARE): study design/protocol for a randomized trial of a primary care-based group parenting intervention to prevent child maltreatment. Schilling S, Powell BJ, Stewart PW, Wood JN. Trials. 2023 Feb 23;24(1):138. doi: 10.1186/s13063-022-07024-y. PMID: 36823526
Zhenwei Song, PhD – Gene Therapy Center – was awarded a UNC School of Medicine Mini Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion award for the project “Stand together, Research together, Play together for the Chinese Post-doc community”. The project is intended to promote congenial relationships and enable the collaboration in research and enrich the diversity of the UNC campus by encouraging scientific and outdoor activities among postdocs from China.
Eve Wu, MD, MSCR – Pediatric Rheumatology – was included in multiple news articles on the FDA approval of treatment for a rare immunodeficiency disease:
Pharming announces US FDA approval of Joenja® (leniolisib) as the first and only treatment indicated for APDS (WBOY-TV)
Leniolisib Becomes First FDA-Approved Treatment for Rare Immunodeficiency Disease (HCPLive) Treatment For Rare Immunodeficiency Disease Gets FDA Approval (Drug Topics)
Joenja Approved for Activated Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase Delta Syndrome (Monthly Prescribing Reference)
Jessica Young, MD and team – General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine – presented: "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Activities Among Preventive Medicine Physicians During and After Residency Training" and "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Physician Burnout on Preventive Medicine Graduates" at the 2023 American College of Preventive Medicine Meeting in New Orleans in March.
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Kids with New Smiles in Honduras! | Renie Daniel, MD, DMD, FACS, Pediatric Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon with the UNC Adams School of Dentistry, was happy to share news of the successful completion of her surgical-mission trip. Dr. Daniel was one of the cleft surgeons to travel to Tegucigalpa, Honduras with the non-profit Operation Smile from Feb 17- Feb 25. A team of over 80 international volunteers took care of 80 pediatric patients (and one 73 year old man who had never had his cleft lip repaired) in five days. It was wonderful! | |
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Grace Bailey
Research Coordinator - CRI for the Good Lab
Nominated by Melissa Bauserman, MD, MPH & Misty Good, MD, MS
Grace is always ready to help with whatever is needed and her work is top-notch. Her creativity, organization and keen eye for detail have been an essential component to our submission of successful grant applications. Her help with IRBs and manuscripts keeps our research running smoothly and quickly disseminated. Her “can do” attitude and high-quality work make her an invaluable member of our research team.
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