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This Month In Pediatrics
August 2026
Part 1
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Dr. Ranjini Srinivasan Leads Pediatric and Fetal Cardiac MRI at Weill Cornell Imaging
Dr. Ranjini Srinivasan leads Pediatric and Fetal Cardiac MRI at Weill Cornell Imaging, providing specialized imaging for pregnant women whose babies have heart disease, as well as children and young adults with congenital heart conditions. The program brings together specialists in pediatric cardiology, maternal-fetal medicine, obstetrics, and radiology to provide personalized, collaborative care. Read more here!
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Women Vaccinated Against HPV in Childhood Had Near-Zero Cervical Cancer Deaths
Dr. Lisa Ipp was featured in a NewYork-Presbyterian Health Matters article highlighting the latest research on the HPV vaccine and its role in protecting children from cervical cancer and other cancers later in life. Dr. Ipp discusses the importance of vaccination amid declining HPV vaccination rates and growing vaccine hesitancy, emphasizing its role as an important cancer prevention tool. Read more here!
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Dr. Erica Ding
Division of General Pediatrics
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Dr. Melanie Gao
Division of Neonatology
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Dr. Isabel Genecin
Division of General Pediatrics
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Dr. Amarelle Hamo
Division of General Pediatrics
| | | Appointments & Promotions | | Dr. Robbyn Sockolow has been appointed Executive Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs at Weill Cornell Medicine, effective July 1, 2026. She will continue to serve as Chief of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition. In her new role, Dr. Sockolow will help advance pediatric clinical services across the Department of Pediatrics and Children’s Hospital of New York Eastern Sphere, with a focus on expanding access, strengthening ambulatory care, optimizing clinical services, and advancing innovative models of care. | | | Dr. Erick Abramson has been appointed Vice Chair of Health Services Research in the Department of Pediatrics. In this role, he will develop and implement a vision for health services research and innovative analytic solutions, while helping build health data science infrastructure, databases, dashboards, registries, and other tools to support clinical care, quality and safety, and research. Dr. Abramson will also mentor and support medical students, residents, fellows, and faculty in health services and medical education research, foster faculty mentorship of trainee projects, and advise the Chair on health data science priorities. | | | Dr. Bruce Greenwald has been appointed Vice Chair of Inpatient Operations and Clinical Inpatient Operations Officer. In this role, he will provide strategic leadership and oversight of pediatric inpatient operations, working to align clinical services with departmental and hospital priorities. He will coordinate inpatient services across CHONY, WCM, NYPQ, and BMH to support consistent clinical and operational excellence. Dr. Greenwald will also focus on quality and patient safety, patient flow and capacity, care coordination, and the patient and family experience, while partnering with hospital and interdisciplinary leaders to strengthen care delivery and support the growth of pediatric inpatient services. | | | Dr. Ria Goswami has been appointed Co-Director of the Postdoctoral Mentoring Program. In this role, she will provide structured and ongoing mentorship to postdoctoral scholars, help lead the annual Pediatrics Postdoctoral Research Day, and support professional development programming. She will also contribute to postdoctoral guidelines and policies, assist with research progress reviews and onboarding, and serve as a resource for addressing mentorship and interpersonal concerns. | | | Dr. Mohamad Hamieh has been appointed Co-Director of the Department of Pediatrics Postdoctoral Mentoring Program. In this role, he will provide structured mentoring and professional development support for postdoctoral scholars, lead the monthly professional development seminar series, and co-organize the annual Pediatrics Postdoctoral Research Day. He will also contribute to postdoctoral policies, programming, and career development initiatives. | | |
| | Dr. Marianne Sharko has been awarded $24,475 in funding from the Weill Cornell Division of General Internal Medicine’s Primary Care Innovations (PCI) Program for her project, “Teaching Families to Love Vegetables: A Mixed-Methods Pilot Study of Produce Delivery Plus Focused Parent Nutrition Education in Pediatric Obesity Treatment.” | | | |
| | Dr. Taylor Jackvony (Pediatric Hospital Medicine Fellow) has been awarded $4,516 from the Weill Cornell Division of General Internal Medicine’s Primary Care Innovations (PCI) Program for the project, “A Patient-Centered Approach to Brief Resolved Unexplained Events (BRUEs).” The proposal was recognized for its academic rigor and strong potential to contribute meaningful insights to the field. | | | |
| | Dr. Mohamad Hamieh has received a $465,595 R21 grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for their project, “Interrogating and Targeting ICANS in CAR T-Cell Therapies.” The two-year award will support their research into ICANS and its impact on CAR T-cell therapies. | | | |
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Dr. Chelsea Crooks (Postdoctoral Associate) has received a fundable priority score of 35 for her NIAID Career Transition Award (K22) from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). She has successfully completed the first phase of the K22 award and will receive $50,000 in funding.
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| | 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. Stay tuned for next month's presenters! | | | | |
Executive Order on Childhood Vaccines: What You Should Know
President Trump’s new executive order, “Delivering Gold-Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations for Americans,” directs HHS to review the childhood vaccine schedule, explore separating combination vaccines such as MMR, and encourages states to reconsider school vaccine requirements and exemption policies.
Importantly, the order does not change state vaccine laws or CDC/ACIP authority to set vaccine recommendations. However, it may increase pressure on states to weaken immunization protections.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has expressed concern and is urging advocates to support evidence-based vaccine policies. Read the AAP’s response here: AAP Statement on Executive Order on Vaccines.
Take action: Contact your state lawmakers, share the AAP statement, and help support strong, science-based vaccine protections for children. If you have any questions, contact Ilina Ewen.
Big News Out of the Senate This Week
Your advocacy paid off! Collective voices rang the alarm bell regarding the recent OMB Rule that would put federal grantmaking into the hands of political appointees. Republican leaders introduced a stopgap spending bill that includes a temporary pause on the controversial proposal that would have given political appointees sweeping control over hundreds of billions of dollars in federal grant funding. Thanks to bipartisan negotiating led by Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine), this rule change will be on hold through Dec. 11, giving researchers and communities some breathing room while the fight continues.
A huge thank-you to everyone in the Department of Pediatrics for stepping up and submitting public comment on this issue! Your voices make a real difference in keeping grant funding focused on science and public need, not politics.
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Dr. Marisa Censani has been inducted as an Associate Member of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society, in recognition of her contributions to scientific research and scholarship.
| | | | Click here to view publications by faculty members published in the last 30 days! | | |
| | Dr. Christine Salvatore is a main author on two presentations accepted for the 19th International CMV Workshop & ECCI 2026, taking place November 1–4 in Athens, Greece. The presentations include a platform presentation on “Quality of Life Among Infants With Congenital CMV and Their Caregivers” and a poster presentation on “One-Year Neurodevelopmental Outcomes Among Children With Congenital CMV in New York State, US.” Both presentations will be presented by Dr. Andrew Hendel. | | | |
| | Dr. Jayasree Nair was invited to discuss “What Do We Actually Know About Epinephrine in Neonatal Resuscitation?” on a podcast at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) meeting. Click here to listen to the podcast. | | | |
| | Dr. Marisa Censani was an invited speaker at the Treating Obesity 2026: The Blackburn Course in Obesity Medicine, where she presented on “Assessment of the Pediatric Patient with Obesity.” Her presentation was followed by a live Q&A pediatric panel discussion. | | | |
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Dr. Maria Thanjan participated in The Art of Wellbeing: Foundations of Double Dutch at Lincoln Center on July 16, 2026. Before the session, she spoke about the importance of exercise for children and families and the importance of heart health at every age. Attendees then learned the basics of jump rope and double Dutch from the National Double Dutch League.
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| | Ilina Ewen was selected to join the Vaccinate Your Family SQUAD Advocacy Summit in Washington, D.C., taking place October 19–22. The all-expenses-paid summit will bring together advocates to strengthen vaccination messaging, acceptance, and advocacy. Ilina looks forward to bringing back valuable insights to support ongoing efforts in this important area. | | | |
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New eCornell Professional Development Benefit
Faculty and staff can take advantage of eCornell certificate programs and courses at a special rate of $100 per course as part of their professional development. Staff may also be eligible for tuition reimbursement for courses related to their work, subject to departmental approval and reimbursement policies.
- Register for eCornell programs using a personal credit card or CU Procurement Card with approval.
- Speak with your manager or HR representative for details about eligibility and reimbursement.
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Enroll for eCornell courses here!
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Join the Faculty Wellness Committee!
We’re inviting faculty members to get involved with the Faculty Wellness Committee. This group plans events throughout the year that promote connection, collaboration, and fun, gathers faculty feedback and ideas, and works closely with department leadership to support wellness initiatives and opportunities.
If you’re interested in joining, they meet every other month on Thursdays at noon. Please reach out to Dr. Susan Bostwick for more information.
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Are you interested in sharing your expertise or telling your story? We invite you to contribute to our department blog. You can submit post ideas to Ilina Das Ewen. Whether you have an idea, bullet points, an outline, or a fully written blog post, reach out to Ilina. She can help you draft or edit a blog post. Your personal stories and insights are valuable.
Check out our latest blog posts!
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Pediatric Asthma Skills Fair- Lite Edition
Join us for a streamlined version of interactive training event focused on enhancing knowledge and practical skills in pediatric asthma care.
Date: Tuesday, August 18, 2026
Time: 9:00 AM–12:00 PM
Location: M607 (Pediatric Library)
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Department of Pediatrics Strategic Plan
Our Goal is to develop a department-wide strategic plan that aligns with the WCM CARE Strategic Plan while identifying transformational opportunities in Clinical Care, Research, Education, AI & Data Science, Workforce Development, and Operational Excellence, with AI serving as a cross-cutting enabler across all missions.
We have scheduled a series of meetings:
September 9 - Faculty and Staff Workshop (Academic Mission)
September 14 - Faculty and Staff Workshop (Clinical Mission)
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ALL IN for Health Workers' Mental Health
Our very own Dr. Juliana Romano will be a panelist at the upcoming Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes Foundation advocacy event for healthcare workers. Check out the link below to register for this free event.
Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2026
Time: 8:00PM
Location: NYC Health & Hospitals/Bellevue: Saul Farber Auditorium
Register HERE!
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2026 Third Avenue Fair
The Third Avenue Fair takes place each September between 68th and 86th Streets, and provides a great opportunity for departments, centers & institutes to offer valuable information to community residents and visitors while also promoting the services they provide. More than 200 faculty, staff and employees have participated in prior years lining both sides of the street!
Date: September 19, 2026
Time: 9:30am-4:00pm
Location: 68th and 86th Streets
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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).
Stay tuned for upcoming headshot days here!
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Shout-out to Dr. Emina Hodzic for always maintaining a positive attitude and going above and beyond for patients and families. She is known for her compassion, responsiveness, and willingness to personally connect with parents to provide reassurance and clarity about their care. Her patient-centered approach, flexibility, and teamwork make her a valued member of the team.
Shout-out to Emma Goodwin from the Division of Genetics for her dedication and contributions to the division. Her hard work, teamwork, and commitment to supporting patients, families, and colleagues make a meaningful impact on the division and the Department of Pediatrics.
Drs. Manoj Chhabra, Hannah Kim and Sujit Sheth were among the top pediatric physicians with stellar Google review ratings this month!
Share your appreciation for colleagues by submitting a shout-out for inclusion in the department newsletter here!
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