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Saturday, February 2 | 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. | Bradley Lecture Center

Please join us for the Practical Day of Pediatrics on Saturday, February 2! 

Learning objectives include:
1. Reviewing the latest information on prevention and management of important pediatric disorders.
2. Diagnosing and creating a management plan for specific pediatric disorders in a primary care setting.
3. Describing consensus guidelines for specific pediatric diseases.
4. Differentiating when referral to a specialist is necessary for complex pediatric problems.

Registration is $25.

Register here | More information

Veronica Godsey, M.D., Second Year Fellow-Pediatric Critical Care, was awarded the INSPIRE (International Network for Simulation-based Pediatric Innovation, Research & Education) Novice Research Award. The $10,000 award is given to support investigators with less than 5 years of simulation-based experience. Dr. Godsey’s study is focused on improving nurse-physician communication using communication strategies based on the book Verbal Judo.

Congratulations Dr. Godsey!

On Thursday, March 21, 2019, we will celebrate the research efforts of our fellows and residents with our 4th Annual Pediatric Science Day! It is a day to illustrate our research activities and support collaboration between young investigators. All fellows and residents are encouraged to submit an abstract for participation. Topics will focus on research activities and clinical case reports. 

We encourage you to utilize the day as an opportunity to present your submission to any upcoming meetings (PAS/SPR, etc.). Additionally, you are welcome to submit an abstract highlighting your work that you may have recently presented at a recent scientific meeting.
 
Click here for the abstract submission template.
 
Please send abstract submissions and any questions about the day to Michael Stalvey.

***The deadline for abstract submission is Thursday, January 31, 2019. 

More information 

Welcome to Dr. Laura McGuinn who begins as the director of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics on Monday, January 7. She will also hold the inaugural Thomas H. Lowder Endowed Chair in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics and will serve as the new clinical director of the Civitan-Sparks Clinics. Dr. Fred Biasini will continue as the training program director of the Civitan-Sparks Clinics. I want to add my thanks to Dr. Myriam Peralta who has served as the interim division director for the last 18 months. 
 
Dr. McGuinn earned her Bachelor of Arts in biology from the University of Texas at Austin, and her medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, where she completed her residency training as Ambulatory Chief Resident. Dr. McGuinn completed her fellowship in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics as a Subspecialty Fellow in both Neurodevelopmental Disabilities and Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. She began her academic medical career as a member of the pediatric faculty of the Children’s Hospital of Austin Medical Residency Program, where she served as director of the Developmental Assessment Program and director of the Developmental and Behavioral Pediatric Clerkship. She joined the staff at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, originally as an assistant professor and then as associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics Section of Developmental – Behavioral Pediatrics.
 
Dr. McGuinn’s service to developmental and behavioral pediatrics is exemplified by her multiple related roles during her years at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, which included: director of the resident rotation and the ACGME approved and MCHB funded, fellowship program; and leadership roles as director of OK-KIDS Systems Improvement Initiative, co-director of the OK Child Heath Practice Based Research Network, and director of the Sooner SUCCESS Care Coordination Program. Through her leadership roles in medical education, Dr. McGuinn has mentored fellows, residents and students. She has provided service and leadership to Oklahoma Head Start, Oklahoma Children’s Oral Health Coalition and the Oklahoma Autism Workforce Initiative, among many.
 
Laura’s husband, Bill Wells, M.D., is med-peds trained and will commute between Birmingham and Oklahoma City, where he is a neonatal hospitalist. Her two children will be going to school here in Birmingham. Please join us in giving a very warm welcome to Laura and her family to UAB, COA and Birmingham.

Congratulations to the pediatric specialists (listed below) who have been elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Honor Medical Society! AOA is a medical professional organization that recognizes and advocates for excellence in scholarship and the highest ideals in the profession of medicine. The official induction ceremony into AOA will be held on March 14th.

Newly Elected Members
Courtney Crayne, M.D., Third Year Fellow- Pediatric Rheumatology
Eunice Dixon, M.D., PGY-3- Pediatric Resident
Michael Barnett, M.D. Palliative Care
Tamera Coyne-Beasley, M.D., Adolescent Medicine
Shawn Gilbert, M.D., Orthopedic Surgery
Tina Simpson, M.D., Adolescent Medicine 

Heather Austin, Ph.D., Adolescent Medicine, has been invited to participate in the American Psychological Association (APA) Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology (LIWP). The APA Committee on Women in Psychology established the APA LIWP in 2008 to prepare, support, and empower women psychologists as leaders to promote positive changes in institutional and organizational life and to increase the diversity, number, and effectiveness of women psychologists.

Congratulations Dr. Austin!

Please join us in congratulating Sasha Monteil, M.D., Second Year Fellow- Pediatric Gastroenterology, on receiving the 2018-2019 Fall Fellow Roundtable/Core Conference Attendance Award. This allows her to attend a scientific meeting of her choice, within the continental United States.

Our next award will be presented at the end of July 2019 for the fellow with the highest attendance at Fellows’ Research Roundtable and Fellow Core Conferences from January – July 2019. Click here for more information. 
 
Thank you to all of the fellows who have been dedicated to attending these conferences!!

The January issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health includes a new section entitled, “Perspectives on Adolescence and Young Adulthood.” The vision for Perspectives is to bring readers short essays, poetry and stories of the young people who are at the center of the field. Our hope is that these touching stories of wonder and inquiry will inspire fresh thinking about this period of the life cycle and will encourage our authors and readers to broaden their views of the second and third decades of life.

The editors are pleased to inaugurate this section with a poem written by the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine's Immediate Past President, Tamera Coyne-Beasley, M.D., Adolescent Medicine, when she was 18 years old. Dr. Coyne-Beasley read her poem at the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine's Annual Business Meeting in Seattle, Washington, on March 16, 2018.

Read poem here

Krista Casazza, Ph.D., Adolescent Medicine, has been awarded a Center for Clinical and Transitional Science Research Voucher for her application entitled “Culinary medicine intervention to empower pre-adolescent girls to help their families to improve nutrition literacy, self-image and overall well-being.” This voucher will be used in a study involving Dr. Casazza’s partnership with Girls Inc. She has also received a CTL-QEP Teaching Innovation Award for her application entitled “Integrating Research and Service Learning into a Team Environmental Approach to Improve Community Health Literacy.” The goal of this approved proposal will disseminated to service learning classes related to health that have the capacity to implement a research project into their curriculum, particularly focused on improving aspects of health literacy in vulnerable/underserved populations.

Congratulations Dr. Casazza!

Our Pediatric Subspecialty Programs recently completed their match for fellows beginning July 2019. Congratulations to all of our incoming fellows! Following is a list of those who matched with our UAB pediatric programs: 

Click here for a mobile friendly pdf

Jennifer Guimbellot, M.D., Teri Magruder, M.D., Pediatric Pulmonology, and Brandi Pernell, DNP, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology will participate in the School of Medicine Office for Diversity and Inclusion's Transforming Success professional development series. Created by psychologists Lisa Graham and Julie McDonald, Transforming Success applies the essential “primer” every leader needs to prepare them for future opportunities and development. The series will begin in January and conclude in April. 

Congratulations Drs. Guimbellot, Magruder and Pernell!

Anisha Bhatia Attawala, M.D., Second Year Fellow, Neonatology, recently presented at the Hot Topics in Neonatology Conference in Washington, DC. This is an educational conference reviewing the latest research in neonatology. Dr. Attawala received a travel award for the best abstract submitted by a fellow for her abstract titled "Adjusted Growth Curves Predict Cognitive Outcomes in Extremely Preterm Infants."

Congratulations Dr. Attawala!

Snehal Khatri, M.D., and Justin Schwartz, M.D., Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, have been named among Birmingham Parent's Favorite Kids' Docs 2018. Doctors were nominated by Birmingham Parent readers for providing the best care for their children. They will be recognized along with other honorees in the December issue of Birmingham Parent’s.

Congratulations Drs. Khatri and Schwartz!

Emily Johnston, M.D., Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, has been accepted to membership in the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB as an Associate Scientist in the Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program.

Congratulations Dr. Johnston!

The Alabama Child Health Improvement Alliance(ACHIA) hosted the 2018 National Improvement Partnership Network (NIPN) annual meeting November 12-13 at the Elyton Hotel in Birmingham, Alabama. Participants from 14 states were welcomed by Mr. Warren and Dr. Cohen. Cathy Caldwell, Director of Allkids, was the keynote speaker.

ACHIA partners participated in a panel “Closing Care Gaps: Synergy in State Improvement Partnerships” participants included: Lori Moler, Vice-President of Customer Service, Children’s of Alabama, Susan Coburn, Family Voices, Wes Stubblefield, M.D., Alabama American Academy of Pediatrics, Robert Moon, M.D., Alabama Medicaid, Katrina Trammell, M.D., Gulf Coast Regional Care Organization, David Gremse, M.D., University of South Alabama, and Melinda Davis, Children’s Rehabilitation Services.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Trainees and Early Career Neonatologists (TECaN) launched a national advocacy campaign titled "Navigating NAS" at the AAP National Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, Florida, in early November. Anisha Bhatia Attawala, M.D., Second Year Fellow, Neonatology, is the District X representative to AAP TECaN and helped develop a section of the program and created the informational video.  

The campaign will run for one year and aims to inspire neonatologists to learn more about neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and engage in national collaborations. Check out the campaign website for resources such as educational webinars, policy and legislation history, resources for families and staff, discharge preparation documents and guides for prenatal NAS consults.

The Department of Pediatrics is pleased to honor these faculty members. They have attained a level of excellence recognized by their peers due to their exceptional contributions for the development of the department and in turn, the achievers of tomorrow - our children.

Please join us in congratulating the winners in each category.

Educational Achievement Award: Chrystal Rutledge, M.D., Pediatric Critical Care

Service Achievement Award: Terry Wall, M.D., Academic General Pediatrics

Mentoring Achievement Award: Annalise Sorrentino, M.D., Pediatric Emergency Medicine

Research Achievement Award: Wally Carlo, M.D., Neonatology

Community Pediatric Educator Award: Hugh Cheek, M.D., Pediatrics West

Lifetime Achievement Award: Raymond Lyrene, M.D., Pediatric Pulmonology, Retired, and Edward Colvin, M.D., Pediatric Cardiology

Team Excellence Award: The Infectious Diseases Congenital CMV Research Team - Drs. Karen Fowler, Shannon A. Ross, Suresh B. Boppana, and William J. Britt (not pictured)

Jeffrey Lebensburger, D.O., Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, has been selected to serve as the Incoming Clinical Research Training Institute (CRTI) Co-Director for the American Society of Hematology. Dr. Lebensburger will serve as Incoming Co-Director for a one-year term beginnging July 1, 2019. After serving as the Incoming Co-Director, he will serve as Junior Co-Director for a one-year term beginning July 1, 2020 and then serve as the Senior Co-Director for a one-year term beginning July 1, 2021.

Congratulations to Dr. Lebensburger on this new role!

Kate Prendergast, First-year Ph.D. Student in the Medical Psychology Program at UAB, was awarded the Marion and Donald Routh Student Research Grant from the Society of Pediatric Psychology. This competitive $5,000 research grant will help fund Kate's research project titled "Inflammatory Biomarkers, Executive Function, and Adiposity in Children With and Without Obesity." Kate is under the mentorship of Marissa Gowey, Ph.D., Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. 

Congratulations Kate!

Laura Rochford, M.D., 2nd Year Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellow, received a 2018 Trainee Tobacco Champion Honorable Mention for her project researching utilization of a new aversive tool to decrease smoking in parents of children. The long-range goal of her project is to decrease asthma visits in the children of these parents. The 2018 Trainee Tobacco Champion Awards and Honorable Mentions are given out by the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Tobacco Control. 

Congratulations Dr. Rochford!