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March was Brain Injury Awareness Month and the UAB Division of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM) celebrated by setting up an information booth in the lobby of Children’s Harbor. Each year more than 3.5 million children and adults sustain an acquired brain injury, and brain injury continues to be the leading cause of acquired disability in childhood. The UAB Division of PRM provides services for children and adolescents with a wide variety of acquired brain injuries due to sports related concussion, trauma, stroke, brain tumor, and infection, among others, and acquired brain injury is the most common diagnosis for patients receiving intensive inpatient rehabilitation at Children’s of Alabama.
 
Pictured right: Janet Ezekiel, Children's of Alabama Sunshine School, and Angela Hamby, Nurse Clinician, Children's of Alabama and UAB Division of Pediatric Rehab Medicine

Brian Sims, M.D., Ph.D., Neonatology, recently received the Outstanding Alumni Award from the UAB Department of Biology. Dr. Sims will be honored at the UAB Alumni House at a special Spring Awards Presentation Luncheon on April 24. 

David E. Dixon, a long-time member of the Children’s of Alabama Board of Trustees, has been honored for his service with the establishment of an endowed chair in his name.
 
Dixon began his volunteer leadership service at Children’s in 1998, serving on the Board’s Research and Education Committee, Executive Committee and as an officer of the Alabama Children’s Hospital Foundation. He has contributed to the community through his commitment to numerous philanthropic boards, especially his family’s foundation, the Dixon Foundation. The Dixon Foundation has a strong partnership with the UAB Department of Pediatrics, including its support of the Dixon Fellowship Training program.
 
Reed Allen Dimmitt, M.D., is the first holder of the David E. Dixon Endowed Chair in Pediatric Gastroenterology. Dr. Dimmitt is a professor in the UAB Department of Pediatrics, the director of the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, and the medical director of Children’s Intensive Feeding Program. In addition, Dr. Dimmitt will serve as the president of the Children’s of Alabama medical staff and chair of the medical executive committee beginning in January 2018. Dimmitt’s research includes mucosal immunology, the role of intestinal microbiota in the pathogenesis of injury, and the causes of intestinal failure associated liver disease.

Read the story on Childrensal.org.

Join us in welcoming Samuel P. Hopper, M.D., to the UAB Department of Pediatrics!
Samuel Hopper, M.D., Assistant Professor in Pediatric Neurology, earned his medical degree from Tulane School of Medicine. He completed his pediatric residency at UAB. He joins us from Jackson, Mississippi, where he worked with Children’s Medical Group, Batson Children’s Hospital and University of Mississippi Medical Center, and Mississippi Baptist Medical Center. His clinical and research interest is headaches in children. He sees headache patients at Children's South.

In January 2017, representatives from the Pediatric Simulation Center at Children’s of Alabama and the Office of Interprofessional Simulation accepted the certificate designating the UAB Simulation Consortium as accredited in Research, Education/Teaching, and Systems Integration by the Society of Simulation in Healthcare. Members of the Children's of Alabama and UAB simulation community traveled to the International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare to accept this designation (pictured right). For more information on UAB Simulation Consortium, visit http://www.uab.edu/simulation/uab-simulation-consortium.

A new study from UAB suggests that women at risk of preterm delivery, from as early as 23 weeks of pregnancy, should receive corticosteroids due to strong associations with a lower rate of death and serious illness for their babies. The study, published in the British Medical Journal, says that very premature babies seem to benefit the most from the steroids, even those born at 23 weeks of gestation.

“Indeed, the benefits of antenatal corticosteroids were substantially larger for infants born at the lowest gestations, including less than 28-week infants, for which data from randomized controlled trials are most limited,” said Wally Carlo, M.D., senior investigator of the study and director of the UAB Division of Neonatology.  

Compared to babies born at term, premature babies carry a greater risk of death or serious complications after birth, with problems tending to be more severe the earlier a baby is born. Infants exposed to antenatal corticosteroids had lower mortality and lower rates of brain bleeding. 

Colm Travers, M.D., third-year fellow in the UAB Division of Neonatology and principal investigator of the study, and a team of researchers analyzed data for 117,941 infants born between 23 and 34 weeks of gestation from 2009 to 2013 at 300 neonatal intensive care units across the United States. Death or major illness was analyzed by gestational age and exposure to antenatal corticosteroids, adjusting for factors such as birth weight, sex, mode of delivery and multiple births. 

Read the story at UAB News. 

We are proud to announce our Resident Intern Class of 2017-2018! We matched 24 Pediatric Residents, four Internal Medicine-Pediatric Residents, one Genetics-Pediatric Resident, and one Child Neurology Resident. We are so proud to have these incredibly strong, academically talented, well-rounded interns joining our Residency Programs this July.

Click here to view the incoming class! 

The UAB Commission on the Status of Women presents these awards annually to honor women in the UAB and Birmingham communities who have mentored or served other women, taken a courageous stance or overcome adversity to achieve a goal. Carolyn S. Ashworth, M.D., General Pediatrics, was the recipient of the Becky Trigg Outstanding UAB Faculty Member. Click here to read more about her devotion to her colleagues, leadership, and courage.

Stephen Russell, M.D., associate professor of internal pediatrics and pediatrics, recently published his third novel, "Control Group."

Books will be available in print and e-book format on Amazon and in Audiobook format from audible.com, Amazon, and iTunes. Locally, they will be sold at the new location of Little Professor in Homewood.

Russell has two upcoming book signings at Little Professor in Homewood on April 4 from 5 - 7 p.m., and at Emmet O’Neal Library in Mountain Brook on April 9. See more on his website at www.authorstephenrussell.com.

Read this story at UAB News. 

We invite you to spend some time reviewing the activities of a successful 2016 and the stories of our patients, and the men and women who provide their care and support. You may access the report here or via the link provided below. 

In addition, click here to download the Children’s of Alabama 2016 Research Annual Report.  Please feel free to share the link and/or the PDF with your colleagues, family, and friends.

http://annualreport.childrensal.org

The Second Annual Pediatric Science Day was held on March 9, 2017 in the Bradley Lecture Center. The organizers are pleased to announce the day was another huge success! Nineteen pediatric presentations were showcased including presentations by 15 pediatric fellows, three residents, and one medical student. Additionally, 11 posters were presented, ten by pediatric fellows and one medical student. We were thrilled that Dr. Michael Haller, Professor and Chief of Pediatric Endocrinology at the University of Florida, was able to join us as the featured Grand Rounds speaker. He was an integral active participant during both the platform and poster sessions, and gave a very informative grand rounds presentation on his experiences into the type 1 diabetes research world. Two fellows and one resident were highlighted with best abstracts in their section: Dr. Corey Falcon (second year Hematology & Oncology fellow), Dr. Colm Travers (third year Neonatology fellow), and Dr. Erika Bishop (third year Pediatric resident). The day was even more complete as many faculty members took time to enjoy the presentations and the poster session. Special thanks to the seven faculty who took time to review the abstracts: Drs. Tofil, Wu, Cohen, Lebensburger, Nassetta, Iyer and McCormick. We look forward to next year - Pediatric Science Day 2018!

Click here to see photos!

Namasivayam Ambalavanan, M.D., Neonatology, has been selected to serve as a member of the NIH Lung Injury, Repair, and Remodeling (LIRR) Study Section by the Center for Scientific Review. His term will be July 2017 - June 2021. Members will review applications that focus on lung development and the response of non-vascular pulmonary tissue or cells to injury, repair, fibrosis, and barrier function.

Congratulations to UAB School of Medicine Medical Students Mary Margaret Barr and Anisha Khanijow who have been selected as the 2017 Russell Cunningham Memorial Research Scholars. Each will receive $3,200 to work with their research mentor for eight weeks during the summer. Ambika Ashraf, M.D., Pediatric Endocrinology, will mentor Mary Margaret’s project, “The pathophysiology and natural progression of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in pediatrics,” and Suresh Boppana, M.D., Pediatric Infectious Disease, will mentor Anisha’s project, “Acquisition of HCMV from breast milk: correlates of protection.”
 
The Russell Cunningham Memorial Research Program was established to honor the memory of Dr. Russell Cunningham, a long-time member of the Department of Pediatrics and a strong advocate for medical student education.

Leaders from the Alabama Department of Public Health, Children’s of Alabama, the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network and the Jefferson County Department of Health shared some startling research Monday about teen smoking in Alabama at the Birmingham Kick Butts Day rally held at Kelly Ingram Park. National Kick Butts day was March 15. 

“Nationally about 90 percent of smokers start using tobacco regularly by the time they are 18, and we know from the December 2016 Surgeon General’s Report that three million middle and high school students used e-cigarettes in 2015. The nicotine in tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes, is addictive. Teenagers, with their developing brains, are more likely to become addicted to nicotine than adults so it is crucial to prevent them from using tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes, in this critical period of their lives,” said Susan Walley, M.D., Pediatric Hospital Medicine.

Read the story on Childrensal.org

The UAB Commission on the Status of Women recently selected the 2017 Outstanding Women Awards. Carolyn S. Ashworth, M.D., General Pediatrics, has been selected as this year’s Becky Trigg Outstanding UAB Faculty Member award recipient.
The commission will present awards to those honored as Outstanding Women for 2017 at a reception on Thursday, March 23 at the UAB Alumni House. Click here for more information on these awards. 

The UAB Regional NICU’s ‘Golden Week Program’, was selected as an honorable mention recipient for a 2017 Gage Award. This is a national award given by the America’s Essential Hospitals. The strategic priorities of America’s Essential Hospitals include identifying and disseminating evidence-based best practices that enhance the quality of care for all – especially vulnerable population. The ‘Golden Week Program’ is an evidence-based, multidisciplinary, quality improvement initiative, which was started at the UAB RNICU to improve the overall clinical outcomes of extremely preterm infants. This program was conceived by Charitharth (Vivek) Lal, M.D., Neonatology, who is the Program Director. The ‘Golden Week Program’ core committee includes Colm Travers, M.D. (Fellow Liaison); Kimberly Nichols, RN (Nursing Liaison), Donna Purvis, RN (Nurse Manager) and Susan Roberts, RT (Respiratory Therapist). The award will be accepted by the team at VITAL 2017 – America’s Essential Hospitals annual conference in June in Chicago, IL.

The Society for Pediatric Research (SPR) Fellow's Basic Research Award Selection Committee has selected Aaron Yee, M.D., Neonatology as the winner of the 2017 Basic Research Awards for Fellows, sponsored by Society for Pediatric Research junior section. This award will be presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) meeting in May during the SPR awards presentation. For more information on this award, click here.

Children’s of Alabama and UAB Pediatrics Residency Program will host the 11th annual Spring Scramble 5K on Saturday, April 22. The 5K begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Levite Jewish Community Center, followed by a Fun Run at 6:30 p.m.
 
The registration fee is $20 for UAB and Children’s employees; $25 for the general public and free for children under 12 with an adult entry. The registration fee covers a 5K T-shirt and goodie bag. To register, visit www.springscramble.org.

Read the story on Childrensal.org

Children’s of Alabama and the UAB Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases have announced Suresh B. Boppana, M.D., as the first Hugh Dillon, M.D., Endowed Professor in Pediatric Infectious Diseases. The professorship was recently approved by Children’s of Alabama Board of Trustees.

Boppana is a professor in the UAB Department in Pediatrics. He served as the director of the research faculty development in Pediatrics and director of the Infectious Disease Fellowship Training Program.

Read the story on Childrensal.org

Traveling with children can be stressful, but preparation can significantly improve the situation, according to UAB pediatrician Candice Dye, M.D.

“First and foremost, be safe and think safe,” said Dye, assistant director of the UAB Department of Pediatrics Residency Program. “Plan ahead for the needs of your infant. Think ahead for how you will keep your infant safe. Go ahead and enjoy traveling with your child.”

Read this story at UABNews.