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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!

Jacinta Cooper, M.D., Ph.D., Third Year Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellow, won first place in the Clinical Case Competition of the Section on Pediatric Trainees (SOPT) of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) at the AAP National Conference last weekend in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Cooper's wining case was titled "Paroxysmal Complete Heart Block In A Child With A Structurally Normal Heart." The SOPT has held the Clinical Case Competition since 2003. More than 300 abstracts were submitted and the top 30 authors were invited to present. First place is awarded to the best medical student, resident and fellow case. 

Congratulations to Dr. Cooper for this honor!

We are pleased to announce that the UAB Cleft and Craniofacial Center at Children’s of Alabama has received the national distinction of being approved by the Commission on Approval of Teams by the American Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association.

Our center was approved as both a recognized Cleft Center and as a recognized Craniofacial center and remains the only such center in the state of Alabama.

A 5 year accreditation beginning January 2019, this confirms that our center exemplifies the standards set forth by the national governing body.

Pictured: Cassi Smola, M.D., member of the Cleft and Craniofacial Center 

Congratulations to Shannon Ross, M.D., Pediatric Infectious Disease, on being elected to the American Pediatric Society! Membership in the American Pediatric Society is reserved for individuals who are child health leaders, teachers, scholars, policymakers and/or clinicians who make important contributions to pediatrics. Dr. Ross's membership will begin on January 1, 2019. 

A weekly photo round up of events, people and groups in the Department.

Sixty women have been selected to join the inaugural class of Upward, Alabama’s premier early career leadership development program. Among these is Allison Black, M.D., Neonatology. 

Momentum created the new Upward program to target early-career women. The program leverages Momentum’s expertise and alumnae network to develop the next generation of talented leadership.Upward is delivered in half-day sessions over a nine-month period from January to October. Program sessions are interactive, classroom-style and facilitated by training professionals and Momentum alumnae. In between sessions, participants will complete assignments, meet with their co-mentoring group, and enjoy networking opportunities with experienced senior leaders.

More information. 

Ambika Ashraf, M.D., Pediatric Endocrinology, has been invited to join the American Board of Pediarics Subboard of Pediatric Endocrinology for a six-year term beginning January 1, 2019. The subboard is responsible for developing the initial certifying, MOC, MOCA-Peds and SITE examinations, ensuring each exam is comprehensive, fair, reliable and valid. 

PEDIATRICS WELCOMES TWO NEW FACULTY MEMBERS IN OCTOBER 2018
 
The UAB Department of Pediatrics welcomes two new faculty members during the month of October. Please join us in making them feel at home! 

Katie Grisanti, M.D., Assistant Professor in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
Kimberlly Stringer, M.D., MPH, Associate Professor in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

Katie Grisanti, M.D., Assistant Professor in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, earned her medical degree from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Lexington, Kentucky. Dr. Grisanti completed her combined internal medicine/pediatric residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and allergy and immunology fellowship at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. 

Kimberlly Stringer, M.D., M.P.H., Associate Professor in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, earned her medical degree from the University of Tennessee in Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. Stringer completed her pediatric residency at Texas Tech Health Science Center in Lubbock, Texas and developmental-behavioral pediatrics fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In addition, she also completed a Master of Public Health at UAB. Prior to joining the department, Dr. Stringer worked at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.  Her research/clinical interests include improving patient assess to developmental-behavioral pediatric services including telehealth services, implementation of developmental screening in childcare centers, using practice transformation to improve developmental and behavioral screenings in primary care practices and studying developmental outcomes in children with congenital heart disease.

New Endowed Chairs
Ralph Froshin, Jr. Chair
Susan Nabers Haskell Chair 
Virginia Walker Jones Chair
Philippe W. Lathrop Chair 
L. Gwaltney McCollum, Jr. Chair 
Benjamin Russell Chair

New Chair Holders
Tamera Coyne-Beasley, M.D.- Derrol Dawkins, M.D., Chair in Adolescent Medicine
Jennifer Dollar, M.D.- Susan Nabers Haskell Chair in Pediatric Anesthesiology
Skip Gilbert, M.D.- L. Gwaltney McCollum, Jr. Chair in Pediatric Orthopaedics
Laura McGuinn, M.D.- Thomas H. Lowder Chair in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics
Nancy Tofil, M.D.- Ann Dial McMillan Chair in Pediatric Critical Care
Terry Wall, M.D.- John W. Benton Chair in General Pediatrics 

Children’s of Alabama (COA) provides generous and meaningful support to the pediatric enterprise in many ways. In particular, with the creation of six new chairs this year, COA now supports 26 endowed chairs for the pediatric enterprise. These chairs honor long serving members of the Board of Trustees (23) or physicians (3) who have served the pediatric enterprise. They are a wonderful way to honor the legacies of these important people. In addition, they provide support for faculty and are key differentiators in recruiting and retaining faculty in the Department of Pediatrics and other departments at COA. Congratulations to the longstanding board members and the new chair holders!

Congratulations to the Department of Pediatrics and Hussein Abdullatif, M.D., Pediatric Endocrinology, on their Argus Awards! Dr. Abdullatif was the winner of the Caduceus Club Award for Excellence in Clinical Education on the Birmingham Campus. The Department of Pediatrics won the Caduceus Club Award for Best Clinical Department on the Birmingham Campus. Pediatrics also won for Best Clinical Department: Tuscaloosa Campus. The winners were announced at a reception honoring recipients and nominees on Friday, September 7 at the UAB Alumni House. 

The Argus Awards were created in 1996 to give medical students a chance to honor their mentors, professors, courses and course directors for outstanding service to medical education. Faculty member are nominated by course evaluations and winners are voted on by students. 

Click here for full list of winners

Congratulations to Namasivayam Ambalavanan, M.D., Neonatology, Tina Simpson, M.D., Adolescent Medicine, Michael Stalvey, M.D., Pediatric Endocrinology and Susan Walley, M.D., Pediatric Hospital Medicine, on being accepted into the UAB Healthcare Leadership Academy (HLA). The HLA is a collaboration between the Collat School of Business and the School of Medicine. The program offers training opportunities and develops leadership skills essential to academic healthcare. 24 members were accepted into the academy for the 2018-2019 class and represent a well-balanced and diverse group. The program will begin in October 2018 and conclude in May 2019. 

Congratulations to our faculty being promoted effective October 1, 2018! 

Faculty Promotions
Allison Black, M.D., Neonatology - Associate Professor
Santiago Borasino, M.D., Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care - Professor
Drew Davis, M.D., Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine - Professor
Candice Dye, M.D., Academic General Pediatrics - Associate Professor
Ana Xavier, M.D., Pediatric Hematology/Oncology - Associate Professor
Wynton Hoover, M.D., Pediatric Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine - Professor
Matthew Kutny, M.D., Pediatric Hematology/Oncology - Associate Professor
Lauren Nassetta, M.D., Pediatric Hospital Medicine - Associate Professor
Christopher Pruitt, M.D., Pediatric Emergency Medicine - Associate Professor
Mary Lauren Scott, M.D., Pediatric Endocrinology - Associate Professor
Michael Seifert, M.D., Pediatric Nephrology - Associate Professor
Janaina Nogueria, M.D., Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition - Associate Professor
Isabel Virella-Lowell, M.D., Pediatric Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine - Professor
Susan Walley, M.D., Pediatric Hospital Medicine - Professor
Marjorie White, M.D., Pediatric Emergency Medicine - Professor

Friday, October 26 | 7:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. | Birmingham Botanical Gardens Auditorium 

The Leadership Education in MCH Nutrition presents the Motivational Interviewing Workshop. The goals of the workshop include introducing the basic skills of Motivational Interviewing as well as new concepts for the evidence-based practice. More information can be found here. 

Register here

Please contact Julia Burke with any question.

The UAB Department of Pediatrics welcomes eleven new faculty members during the month of August. Please join us in making them feel at home! 

Nitin Arora, M.D., Assistant Professor in Neonatology
Ahmed Asfari, M.D., Assistant Professor in Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care
Jamie Aye, M.D., Assistant Professor in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Teresa Cornelius, M.D., Assistant Professor in Pediatric Hospital Medicine
Madhura Hallman, M.D., Assistant Professor in Pediatric Critical Care
Angela King, M.D., Instructor in Academic General Pediatrics
Han Phan, M.D., Associate Professor in Pediatric Neurology
Claudette Poole, M.D., Assistant Professor in Pediatric Infectious Disease
Emily Smitherman, M.D., Assistant Professor in Pediatric Rheumatology
Christine Stoops, D.O., Assistant Professor in Neonatology
Scott Turner, DNP, Assistant Professor in Pediatric Neurology

Nitin Arora, M.D., Assistant Professor in Neonatology, earned his medical degree from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Medical College in Bangalore, India. Dr. Arora completed his pediatric residency at West Virignia University Hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia and neonatal/perinatal fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center/Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In addition, he received a Master of Public Health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2008.

Ahmed Asfari, M.D., Assistant Professor in Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care, earned his medical degree from University of Aleppo Faculty of Medicine in Aleppo, Syria. Dr. Asfari completed his pediatric residency at University of Kansas School of Medicine in Wichita, Kansas where he was also a chief resident. He completed his pediatric critical care fellowship at the University of Arkansas for Medical Science in Little Rock, Arkansas and an advanced cardiovascular critical care fellowship at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville, Florida. His research/clinical interests include: mechanical circulatory support/ clinical and translational research.

Jamie Aye, M.D., Assistant Professor in Pediatric Hematology Oncology, earned her medical degree from Mercer University School of Medicine. Dr. Aye completed her pediatric residency at the University of South Carolina/Palmetto Health Richland and her pediatric hematology oncology fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her research/clinical interests focus on improving the outcomes of patients with solid tumors.

Teresa Cornelius, M.D., Assistant Professor in Pediatric Hospital Medicine, earned her medical degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. Cornelius completed her combined medicine/pediatric residency at UAB. In addition, she received a Master of Public Health from UAB.

Madhura Hallman, M.D., Assistant Professor in Pediatric Critical Care, earned her medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Hallman completed her pediatric residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and her pediatric critical care fellowship at the University of Tennessee in Memphis, Tennessee. Her research/clinical interests include: long-term functional and neuropsychological outcomes in PICU survivors, ICU follow-up models, mentorship of residents and fellows, and health disparities in critical care.

Angela King, M.D., Instructor in Academic General Pediatrics, earned her medical degree from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine in Mobile, Alabama. Dr. King completed her pediatric residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her research/clinical interests include: asthma, childhood obesity and nutrition.

Han Phan, M.D., Associate Professor in Pediatric Neurology, earned her medical degree from Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Phan completed her intern year at Tulane University and her child neurology residency and sleep medicine fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Phan previously served as an Assistant Professor in Pediatric Neurology at UAB and an Assistant Professor at Emory University in Neurology. Her research/clinical interests include: neuromuscular and sleep disorders.

Claudette Poole, M.D., Assistant Professor in Pediatric Infectious Disease, earned her medical degree from the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Dr. Poole completed pediatric residency at Schneider Children’s Hospital in Manhasset, New York and completed a pediatric infectious disease fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She has worked as a general pediatrician in the community as well as a hospitalist. Prior to fellowship training at UAB, she held an academic position as Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Hofstra School of Medicine in New York with her clinical position as an academic hospitalist at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New York. Her research/clinical interests include: respiratory viral infections in vulnerable patient populations, the role of molecular diagnostics and antivirals. In addition to her clinical role in the division of infectious diseases she will participate in infection prevention both at Childrens' as well as in the RNICU of the Women and Infant's Hospital of UAB.

Emily Smitherman, M.D., Assistant Professor in Pediatric Rheumatology, earned her medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Smitherman completed her pediatric residency at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina and her pediatric rheumatology fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center. In addition, she received a Master’s of Science in Clinical & Translational Research from University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her research/clinical interests include: optimizing healthcare delivery for children with chronic rheumatic disease, impact of health system interventions on patient outcomes.

Christine Stoops, D.O., M.P.H., Assistant Professor in Neonatology, earned her medical degree from University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth, Texas. Dr. Stoops completed her pediatric residency and neonatology fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her research/clinical interests include: acute kidney injury risk factors & sequalae in the neonatal population.

Scott Turner, DNP, Assistant Professor in Pediatric Neurology, earned his Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science in Nursing from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Turner completed his Doctor of Nursing Practice at the University of Colorado in Aurora, Colorado. Dr. Turner previously served as an Assistant Professor in Pediatric Neurology at the University of Colorado in Aurora, Colorado. His research/clinical interests include: pediatric headache, Tourette syndrome, population health, and quality improvement.

The second Pediatric Residency Reunion was a great success!  Over 185 guests attended the reunion with 34 classes being represented. Thank you to all who attended and to everyone who worked hard to make the reunion such a great event! 

Click here for photos from the reunion