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Ride4Gabe is three cyclists, joined by a motorhome, SUV and a documentary film crew, attempting to pedal 200 miles per day from Maine to Mobile to raise awareness and funds for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The ride began on Friday, July 29 and will come through Birmingham this Sunday, August 7, 2016 around 12:30 p.m. Children's of Alabama will hold an event to welcome the riders along with Gabe Griffin. You are invited to attend! There will be shakers and other Children's/UAB staff on hand to welcome the bikers, as well as 20-25 members of a local Bike Club that will ride with them on the leg from Birmingham to Montgomery. Additional details on Ride4Gabe and the fight to end Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy can be found at www.hopeforgabe.org or www.ride4gabe.com.

The inspiration for Ride4Gabe is eleven-year-old Gabe Griffin from Chelsea, Alabama. Gabe has Duchenne, a type of muscular dystrophy caused by the absence of the protein dystrophin. Gabe is the namesake of a tax-exempt non-profit—the Hope for Gabe Foundation—that works nationally to raise Duchenne awareness and research funding. The Alabama Legislature passed “The Gabe Griffin Right to Try Act” after intense lobbying by Gabe and his supporters.   

The UAB Department of Pediatrics recently received the portraits of Drs. Alfred A. Walker and Daniel T. McCall from the School of Medicine. These previously hung on the walls of the Margaret Cameron Spain auditorium. Due to renovations, the department now has the opportunity to house them in a location that ensures high visibility to reflect their significant contributions to the history of Pediatrics and UAB Medicine.

These portraits, along with the addition of Dr. Hugh Dillon, line the hallway that accompanies the portrait of Katharine Reynolds Ireland (the namesake of the endowed Chair of the Department of Pediatrics). The photo on the right show the portraits (from left to right) of Drs. Hugh Dillon, Alfred Walker and Daniel McCall. These portraits, displayed next to the chairs office on the 6th floor of the Lowder building, recognize their legacy to academics, clinical duties and the community. Information is on behalf of UAB Archives.

Alfred A. Walker, MD, was the first chair of the Department of Pediatrics from 1945 – 1950. He was a 1905 graduate of Cornell University. His contributions include Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatrics and Chair of the Board of Health for the Jefferson County Medical Society.

Daniel T. McCall, MD, was a Professor of Pediatrics from 1914-1918. He became Dean of the Medical College of Alabama in 1920. He was a member of the Mobile County Medical Society, Medical Association of the State of Alabama, Southern Medical Association, the American Medical Association, President of the American Pediatric Society (1925-26) and a Fellow (1927) of the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Hugh Dillon served as Chairman of the Department following Dr. Bill Benton until he became ill in 1988. He was followed as Chair by Dr. Sergio Stagno. Dr. Dillon was instrumental in establishing the UAB division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases in the late 1960s.

The UAB Department of Pediatrics division of Pediatric Critical Care has been accepted as a participant in the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s PCOR-ICU Collaborative: Improving Care for Critically Ill Patients and Families through Research Dissemination and Implementation, which is funded by a Eugene Washington Engagement Award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. 

The aim of the PCOR-ICU Collaborative is to bring together ICU teams to implement patient- and family-centered care initiatives. The Pediatric Critical Care Unit will implement the use of ICU Diaries. More information here. 

The 2nd Annual Just A Call Away 5K & Fun Run, a 5K race and fundraiser for the Crisis Center at Uptown Birmingham, will be held Saturday, August 20 at 8 a.m. Runners of all ages and abilities are welcome. A 1 Mile Fun Run will be offered as well. Participants may register here.

The Crisis Center’s mission is to serve the unmet needs of people experiencing personal crisis or mental health issues and respond with services that promote coping, emotional health and well-being, and serves the community of Central Alabama. All services of the Crisis Center are 100% free and available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

For more information about this event and the mission of the Crisis Center, visitwww.crisiscenterbham.org.

Researchers at UAB have found that the amount of proteins excreted in the urine of preterm infants with acute kidney injury, or AKI, is different from that excreted by infants with healthy kidneys.

The study, led by principal investigator David Askenazi, M.D., was published in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

“The findings in this study could help physicians better diagnose kidney health in newborns,” said Askenazi, associate professor in the UAB Department of Pediatrics and director of UAB’s Pediatric and Infant Center for Acute Nephrology. “Having better diagnostic tests to diagnose kidney injury will have an important impact on how we care for infants and how we prognosticate outcomes, and will enable us to design studies to prevent and/or mitigate kidney damage in these very vulnerable babies.”

Study co-authors include Rajesh Koralkar, MPH, Neha Patil, M.D., Brian Halloran, M.S., Namasivayam Ambalavanan, M.D., and Russell Griffin, Ph.D.

Click here to view the press release on UAB News.

Burnout among physicians is on the rise in the United States as a whole, according to Medscape’s 2016 survey results; however, female physicians are more likely to experience burnout than their male counterparts, which often in turn leads to symptoms of depression. Lauren Nassetta, M.D., assistant professor of Pediatrics, addressed the prevalence of burnout and its impact on women in the medical field at the July 27 meeting of the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) UAB Chapter. 

Continue reading about Dr. Nassetta's presentation, titled “Burnout becomes water: an interactive conference on well-being,” on UAB School of Medicine News.

The UAB Department of Pediatrics believes that recognizing the exceptional contributions of our faculty and colleagues is a vital aspect of our culture. The Department honors individuals with the following awards:

• Lifetime Achievement Award
• Research Achievement Award
• Educational Achievement Award
• Service Achievement Award
• Mentoring Achievement Award
• Model of Excellence Award
• Community Pediatric Educator Award

Click here for descriptions of these awards. Nominations are due by September 1. Nomination packets should include a letter of nomination highlighting the individual, or team’s, achievement and curriculum vitae of the nominee(s). Self-nominations will be accepted. Nomination packets should be submitted to ofd@peds.uab.edu. 
 
Honorees will be recognized at a Departmental Awards Ceremony.

The UAB Department of Pediatrics welcomed five new faculty members during the month of July. Please join us in welcoming the following faculty to their respective divisions! Margaux Barnes, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition Shea Duerring, M.D., Assistant Professor, Pediatric Emergency Medicine Natalia Lotz, M.D., Instructor, Pediatric Hospital Medicine Salman Rashid, M.D., Assistant Professor, Pediatric Neurology Brett Turner, M.D., Assistant Professor, Pediatric Pulmonology

Margaux Barnes, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition, earned her Ph.D. at UAB followed by her fellowship at UAB’s Leadership Education in Adolescent Health Program. As faculty in GI, her research will focus on the development of interventions to increase engagement in health-promoting behaviors in youth with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. She is specifically interested in the development of novel diet and physical activity interventions that may mitigate some of the long-term health outcomes associated with IBD.

Shea Duerring, M.D., Assistant Professor, Pediatric Emergency Medicine, completed his residency and internship at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters/ Eastern Virginia Medical School. He completed his Pediatric Emergency Medicine fellowship in the UAB Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Duerring earned his medical degree at Eastern Virginia Medical School. His clinical research focus is prehospital care of children.

Natalia Lotz, M.D., Instructor, Pediatric Hospital Medicine, completed her residency at UAB Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Lotz earned her medical degree at Eastern Virginia Medical School. Her research interests are improving quality measures for asthma in hospitalized children, quality improvement in hospitalized children, and resident education.

Salman Rashid, M.D., Assistant Professor, Pediatric Neurology, completed his pediatric residency at Nassau University Medical Center, NY. He completed his Fellowship in Pediatric Neurology at Children's Hospital of Michigan. Dr. Rashid earned his medical degree at Allama Iqbal Medical College, Lahore, Pakistan. His areas of interest are neonatal and critical care neurology.

Brett Turner, M.D., Assistant Professor, Pediatric Pulmonology, completed his residency and internship at UAB Department of Pediatrics. He completed his Pediatric Pulmonology Fellowship in the UAB Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Turner earned his medical degree at UAB.  Dr. Turner’s clinical focus includes infants with chronic lung disease and Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD) as well as children with Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD).  His research interests include long term pulmonary outcomes of premature infants with BPD and the translational study of ciliary mechanics and coordination in diseases of mucociliary clearance including PCD.

The UAB Medicine Marketing Department will be hosting a free professional photo shoot for all Full Time/Active Faculty Physicians and Advanced Practice Providers. These photos will be used in the Provider Directory and are ideal for those missing a photo or would like to have their current photo updated. The sessions will be held:

• Tuesday, August 23 from 6 a.m. until 2 p.m. in North Pavilion Atrium
• Wednesday, August 24 from 11:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. in the North Pavilion Atrium
• Thursday, August 25 from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. in TKC

SUGGESTED ATTIRE:
Men – Solid color dress shirt & solid color tie
Women – Solid color blouse
**UAB white coats will be provided if you do not bring your own**
 
All full-time faculty physicians and advanced practice providers are invited to attend. Appointment scheduling is available, but walk-in’s are also welcome. To schedule an appointment on a first come first serve basis, please visit oneuabmedicine.org/providerphotoshoot. If you’re unsure about your faculty status/eligibility for the photo shoot, please contact us to confirm.

Take advantage of this opportunity to update your professional head shot August 23-25!

Mark Denison, M.D.
Craig-Weaver Professor of Pediatrics
Professor of Pathology, Microbiology, & Immunology
Interim Director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN

Dr. Denison will present, “Targeting the coronavirus proofreading polymerase complex for antivirals” on Tuesday, August 9 from noon to 1 p.m. in the Bevill Biomedical Research Building (BBRB) 170. Light refreshments provided. Click here to view the flyer. Click here to view his visiting agenda. 

Children’s of Alabama and the Kaul Pediatric Research Institute have released the announcement and guidelines for the 2016-2017 grant application process. The major goal of the New and Established Investigator KPRI grant program is to allow investigators to obtain data that will advantage applications for additional extramural funding. This will bring new knowledge to the care of children, leverage the investment of the KPRI, and allow projects to be competitive for the very best science on the national stage. A second, but important, goal is to ensure that a dedicated funding source is available to unique segments of the pediatric research, education, and quality improvement enterprise. The goal of the quality/safety/educational awards is to further advance and stimulate projects that will advance child health in these areas. An expectation of future extramural funding is not a requirement for these awards. Awards are open to all faculty in pediatric disciplines and all employees at Children’s of Alabama.
 
This year, once again, there are three categories of grants that will be funded: Established Investigator Awards, New Investigator Awards, and Quality/Safety/Educational Awards. All funded applications will be directed toward the improvement of child health care.
 
Established Investigator Awards: Up to two awards will be funded, one named in honor of Dr. Sergio Stagno and one named in memory of Dr. Rud Polhill, at an amount of $50,000 per year each for a maximum of two years.
 
New Investigator Awards: Up to five awards will be funded, at an amount of $30,000 per year each for a maximum of two years.
 
Quality/Safety/Educational Awards: Up to two Quality/Safety/Educational awards will be funded, at an amount of $10,000 each for one year.
 
Applications for all awards must be submitted electronically to mary.aiken@childrensal.orgby 4:30 p.m. on Friday, September 30, 2016.  In addition - to ensure accuracy, completeness, and proper processing through UAB OSP – all Established and New Investigator grant applications should also be submitted to David Ingram on or before Wednesday, September 21^st. Application guidelines and forms can also be found on the Pediatric Research Office (PRO) website at the following link:http://www.uab.edu/medicine/peds/research/funding. The PRO is available to assist all investigators with application development. Contact David Ingram or Cheryl Perry with any questions.

Trent Tipple, M.D., Neonatology, has been selected by the Section on Neonatal Perinatal Medicine (SONPM) as a SONPM District X Representative for the Mid-Career Neonatology group (MIDCaN). The American Academy of Pediatrics' Section on Perinatal Pediatrics is the home organization for specialists in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine and also welcomes affiliate members working in related disciplines.

A Department of Pediatrics HSF clinical faculty track (CFT) promotion committee, comprised of senior clinical faculty members, has been selected by the HSF faculty to review promotion applications and provide guidance to those on the CFT.
 
The Committee consists of seven members. Four at-large Associate Professors (3+ years in rank) and/or Professors are selected by the Pediatric HSF faculty. The Pediatric Vice Chair for Clinical Services, Children's of Alabama Chief Medical Officer, and Director of Pediatric Faculty Development serve as the three (3) appointed voting committee members. The seven members will elect a chair. At-Large members will serve a term of four years and may be reelected. Only one member of a division can be elected at any one time for the four at-large positions.
 
2016-2020 CFT Promotions Committee representatives are: 
Cason Benton, M.D., at-large
Drew Davis, M.D., at-large
Jose Mestre, M.D., at-large
Annalise Sorrentino, M.D., at-large
Peter Glaeser, M.D., Pediatric Vice Chair for Clinical Services
Tony Fargason, M.D., Children's of Alabama Chief Medical Officer
Tina Simpson, M.D., Director of Pediatric Faculty Development
 
CFT Guidelines can be found on the DOP Faculty Promotion and Tenure website and can be accessed by clicking here.

UAB is the only university to be awarded grants in all three perinatal networks from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to improve maternal and infant health.

UAB is a member of the NICHD Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network, NICHD Neonatal Research Network, and the NICHD Global Network for Women’s and Children’s Health Research.

Over more than two decades, these networks have brought to UAB more than $20 million to fund research for pregnant women and babies, and the new awards total a $1.1 million base per year for the next five years.

For 25 years, UAB’s Division of Neonatology has participated in the NICHD Neonatal Research Network (NRN) and was recently awarded $200,000 in base funds per year, with an additional $500,000 to $1 million per year to conduct additional research in the network.

The NRN was established in conjunction with the MFM Units Network to do similar research in neonatology. Areas addressed by the NRN include trials of therapies for sepsis, intraventricular hemorrhage, chronic lung disease and pulmonary hypertension, as well as the impact of drug exposure on child and family outcomes. Principal investigators for the network, Wally Carlo, M.D., Edwin M. Dixon Endowed Chair in Neonatology, and Namasivayam Ambalavananan, M.D., co-director of the Division of Neonatology, have led nationwide studies on ventilator care, antenatal steroids, chronic lung disease and neurodevelopmental outcomes.

A study in the NICHD NRN published in the NEJM reported that neonatal mortality has been decreased over the last 10 years, including decreases in almost all specific causes of neonatal mortality, because of improvements in care implemented in the NRN centers. A second paper showed that improvements in perinatal care, including obstetrical and neonatal interventions, are increasing survival rates substantially in the most premature babies. Survival rates are substantially increasing among those delivered at a gestational age of 20 weeks to 25 weeks and six days.

Click here to read the full press release on UAB News.

Alabama Medicaid Commissioner Stephanie Azar is trying to do the impossible. She is cutting the Medicaid program because of the completely inadequate funding appropriated by the Alabama legislature for FY 2017 while still hoping Alabama will have an effective healthcare delivery system. It does not work that way. Hope is not a strategy.

Azar's first step is the August 1 reduction of physician reimbursement by eliminating the Medicaid physician "payment bump," a move that could have significant adverse effects on children and Alabama's healthcare delivery system. The Alabama Medicaid agency has historically been one of the lowest state-funded agencies in the country. 

A healthy, financially stable Medicaid program is vital to the more than 500,000 children served by the program, and it is critically important to the overall healthcare system in Alabama for all children. And it all begins with the primary care pediatricians and family medicine physicians in communities throughout Alabama who are on the front lines of healthcare.

Three-quarters of the Medicaid recipient population is under the age of 18 and account for almost half of the children in our State. For over 45 years, Medicaid has been an important part of Alabama's pediatric healthcare system. Importantly, Medicaid and commercial insurers provide coverage for 95 percent of our children. This is an outstanding achievement. As a result, the number of pediatricians across the State has increased, and Alabama ranks high in the nation in important child well-being markers, such as access to care, immunizations, timely preventive care and routine care for chronic illnesses. Our front line pediatricians and family care physicians do a great job but now that is all in jeopardy.

Approximately 60 percent of Children's of Alabama's patient population is Medicaid-eligible. Children's is the State's only comprehensive pediatric medical center and Medicaid is important to our ability to continue to provide care for all of the ill and injured children who come to us from each of Alabama's 67 counties every year. The children of Alabama desperately need for Medicaid to have stable, long-term funding that can help ensure medical care is accessible and available for all our children and for the next generation to come.

Children's of Alabama will continue to work with policy and legislative leaders to find long-term, sustainable funding for the State's Medicaid program. It is imperative that the pediatric healthcare framework not be disrupted and that we are well positioned to address the future needs of our children. The primary care physicians are at the epicenter of care for children in communities throughout Alabama. Their success and viability is simply good for kids.

The UAB Department of Pediatrics has provided, and continues to provide, training for pediatricians who are eager to provide care for the next generation of Alabama's children. A stable Medicaid program will help us retain these young doctors in our State, particularly in communities where the number of physicians is already low. Fewer community pediatricians will mean more local emergency room visits and increased costs.

Children's of Alabama, the UAB Department of Pediatrics and our healthcare partners across the State call on our governor, legislators and policymakers to do what is right for children and our medical community. Alabama must stop the annual, one-time band-aid approach to Medicaid funding. Alabama's children deserve a viable, sustainable long-term solution to Medicaid funding and only the governor and the legislature can do that job.

Sincerely,

Mike Warren
President and CEO, Children's of Alabama

Mitch Cohen, M.D.
Children's Physician-in-Chief
Chair of the UAB Department of PediatricsChair of the UAB Department of Pediatrics

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease recently awarded the UAB Department of Pediatrics contracts totaling $11.5 million under its Broad Agency Announcement mechanism to support two studies to be conducted at UAB and its partner academic sites.
 
The studies will assess treatment of babies born with congenital cytomegalovirus without symptoms, and frequency of neonatal herpes infections in the United States and Peru.
 
Almost one percent of babies born in the United States will have CMV, the largest non-genetic cause of sensory loss and mental disabilities. Ninety percent of these babies will be asymptomatic, or show no visible or laboratory evidence of the disease, at the time of birth. Early detection and close follow-up can lessen the effects of congenital CMV in infants. The new study, supported by a $10 million contract, will explore whether treating babies with four months of an oral drug – valganciclovir –that targets the virus can improve outcomes. 
 
“UAB has been the world leader in studying congenital viral infections for the past 50 years,” said David Kimberlin, M.D., who holds the Sergio Stagno, M.D., Endowed Chair in Pediatric Infectious Disease at UAB. “Our team of researchers and physicians have been instrumental in learning more about CMV and treating the disease. The next step is being able to identify and treat CMV in babies who are asymptomatic at birth.”

A $1.5 million contract will support a study to assess the incidence of neonatal herpes infections in the United States and Peru using large databases in both countries to see how common the infection is. Knowledge gained from these investigations will inform future therapeutic studies aimed to decrease mother-to-infant transmission of herpes simplex virus. A prospective trial also will be conducted in Peru under this contract.

Other UAB researchers involved in these studies that improve the lives of children across the globe include Mary Wyatt Bowers, Penny Jester, Susan Branscum, Sara Davis, Juliette Southworth and Richard Whitley, M.D 

Click here to read more on UAB News.

The Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee is a federal advisory committee that provides recommendations to the NIH Director related to basic and clinical research involving recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules. Richard Whitley, M.D., Pediatric Infectious Disease, was recently named Chair and will be reporting directly to Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., Director, National Institutes of Health.

Nine faculty projects have been funded by the School of Medicine Dean’s Research Award Program. These donor-funded awards, totaling $25,000, have been granted to promote faculty efforts in medical education and medical education research in the School of Medicine. Marjorie Lee White, M.D., M.P.P.M., M.A., Pediatric Emergency Medicine, received funding for her project, "Development of Interprofessional Education Communication Videos" in the amount of $2,000.

The 2016 UAB Perinatal Conference is now open for registration. This year’s conference is titled “If You Feed Them, They Will Grow.” The objective is to provide state-of-the art updates on the care of the neonate. This one-day conference is scheduled for Friday, July 22 beginning at 7:30 a.m. with registration and breakfast, in the Bradley Conference Center at Children’s of Alabama. Up to 8 CMEs and 9.6 Contact Hours are available.Click here for the informational brochure.

Margaux Barnes, Ph.D., Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, received funding from Nutrition and Obesity Research Center (NORC) Pilot/Feasibility Grant Program for the proposal titled, “Mediational Analysis of Diet Composition, Physical Activity, and Lean Mass in Pediatric Patients with IBD.” The pilot program advisory committee of the NORC recommended funding of the application for $25,000 to be used by May 2017.