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Dr. Shannon Ross (R) with other Superbug Ambassadors on Capitol Hill.For the fourth year, Shannon Ross, M.D., Pediatric Infectious Diseases, served as an ambassador for The Pew Charitable Trusts' Stand Up To Superbugs initiative. Dr. Ross joined more than 40 other 2020 Stand Up To Superbugs Ambassadors in Washington, DC Feb. 25-27 to meet with the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, leaders from CDC, FDA, and other key agencies and members of Congress and their staffs to urge action to fight the growing threat of antibiotic-resistant infections. This year's ambassadors include people from several different fields including health care, public health, research, farming, veterinary medicine and patients and patient families impacted by superbugs. During their trip to Washington, the ambassadors meet with the representatives from their states to share their expertise and experience to advocate for funding and support to preserve the effectiveness of existing antibiotics and to develop new antibiotics. 

Ed Colvin, M.D., Pediatric Cardiology, has been appointed as Professor Emeritus in the School of Medicine. The appointment, approved by the Board of Trustees, is made in recognition of his outstanding service and years of dedication to the Department of Pediatrics, Heersink School of Medicine, and Children's of Alabama.

Dr. Colvin joined the Division of Pediatric Cardiology in 1983, serving as division director from 1990 to 2012. During his tenure as division director, he built a strong team of cardiologists spanning the full range of pediatric cardiology subspecialties. A true testament to his superb leadership, no cardiology faculty member has left the division since 1992. Dr. Colvin also played an instrumental part in the rebirth of UAB as a comprehensive state of the art pediatric and congenital cardiovascular program. 

Always a forward thinking physician, in 1991 he developed, with the assistance of a computer programmer, an electronic repository that is still used by the division today. This repository is an integral part in the efficiency and organization of the division. He is an exemplary clinician, loved by his patients, and a kind and patient teacher. 

Congratulations Dr. Colvin!

Samantha Hill, M.D., MPH, Adolescent Medicine, was awarded grant funding from the UAB Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) Developmental Core: CFAR Ending HIV in Alabama Scientific Working Group for her pilot study “Evaluating Parental Support as a Strategy to Increase PrEP Adherence among Adolescents and Young Adults.” Dr. Hill's project seeks to understand the perspectives of adolescents and young adults regarding the use of parents and caregivers to assist with adherence to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). This project is a follow up to her Dixon Fellowship research project that sought to understand parent and caregiver perspectives about adolescents and young adults using PrEP.

Congratulations Dr. Hill!

Fred Goldman, M.D., and Hilary Haines, M.D., Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, have been awarded a seed grant from the Sickle Cell Foundation of Birmingham to fund their project titled, “Barriers to Transplant in Sickle Cell Disease: A Survey of Patients and Families at Children’s of Alabama.” The grant will provide seed money to assist them in studying the barriers that contribute to why sickle cell patients at Children's of Alabama are not getting bone marrow transplants at the same rate as the rest of the country. 

Congratulations Drs. Goldman and Haines!

Effective immediately, the Endocrine Division has been renamed to the UAB Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes. The change will also encompass the endocrine clinical service and training program. The name change was initiated by Ambika Ashraf M.D., division director for pediatric endocrinology and diabetes. Dr. Ashraf noted, in 1935, the subspecialty started as ‘pediatric endocrinology’ by Lawson Wilkins at the Harriet Lane Home, at Johns Hopkins Hospital. ‘Diabetes’ evolved in parallel as a clinical pediatric discipline from the clinics of Elliott Joslin and Priscilla White in Boston.
 
In 1980, both branches joined together to become pediatric endocrinology and diabetes. Since our division also encompasses both aspects, it is only appropriate to rename the division. Efforts to change references to the division online and in printed material has already begun and we ask that you do the same where appropriate. 

Carl Coghill, M.D., Neonatology, has been appointed the first holder of the Waldemar A. Carlo, M.D., Endowed Professorship in Clinical Neonatology. This endowed professorship recognizes the compassionate patient care and superior teaching Dr. Coghill exhibits.

Dr. Coghill is the medical director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Children’s of Alabama, the perinatal referral center for the state of Alabama. He is also the medical director for the Community Neonatology Program. His leadership and dedication to patient care have improved the medical care of neonates in community hospitals in the Birmingham area. Dr. Coghill has contributed greatly to advancing the field of neonatology by mentoring and training the next generation of neonatologists. Additional roles held by Dr. Coghill include, medical director for the Neonatal Simulation Lab, physician champion – High Reliability Unit, and medical director of the CRNP Skills Lab.

The Waldemar A. Carlo, M.D., Endowed Professorship in Clinical Neonatology was created and named to honor Dr. Wally Carlo for his many years of leadership as the division director of the Division of Neonatology.

Congratulations Dr. Coghill!

As part of the Diversity Fair hosted by the School of Medicine Office for Diversity and Inclusion on Friday, Jan. 31, the Department of Pediatrics hosted a table with the help of Tina Simpson, M.D., Adolescent Medicine, Reed Dimmitt, M.D., Pediatric Gastroenterology, Samantha Hill, M.D., Adolescent Medicine, Chrystal Rutledge, M.D., Pediatric Critical Care, and Clare Mallette, Office of Faculty Development. Due to their amazing efforts, the department was awarded second place in the School of Medicine Diversity Fair Table Competition. Departments across the School of Medicine host tables at the Diversity Fair to showcase the variety of cultures that make up their departments. The tables are judged on their food, creativity and presentation.

Congratulations to our Diversity Fair team!

Click here to view photos from the event.

Amy Freeman, M.D., First Year Fellow-Neonatology, was awarded the SSPR Young Investigator Award-Basic Science at the Southern Society for Pediatric Research (SSPR) Annual Meeting in New Orleans last weekend. She won for her research titled, “Germ-free Mice are Protected but Humanized Mice with Diseased Airway Microbiome Develop Severe Lung Injury in Hyperoxia.”

Congratulations Dr. Freeman!

Gabriela Oates, Ph.D., Pediatric Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine, and Cathy Mims, MS-HQS, BSN, RN, CPN, Children's of Alabama CF Center Coordinator, are the co-authors of Chapter 7: “Which Types of Providers Can Help Me with My CF” in the new book “Facing Cystic Fibrosis.” The book was written by leading health care providers in their field and members of the cystic fibrosis community to provide resources and information for families on the management of cystic fibrosis.

The Russell Cunningham Memorial Research Program was established by Dr. Sergio Stagno, Chair Emeritus of the UAB Department of Pediatrics, to honor the memory of Dr. Russell Cunningham. Dr. Cunningham spent more than 30 years as a member of the faculty and was a fervent advocate for medical education. The program is designed to introduce students to pediatrics through research and clinical experience.

Interested students

First-year UASOM medical students with an interest in pediatrics are encouraged to apply for the 2020 Russell Cunningham Memorial Research Program, an eight-week summer internship and research program. 

Eligible projects include bench research, clinical research, and quality improvement projects. All projects should be designed for completion within the 8-week summer research internship time frame, or enough progress made such that finalization can occur during a scholarly activity block. Suggestions for projects in which this can be accomplished include: analysis of existing data from an ongoing project to answer a new research question or expansion of an existing project to examine a new but related question. New projects which can be accomplished within the internship time frame are also encouraged. Each student must have his/her own project; funding is not available for students to work as a research assistant on an existing project.

Based on these applications, two students will be selected and will work with faculty mentors from the Department of Pediatrics. Each selected student will receive $4000; an additional $1000 is available to cover costs of travel to present the research.

Faculty mentors MUST be in the Department of Pediatrics.

Application process

The following materials should be submitted through the Medical Student Summer Research Programs website:

• Student’s CV or resume (no longer than 3 pages)

• Students should compose a 3-5 page project proposal indicating research interests and career goals, research project description (introduction, project objectives and hypothesis, methods/approach) and literature cited. This description should be reviewed by the faculty mentor prior to submission to the committee.

Applications must be submitted by April 3, 2020 at 5 p.m.

Interested faculty mentors

Faculty mentor responsibilities include:
1) helping the student design a summer research project
2) providing the student with clinical experience.
This may include observation or participation in clinical activities (clinics or hospital rounds) or attendance at educational conferences. 

Faculty who are interested in mentoring a student for the summer of 2020 should forward the information and application document to the student. Applications must be submitted no later than April 3, 2020 at 5 p.m.  

For questions, please contact Dr. Cassi Smola, csmola@peds.uab.edu.