Congratulations to Jaime McKinney, M.D., Academic General Pediatrics, on being appointed to the Admissions Selection Committee for the UAB School of Medicine. The Admissions Selection Committee reviews candidates and determines who will be accepted to join the School of Medicine. Thank you Dr. McKinney for your service!
Congratulations to Morissa Ladinsky, M.D., Academic General Pediatrics, on being awarded the Inclusive Research & Initiative Award at the Lavender Celebration on April 11. The Lavender Celebration is an annual event in the spring of each academic year wherein LGBTQ undergraduate, graduate and professional students receive recognition for both their contribution to campus and their success in graduating. During the celebration, awards are given out to students, faculty and staff.
Dr. Ladinsky was honored for her work on a project to make UAB medicine and our trained physicians and healthcare providers better at serving transgender patients.
Read more about Dr. Ladinsky's project
Congratulations to Chrystal Rutledge, M.D., Pediatric Critical Care, on being named the new Medical Director of Critical Care Transport. Dr Rutledge graduated medical school from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She completed a pediatric residency at the University of North Carolina before returning to UAB for a pediatric critical care fellowship. Upon completion of her fellowship she stayed on as faculty at UAB in the Division of Pediatric Critical Care.
We would like to thank Dr. Margaret Winkler for her many years of leadership in this role.
Congratulations to Daniel Feig, M.D., Pediatric Nephrology, on being elected to the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Nephrology Executive Council. Dr. Feig will serve on the council beginning November 1, 2018 and the term will extend through October 31, 2021.
Children's of Alabama and the Department of Pediatrics receives a generous donation from the Chu Family to support educational initiatives. From this donation, a portion has been set aside for Pediatric Fellows. The selection committee for the Chu Family Educational Scholarship recently met on Wednesday, May 17, and selected two fellows to receive this educational scholarship. Candidates were selected on a competitive basis. These awards will provide funds for tuition, books and fees related to their educational endeavors.
Please join us in congratulating the Chu Family Educational Scholarship recipients for the 2017-2018 academic year:
Courtney Crayne, M.D. – Upcoming 2nd year Pediatric Rheumatology Fellow.
Dr. Crayne will use funds to obtain a Certificate in Public Health through the UAB School of Public Health.
Erinn Schmit, M.D. – Upcoming 2nd year Pediatric Hospital Medicine Fellow.
Dr. Schmit will use funds towards completing a Medical Education Certificate Program through the University of Cincinnati.
Since 1988, the Dixon Foundation has endowed a fellowship training program in Pediatrics expressly aimed at supporting postdoctoral training and research in Pediatric subspecialties. The selection committee met on Tuesday, May 16, and selected three fellows for 2017. Candidates were selected on a competitive basis. These awards will provide funds for tuition, and an educational stipend.
Please join us in congratulating the Dixon Fellow recipients for the 2017-2018 academic year:
Jamie Aye, M.D., Pediatric Hematology & Oncology
Project: “Investigation of Focal Adhesion Kinase and the Kinome in Metastatic Wilms Tumor.”
Mentor: Dr. Elizabeth Beierle
Miranda L. Curtiss, M.D., Ph.D., Pediatric Allergy & Immunology
Project: “Location Dependent Signals Fine Tune Dendritic Cell Control of TH2 Responses.”
Mentor:Dr. Fran Lund
Corey Falcon, M.D., Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Project: “Generation of novel suicide gene modified anti-CD19 CAR redirected T cells.”
Mentor: Dr. Fred Goldman.
Current Dixon Fellow, Claudette Poole, MD, Infectious Diseases, will continue the second year of her award.
The UAB Department of Pediatrics welcomed four new faculty members during the month of September. Please join us in making them feel at home!
Amy Myers CaJacob, M.D., Assistant Professor in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
Mike Leonis, M.D., Ph.D., Professor in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
Erika Mendoza, M.D., Assistant Professor in Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care
Megan Yanik, M.D., MSPH, Assistant Professor in Pediatric Nephrology
Amy Myers CaJacob, M.D., Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, earned her Medical Degree from University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH. Dr. CaJacob completed an Internal Medicine Residency and Allergy and Immunology Fellowship at UAB and Children’s of Alabama. She has served as a clinical instructor at various institutions including UAB’s Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care. Dr. CaJacob will serve as the Associate Program Director of the Pediatric Allergy and Immunology Fellowship program. Her research interests include: asthma, food allergy, and eosinophilic gastroenteropathies.
Mike Leonis, M.D., Ph.D., Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition earned his Medical Degree and Doctorate of Philosophy from Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO. He completed his Pediatric Residency at Primary Children’s Hospital Medical Center at the University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT and his Fellowship in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH. Most recently, Dr. Leonis was an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine while also serving as Director of Training and Education and Director of the Gastroenterology Fellowship Training Program in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. His clinical interests include all areas of Pediatric Hepatology and Pediatric Liver Transplantation and he has participated in NIH-sponsored multicenter clinical research projects in pediatric acute liver failure over the last decade. Dr. Leonis joins UAB Pediatrics and Children's as the Bradford Dean Dixon Endowed Professor in Pediatric Hepatology. In addition, Dr. Leonis will serve as the Medical Director of the Pediatric Liver Care Center and the Medical Director of Pediatric Liver Transplantation.
Erika Mendoza, M.D., Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care, earned her Medical Degree from Universidad Central de Venezuela, Escuela Jose Maria Vargas, Caracas, Venezuela. She completed her Pediatric Residency at Albert Einstein Medical Center/St Christopher’s Hospital for Children, Philadelphia, PA and Pediatric Critical Care Fellowship at Cooper University Hospital, Camden, NJ and at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center/Children’s Hospital of Orange County, Torrance, CA. Dr. Mendoza completed her Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Fellowship at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Little Rock, AR. Prior to her fellowship, Dr. Mendoza served as a Pediatric Hospitalist at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, Yakima, WA.
Megan Yanik, M.D., MSPH, Pediatric Nephrology, earned her Medical Degree from the Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH. Dr. Yanik completed her Pediatric Residency and Pediatric Nephrology Fellowship at UAB Department of Pediatrics and Children’s of Alabama. She recently finished her master’s degree in Public Health in Clinical and Translational Research with a concentration in biostatistics at UAB. Her clinical and research interests include: immunosuppressant medications and outcomes in pediatric kidney transplant recipients.
Wayne Liang, M.D., Pediatric Hematology and Oncology and Member of the UAB Informatics Institute, received an appointment as an Associate Scientist in the Experimental Therapeutics Program of the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center effective Sept. 21, 2017. Congratulations to Dr. Liang on joining the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center!
The first story features a love story between Hannah Acton andLogan Whitehead who met at Children's and are both childhood cancer survivors. View their story here at 5:10:05.
The second story features 14-year-old Payton Ray who was diagnosed with leukemia and is now cured after a bone marrow transplant because of a donor who is a complete stranger to Payton's family. View his story here at 06:06:34.
Michelle Kong, M.D., Pediatric Critical Care, is among the list of 30 strong women in Alabama making differences in their communities. This year, This is Alabama presents the third annual Women Who Shape the State awards, which are listed on AL.com. Dr. Kong's recognition is due to being the co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of KultureCity, which is changing the state and beyond for the betterment of members of the special needs community. Read the story on AL.com