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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.

Thanks to improved technology, pediatric cardiologists at Children’s of Alabama are seeing improved survival rates in children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and other critical heart conditions. 

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome, or the condition of babies born with only one ventricle, is a condition requiring surgery at birth, at 4 to 6 months, and again at 3 to 5 years of age. We discovered that a certain percentage of babies between the first two surgeries could be expected to die suddenly at home. 

Read this blog post by Yung Lau, M.D., Pediatric Cardiology, on the Birmingham Medical News Blog. 

Employees with 20 or more years of service will be honored today during the annual Service Awards Program luncheon at noon in the Hill Student Center Ballroom. Richard J. Whitley, M.D., Distinguished Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, co-director of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, is one of four being honored this week for 45 years of service to UAB. Read Dr. Whitley's story on UAB news. A full list of recipients is online. To view a list of Department of Pediatrics faculty and staff being honored, click here.

Tina Simpson, M.D., associate professor in the UAB Department of Pediatrics, received the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) 2017 Exceptional Mentor Award.

This award celebrates those who have made an impact on the lives of medical students and physicians in training, going above and beyond what is required, and actively reaching out to those around them to help guide students in their career paths.

“Over the years, I have had such influential mentors and take great pleasure in being able to provide similar encouragement and support to students and trainees,” Simpson said.

Dr. Simpson along with Marisa Marques, M.D., professor in the UAB Department of Pathology, will be presented their awards during the AMWA’s 102nd Anniversary Meeting on Saturday, April 1, in San Francisco, CA.

Read this story at UAB News. 

Christopher Pruitt, M.D., Pediatric Emergency Medicine, has been elected to a second two-year term to the Southern Society for Pediatric Research (SSPR) Executive Council. Dr. Pruitt will serve on the council until February 2019. His responsibilities include mentorship of trainee research, judging for trainee research awards, and conference organization.

UAB will partner with Proton International to bring proton therapy, one of the most technically advanced forms of cancer-killing radiation, to Alabama. Proton therapy delivers a more precise dose of radiation to a tumor and can avoid damage to healthy surrounding tissue better than conventional X-ray radiation. 

“Proton therapy is particularly beneficial for children, as they are especially vulnerable to damage from radiation,” said Alyssa Reddy, M.D., professor of hematology/oncology in the UAB Department of Pediatrics. “Conventional radiation can help cure a child’s cancer, but it carries an increased risk of damage to surrounding tissue. In children, tissue damage, particularly in still-developing organs such as the brain, can leave the child susceptible to myriad health issues that may not emerge for years. Proton therapy offers the opportunity to successfully treat pediatric tumors and minimize the risk for side effects later in life. This will improve the health and quality of life of pediatric cancer survivors, most of whom we expect to live long and productive lives.”

Read this story at UAB News. 

Daniel Feig, M.D., Ph.D., Pediatric Nephrology, was elected Pediatric Nephrology Subboard Chair of the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP). Dr. Feig will serve in this role beginning January 2018 – December 2019, and will serve as immediate past chair from January 2020 – December 2021.

The subboard is responsible for the development of the certifying exams and their analysis. In addition, they will be overhauling the content specification for the exam, which is done in concert with the ACGME and ASPN (American Society of Pediatric Nephrology) Committee of Training Program Directors. Over the next couple of years, the subboard will also be tasked to develop the transition from secured exams to the MOCA program, which includes short quarterly sets of questions with the associated educational material, a program being rolled out for General Pediatrics in 2018.