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Michael Stalvey, M.D., associate professor in the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology & Diabetes at UAB, recently launched a new study of infants and children with cystic fibrosis (CF) with support from the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation.‏ Dr. Stalvey is co-principal investigator of the "A Prospective Study to Evaluate Biological and Clinical Effects of Significantly Corrected CFTR Function in Infants and Young Children (BEGIN)" along with Bonnie Ramsey, M.D., Lucas Hoffman, M.D., Ph.D., and Sonya Heltshe, Ph.D. from the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital. This $11 million multi-center trial, including 30+ CF Centers across the US, will coordinate the study of children with CF for the next seven years, setting the framework for research priorities for years to come.‏

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.

2020 Department of Pediatrics Faculty Achievement Award Winners

UAB Medicine recently recognized faculty and staff who reached certain milestones of service at UAB with the annual Service Awards. Bill Britt, M.D., professor in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Jan Gentry, director of Business Services, and Karan Harris, office manager in the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology & Diabetes, were all honored for their 30 years of service. 

Happy Diwali!

To those celebrating Diwali, the festival of lights starting Saturday, Nov. 14 and lasting five days, on behalf of the Department of Pediatrics, I wish you a joyous holiday.

Pallavi Iyer, M.D., associate professor in the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, and Herb Chen, M.D., Chair of the UAB Department of Surgery, are co-editors of a book dedicated to the care of children with thyroid and parathyroid disorders. "Thyroid and Parathyroid Disorders in Children: A Practical Handbook" is designed to offer an approach to diagnosing and treating children with thyroid and parathyroid diseases from international experts in the medical and surgical fields, several of whom are UAB faculty members. The 16 chapter-book is divided into two sections: thyroid and parathyroid, discussing both common and rare disorders along with medical treatments and surgical techniques.

On Wednesday, Nov. 18 the Injury Free Coalition for Kids is launching the inaugural National Injury Prevention Awareness Day. The UAB Department of Pediatrics is participating in Injury Prevention Awareness Day by hosting a statewide education awareness day. On Nov. 18, Children’s of Alabama will be lit green and everyone is encouraged to wear green to raise awareness. This day is also a reminder of the importance of educating every family on injury prevention. The UAB Pediatric Primary Care Clinic, Adolescent Health Center and Emergency Department will be providing safety equipment as well as education on this day. 

Wendy Landier, Ph.D., professor in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, and Brian Sims, M.D., associate professor in the Division of Neonatology, have been elected to the American Pediatric Society.

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

Sugantha Krishnan, M.D., Assistant Professor in Academic General Pediatrics
Diana Montoya Melo, M.D., Assistant Professor in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
Sheetal Phadnis, M.D., Instructor in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology

Hussein Abdullatif, M.D., professor in the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology & Diabetes, Laurie Marzullo, M.D., associate professor in the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, and Stephanie Berger, M.D., associate professor in the Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine, were among those honored at the Argus Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, Oct. 27 during a live ceremony on Zoom. 

Dr. Latif received the Caduceus Club Award for Excellence in Clinical Education on the Birmingham Campus.

Dr. Marzullo received the inaugural Introduction to Clinical Medicine Clinical Skills Scholars Award. This award was created to honor the best educator for Introduction to Clinical Medicine (ICM). Dr. Marzullo has taught ICM as a Clinical Skills Scholar for the last eight years.

Dr. Berger received the Best Career Advisor Award.

The inaugural Safety & Quality Day was held Thursday, Oct. 22 virtually on Zoom. The day consisted of several presentations focused on patient safety and quality improvement and a poster session. 

Ana Xavier, M.D., associate professor in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, was a panel member in the development of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Guidelines and Evidence Blocks for Pediatric Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Prescott Atkinson, M.D., professor in the Division of Pediatric Allergy & Immunology, has been awarded the inaugural Alabama Avocational Paleontologist Award (ALAP). This award was created to honor amateur paleontologists who have made outstanding contributions to the field of paleontology in Alabama.

Sarah Novara, M.D., assistant professor in the Division of Pediatric Neurology, has recently been named program director for the UAB Child Neurology Residency Program. Dr. Novara will take over for Tony McGrath, M.D., associate professor in the Division of Pediatric Neurology, who has served as program director of the residency program since 2008.

Please join us in welcoming our inaugural group of Pediatric Residents Interested in Medical Education (PRIME) Scholars! Residents participating include Andy Marshall, M.D., PGY-4 Med-Peds, Meghan Harrison, M.D., PGY-3 Pediatrics, McGee Hopper, M.D., PGY-3 Pediatrics, Stephen Hudson, M.D., PGY-3 Pediatrics, Carter Barnett, M.D., PGY-2 Pediatrics, Leah Bittles, M.D., PGY-2 Pediatrics, Gabe Daniels, M.D., PGY-2 Pediatrics, Amelia Schuyler, M.D., PGY-2 Pediatrics, and Karen Wang, M.D., PGY-2 Pediatrics.

David Kimberlin, M.D., professor in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, has been invited to join an expert group of the Departments of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research (SHR) and Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing (MCA) at the World Health Organization (WHO) to review evidence on mother-to-child transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and to create a consensus case definition.

Congratulations to the six faculty being promoted effective October 1, 2020! 

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

Helena Gutierrez, M.D., Assistant Professor in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
Erin Shaughnessy, M.D., MPH, DTMH, Associate Professor in Pediatric Hospital Medicine

Tamera Coyne-Beasley, M.D., MPH, professor in the Division of Adolescent Medicine, has been invited to join the Institute for Advanced Clinical Trials for Children (I-ACT for Children). In this role, she will help principal investigators of clinical trials to develop protocols and procedures to recruit more children and adolescents and to improve their diversity. I-ACT for Children is a non-profit organization that works to ensure that clinical trials are designed to produce sufficient data to allow for the use of new medications and devices for pediatric patients.

“I am honored to be asked to join I-ACT for Children and to lend my expertise to help recruit diverse participants in clinical trials for pediatric patients,” said Dr. Coyne-Beasley.

David Askenazi M.D., MSPH, professor in the Division of Pediatric Nephrology, has received funding from the Bill L. Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship to support his project ZorrowFlow.

The ZorroFlow is a neonatal external urine collection device that has been designed to provide a safe, comfortable, and easy-to-use system for continuous measurement of urine output and sampling in neonates.  

Julie Wolfson, M.D., assistant professor in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, has been invited to become a member of the Center for Women's Reproductive Health (CWRH). 

The mission of the CWRH is to conduct research aimed at improving the reproductive health and survival of all women, especially minority and under-served women and offspring, and their families, and to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration between UAB researchers and others and developing scholars interested in women's reproductive health.