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Jennifer Guimbellot, M.D., Teri Magruder, M.D., Pediatric Pulmonology, and Brandi Pernell, DNP, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology will participate in the School of Medicine Office for Diversity and Inclusion's Transforming Success professional development series. Created by psychologists Lisa Graham and Julie McDonald, Transforming Success applies the essential “primer” every leader needs to prepare them for future opportunities and development. The series will begin in January and conclude in April. 

Congratulations Drs. Guimbellot, Magruder and Pernell!

Anisha Bhatia Attawala, M.D., Second Year Fellow, Neonatology, recently presented at the Hot Topics in Neonatology Conference in Washington, DC. This is an educational conference reviewing the latest research in neonatology. Dr. Attawala received a travel award for the best abstract submitted by a fellow for her abstract titled "Adjusted Growth Curves Predict Cognitive Outcomes in Extremely Preterm Infants."

Congratulations Dr. Attawala!

Snehal Khatri, M.D., and Justin Schwartz, M.D., Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, have been named among Birmingham Parent's Favorite Kids' Docs 2018. Doctors were nominated by Birmingham Parent readers for providing the best care for their children. They will be recognized along with other honorees in the December issue of Birmingham Parent’s.

Congratulations Drs. Khatri and Schwartz!

Emily Johnston, M.D., Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, has been accepted to membership in the O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB as an Associate Scientist in the Cancer Control and Population Sciences Program.

Congratulations Dr. Johnston!

The Alabama Child Health Improvement Alliance(ACHIA) hosted the 2018 National Improvement Partnership Network (NIPN) annual meeting November 12-13 at the Elyton Hotel in Birmingham, Alabama. Participants from 14 states were welcomed by Mr. Warren and Dr. Cohen. Cathy Caldwell, Director of Allkids, was the keynote speaker.

ACHIA partners participated in a panel “Closing Care Gaps: Synergy in State Improvement Partnerships” participants included: Lori Moler, Vice-President of Customer Service, Children’s of Alabama, Susan Coburn, Family Voices, Wes Stubblefield, M.D., Alabama American Academy of Pediatrics, Robert Moon, M.D., Alabama Medicaid, Katrina Trammell, M.D., Gulf Coast Regional Care Organization, David Gremse, M.D., University of South Alabama, and Melinda Davis, Children’s Rehabilitation Services.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Trainees and Early Career Neonatologists (TECaN) launched a national advocacy campaign titled "Navigating NAS" at the AAP National Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, Florida, in early November. Anisha Bhatia Attawala, M.D., Second Year Fellow, Neonatology, is the District X representative to AAP TECaN and helped develop a section of the program and created the informational video.  

The campaign will run for one year and aims to inspire neonatologists to learn more about neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and engage in national collaborations. Check out the campaign website for resources such as educational webinars, policy and legislation history, resources for families and staff, discharge preparation documents and guides for prenatal NAS consults.

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.

Educational Achievement Award: Chrystal Rutledge, M.D., Pediatric Critical Care

Service Achievement Award: Terry Wall, M.D., Academic General Pediatrics

Mentoring Achievement Award: Annalise Sorrentino, M.D., Pediatric Emergency Medicine

Research Achievement Award: Wally Carlo, M.D., Neonatology

Community Pediatric Educator Award: Hugh Cheek, M.D., Pediatrics West

Lifetime Achievement Award: Raymond Lyrene, M.D., Pediatric Pulmonology, Retired, and Edward Colvin, M.D., Pediatric Cardiology

Team Excellence Award: The Infectious Diseases Congenital CMV Research Team - Drs. Karen Fowler, Shannon A. Ross, Suresh B. Boppana, and William J. Britt (not pictured)

Jeffrey Lebensburger, D.O., Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, has been selected to serve as the Incoming Clinical Research Training Institute (CRTI) Co-Director for the American Society of Hematology. Dr. Lebensburger will serve as Incoming Co-Director for a one-year term beginnging July 1, 2019. After serving as the Incoming Co-Director, he will serve as Junior Co-Director for a one-year term beginning July 1, 2020 and then serve as the Senior Co-Director for a one-year term beginning July 1, 2021.

Congratulations to Dr. Lebensburger on this new role!

Kate Prendergast, First-year Ph.D. Student in the Medical Psychology Program at UAB, was awarded the Marion and Donald Routh Student Research Grant from the Society of Pediatric Psychology. This competitive $5,000 research grant will help fund Kate's research project titled "Inflammatory Biomarkers, Executive Function, and Adiposity in Children With and Without Obesity." Kate is under the mentorship of Marissa Gowey, Ph.D., Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. 

Congratulations Kate!

Laura Rochford, M.D., 2nd Year Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellow, received a 2018 Trainee Tobacco Champion Honorable Mention for her project researching utilization of a new aversive tool to decrease smoking in parents of children. The long-range goal of her project is to decrease asthma visits in the children of these parents. The 2018 Trainee Tobacco Champion Awards and Honorable Mentions are given out by the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Tobacco Control. 

Congratulations Dr. Rochford!

Jacinta Cooper, M.D., Ph.D., Third Year Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellow, won first place in the Clinical Case Competition of the Section on Pediatric Trainees (SOPT) of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) at the AAP National Conference last weekend in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Cooper's wining case was titled "Paroxysmal Complete Heart Block In A Child With A Structurally Normal Heart." The SOPT has held the Clinical Case Competition since 2003. More than 300 abstracts were submitted and the top 30 authors were invited to present. First place is awarded to the best medical student, resident and fellow case. 

Congratulations to Dr. Cooper for this honor!

We are pleased to announce that the UAB Cleft and Craniofacial Center at Children’s of Alabama has received the national distinction of being approved by the Commission on Approval of Teams by the American Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association.

Our center was approved as both a recognized Cleft Center and as a recognized Craniofacial center and remains the only such center in the state of Alabama.

A 5 year accreditation beginning January 2019, this confirms that our center exemplifies the standards set forth by the national governing body.

Pictured: Cassi Smola, M.D., member of the Cleft and Craniofacial Center 

Congratulations to Shannon Ross, M.D., Pediatric Infectious Disease, on being elected to the American Pediatric Society! Membership in the American Pediatric Society is reserved for individuals who are child health leaders, teachers, scholars, policymakers and/or clinicians who make important contributions to pediatrics. Dr. Ross's membership will begin on January 1, 2019. 

A weekly photo round up of events, people and groups in the Department.

Sixty women have been selected to join the inaugural class of Upward, Alabama’s premier early career leadership development program. Among these is Allison Black, M.D., Neonatology. 

Momentum created the new Upward program to target early-career women. The program leverages Momentum’s expertise and alumnae network to develop the next generation of talented leadership.Upward is delivered in half-day sessions over a nine-month period from January to October. Program sessions are interactive, classroom-style and facilitated by training professionals and Momentum alumnae. In between sessions, participants will complete assignments, meet with their co-mentoring group, and enjoy networking opportunities with experienced senior leaders.

More information. 

Ambika Ashraf, M.D., Pediatric Endocrinology, has been invited to join the American Board of Pediarics Subboard of Pediatric Endocrinology for a six-year term beginning January 1, 2019. The subboard is responsible for developing the initial certifying, MOC, MOCA-Peds and SITE examinations, ensuring each exam is comprehensive, fair, reliable and valid. 

PEDIATRICS WELCOMES TWO NEW FACULTY MEMBERS IN OCTOBER 2018
 
The UAB Department of Pediatrics welcomes two new faculty members during the month of October. Please join us in making them feel at home! 

Katie Grisanti, M.D., Assistant Professor in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
Kimberlly Stringer, M.D., MPH, Associate Professor in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

Katie Grisanti, M.D., Assistant Professor in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, earned her medical degree from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Lexington, Kentucky. Dr. Grisanti completed her combined internal medicine/pediatric residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and allergy and immunology fellowship at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. 

Kimberlly Stringer, M.D., M.P.H., Associate Professor in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, earned her medical degree from the University of Tennessee in Memphis, Tennessee. Dr. Stringer completed her pediatric residency at Texas Tech Health Science Center in Lubbock, Texas and developmental-behavioral pediatrics fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In addition, she also completed a Master of Public Health at UAB. Prior to joining the department, Dr. Stringer worked at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.  Her research/clinical interests include improving patient assess to developmental-behavioral pediatric services including telehealth services, implementation of developmental screening in childcare centers, using practice transformation to improve developmental and behavioral screenings in primary care practices and studying developmental outcomes in children with congenital heart disease.

New Endowed Chairs
Ralph Froshin, Jr. Chair
Susan Nabers Haskell Chair 
Virginia Walker Jones Chair
Philippe W. Lathrop Chair 
L. Gwaltney McCollum, Jr. Chair 
Benjamin Russell Chair

New Chair Holders
Tamera Coyne-Beasley, M.D.- Derrol Dawkins, M.D., Chair in Adolescent Medicine
Jennifer Dollar, M.D.- Susan Nabers Haskell Chair in Pediatric Anesthesiology
Skip Gilbert, M.D.- L. Gwaltney McCollum, Jr. Chair in Pediatric Orthopaedics
Laura McGuinn, M.D.- Thomas H. Lowder Chair in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics
Nancy Tofil, M.D.- Ann Dial McMillan Chair in Pediatric Critical Care
Terry Wall, M.D.- John W. Benton Chair in General Pediatrics 

Children’s of Alabama (COA) provides generous and meaningful support to the pediatric enterprise in many ways. In particular, with the creation of six new chairs this year, COA now supports 26 endowed chairs for the pediatric enterprise. These chairs honor long serving members of the Board of Trustees (23) or physicians (3) who have served the pediatric enterprise. They are a wonderful way to honor the legacies of these important people. In addition, they provide support for faculty and are key differentiators in recruiting and retaining faculty in the Department of Pediatrics and other departments at COA. Congratulations to the longstanding board members and the new chair holders!

Congratulations to the Department of Pediatrics and Hussein Abdullatif, M.D., Pediatric Endocrinology, on their Argus Awards! Dr. Abdullatif was the winner of the Caduceus Club Award for Excellence in Clinical Education on the Birmingham Campus. The Department of Pediatrics won the Caduceus Club Award for Best Clinical Department on the Birmingham Campus. Pediatrics also won for Best Clinical Department: Tuscaloosa Campus. The winners were announced at a reception honoring recipients and nominees on Friday, September 7 at the UAB Alumni House. 

The Argus Awards were created in 1996 to give medical students a chance to honor their mentors, professors, courses and course directors for outstanding service to medical education. Faculty member are nominated by course evaluations and winners are voted on by students. 

Click here for full list of winners