The first annual Pediatric Science Day was held on March 17, 2016 in the Bradley Conference Center. The organizers are pleased to announce the day was a huge success! Twenty pediatric presentations were showcased including presentations by 12 pediatric fellows, six pediatric residents, one post doc in psychology and one medical student. Additionally, eight posters were presented, five by pediatric fellows, one by a chief resident, one by a nutrition graduate student and one by a research associate. We were thrilled that Dr. Paul Spearman, Vice Chair of Research from Emory University was able to join us as the featured Grand Rounds speaker. He was an integral active participant during both the platform and poster sessions, and gave a very informative grand rounds presentation. Three fellows were highlighted with best abstracts in their section: Dr. Eric Ring and Dr. Jenny McDaniel, first and second year fellows from Hematology/Oncology, and Dr. Johanna Hall, third year fellow from Emergency Medicine. The day was even more complete as close to 70 faculty members took time to enjoy the presentations during the day. Special thanks to the six faculty who took time to review the abstracts: Drs. Tofil, Wu, Walley, Lebensburger, Whitley and McCormick.
Weily Soong, M.D., and Joe LaRussa, M.D., both longstanding members of the Allergy and Immunology teaching faculty in the Allergy and Immunology fellowship program, have been promoted to Clinical Associate Professor. Drs. Soong and LaRussa provide teaching for fellows as well as medicine and pediatric residents and medical students at their private practices in Birmingham.
More than 200 million children age 5 and under do not reach their developmental potential due to poverty, malnutrition, poor health and un-stimulating home environments, according to Fred Biasini, Ph.D., associate professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Psychology. The majority of these children live in South Asia or sub-Saharan Africa.
Biasini and Wally Carlo, M.D., division director of UAB Neonatology, are co-authors of a multicountry study that shows home-based interventions that teach parents to engage children in interactive, developmentally appropriate learning activities during the first three years help erase this gap. Biasini led the team of developmental assessors, while Carlo was the principal investigator.
To continue reading the press release, click here.
Biasini and Wally Carlo, M.D., division director of UAB Neonatology, are co-authors of a multicountry study that shows home-based interventions that teach parents to engage children in interactive, developmentally appropriate learning activities during the first three years help erase this gap. Biasini led the team of developmental assessors, while Carlo was the principal investigator.
To continue reading the press release, click here.
Matthew S. Alexander, PhD, Pediatric Neurology, has organized a Children's team for the upcoming Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Muscle Walk of Birmingham. The walk is Saturday, April 23 at Tannehill State Park at 10 a.m. If attending, be sure to wear either Children's, UAB or MDA gear! This is a great way to interact with patients and their families.
Click here to donate or join Dr. Alexander's team.
If you have any questions or want to get involved, email Dr. Alexander.
Click here to donate or join Dr. Alexander's team.
If you have any questions or want to get involved, email Dr. Alexander.
The Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) will broadcast “Smoke and Mirrors: Electronic Cigarettes and Child Health” on Thursday, April 28 at noon - 2 p.m. Susan Walley, M.D., Pediatric Hospital Medicine, will be the lead speaker. The second speaker is Ann Slattery, managing director for the Regional Poison Control Center at Children's.
Register on the ADPH website and test their computer for compatibility.
Register on the ADPH website and test their computer for compatibility.
Children’s of Alabama and the UAB Department of Pediatrics recently received a grant from the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) with the goal of protecting Alabama youth from secondhand smoke exposure, tobacco use and initiation, with a particular focus on electronic cigarettes.
Susan Walley, M.D., Pediatric Hospital Medicine, received the $80,000 grant from the ADPH’s Tobacco Prevention and Control Department and it will be utilized to collect data on youth tobacco use in the Birmingham metro area. Data will be used to promote policies that protect youth from tobacco use and tobacco smoke exposure. The grant will also provide education to middle and high school students in the Birmingham City Schools and other area schools on the health risks of tobacco use and tobacco smoke exposure. View the Children's press release. View the UAB News press release.
Susan Walley, M.D., Pediatric Hospital Medicine, received the $80,000 grant from the ADPH’s Tobacco Prevention and Control Department and it will be utilized to collect data on youth tobacco use in the Birmingham metro area. Data will be used to promote policies that protect youth from tobacco use and tobacco smoke exposure. The grant will also provide education to middle and high school students in the Birmingham City Schools and other area schools on the health risks of tobacco use and tobacco smoke exposure. View the Children's press release. View the UAB News press release.
Children’s of Alabama was recognized by the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) with a Pediatric Quality Award for waste reduction and improved efficiency.
The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and orthopedic group at Children’s worked together to standardize care for adolescent spinal fusion patients. The new processes give families an opportunity to participate in care and understand expectations prior to PICU admission. The results were shorter hospital stays for these patients and their families, as well as a cost savings of more than $800,000.
For more information, view the press release.
The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and orthopedic group at Children’s worked together to standardize care for adolescent spinal fusion patients. The new processes give families an opportunity to participate in care and understand expectations prior to PICU admission. The results were shorter hospital stays for these patients and their families, as well as a cost savings of more than $800,000.
For more information, view the press release.
The Pediatric Clerkship Directors and Pediatric Residency Program Directors are excited to announce that applications for the Underrepresented in Medicine Senior Scholarship Program for Pediatrics at the University of Alabama School of Medicine are now being accepted. The Scholarship provides funding for visiting fourth year medical students to participate in four-week clinical rotations in the Department of Pediatrics. Our goal is to attract highly talented students from diverse cultural, socioeconomic, and ethnic backgrounds interested in the field of pediatrics to UAB, providing exposure to our excellent training program. Students from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine, including African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native American, in addition to students whose backgrounds may bring a unique dimension to our training program, are encouraged to apply. Scholarship recipients will have an opportunity to network with faculty members within the Department of Pediatrics as well as UAB’s Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs. For more information, please contact Will Sasser, M.D.
Mercedes-Benz United States International, Inc. has made a gift of $25,000 to Children’s of Alabama to support Children’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and the Pediatric & Congenital Heart Center. The gift will be used to support the family needs after discharge home from the Children's NICU or Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit. Specifically, the majority of the funds will be used to further develop the “Hearts at Home” monitoring program developed for high risk patients sent home after complex congenital heart surgery.
View the Children's press release.
To learn more about how this grant will help the "Hearts at Home" program, click here.
View the Children's press release.
To learn more about how this grant will help the "Hearts at Home" program, click here.
Brian Sims, M.D., PhD, Neonatology, received a $50,000 award from the UAB Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) Development Core for his collaboration with Qiana Matthews, PhD, Infectious Disease. The award will be for one year in length to begin on March 15, 2016. The project is titled, "Cell Specific Exosomes Have Preferential Binding to HIV-1 and Facilitate HIV-1 Infection in the CNS."