That's Pediatrics: Recent Episodes
UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh: Leader in pediatric medicine and
Pediatric medicine is always evolving. That’s why it’s important to stay up to date on the latest clinical breakthroughs. Whether you’re a provider, parent, or caregiver, That’s Pediatrics is your source for all things pediatric health and wellness. This biweekly podcast is hosted by the experts at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. In each episode, our hosts talk to leading health care professionals — physicians, researchers, hospital administrators, and more — about the pediatric topics that matter most to you.
Dr. Timothy Hand, associate professor of pediatrics and immunology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses his research into the vertical transmission of immunity from mothers to their infants through breast milk and the importance of maternal antibodies in preventing necrotizing enteritis in preemies.
George K. Gittes, MD, Benjamin R. Fisher Chair of Pediatric Surgery, chief of pediatric general and thoracic surgery, scientific co-director of research at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, and director of the Richard King Mellon Foundation Institute for Pediatric Research, discusses the Institute’s role in supporting research and academic work across Children’s Hospital.
Patrick M. Kochanek, MD, MCCM, distinguished professor of Critical Care Medicine, the Ake N. Grenvik professor and vice chair of Critical Care Medicine; director of the Safar Center for Resuscitation Research; and professor of Pediatrics, Anesthesiology, and Clinical and Translational Science at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, discusses the future for studying and treating pediatric head trauma at the Safar Center.
Adelaide L. Eichman, MD, associate professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in the Division of Child Advocacy and assistant medical director of the Allegheny County Child Healthy Evaluation and Coordination Services (CHECS) Program, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses how Child Advocacy Centers work and the future goals for broadening the scope of care within this critical specialty.
Megan Culler Freeman, MD, PhD, pediatric infectious disease physician at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and assistant professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, discusses her recent studies on acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) and enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), performed at The Freeman Laboratory, which she heads.
Matthew Ford, MS, CCC-SLP, clinical coordinator, Cleft-Craniofacial Center, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the journey of new parents learning their child will have a cleft or birth anomaly. He describes the breadth of treatment options available for kids with craniofacial differences who remain patients of the center until adulthood.
Dr. Hoda Abdel-Hamid, director of the Pediatric Neuromuscular Program, Pediatric EMG Lab, and Pediatric MDA Clinic at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the care of children with chronic neuromuscular diseases and the coordination of subspecialists needed to treat them and their families.
Dr. Christopher Horvat, director of Health Informatics for Clinical Effectiveness at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, and our hosts discuss the emergence of electronic health records (EHRs) and their potential to deliver efficiencies and equities in care. Dr. Horvat describes how evidence-based medicine has informed the training of new physicians and how clinical trials help evolve and create new standards of care.
Stephanie Colaberardino, director of Child Life Volunteer Services and Family Resource Center, and Alanna Kanawalsky, Child Life lead adaptive care team specialist, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, discuss the important role of child life specialists in the lives of hospitalized children. They describe the many unique offerings of UPMC Children’s Child Life, including the Dream Big TV Studio, Matt’s Maker Space, and STEAM programming.
Tim Shope, MD, professor of Pediatrics at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, has lived in many places, but common pediatric infections, including urinary tract infections (UTIs) are everywhere. His team created the UTICalc, available at uticalc.ptt.edu. This user-friendly tool prompts the clinician with five questions, providing an estimated risk of UTI to help reduce unnecessary catheterization and improve outcomes. Also, learn about Dr. Shope’s time with the U.S. Navy, and his famous family member in the world of infectious disease research.
When an infant is born, their first introduction is to a new immune system and new bacteria. Tim Hand, PhD, assistant professor with the Richard King Mellon Foundation Institute for Pediatric Research, takes samples from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, to look at how antibodies in a mother’s breast milk may shape the relationship between an infant and their microbiome. Listen in as Dr. Hand discusses the unique microbiome of premature infants, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), and how maternal IgA, an active component in a mother’s breast milk, can shape a child’s immune system.
"That's Pediatrics" will explore the latest discoveries and innovations in pediatric medicine and research at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Learn about what to expect from “That’s Pediatrics” and meet two of the hosts, Stephanie Dewar, MD, and John Williams, MD.
When our young patients are hurting, we can only guess what's causing their pain since they cannot speak for themselves. Rachel Berger, MD, chief of the Child Advocacy Center at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, and her team want to ensure one possibility isn’t left off the table: a brain injury.Dr. Berger talks with hosts Stephanie Dewar, MD, and John Williams, MD, about a blood test to help physicians identify infants who may have bleeding of the brain as a result of abusive head trauma, sometimes referred to as shaken baby syndrome. UPMC is the first hospital system to have a universal screening for child abuse in their Emergency Departments.
There are so many types of germs that cause illness, but so little we know about them. Terence Dermody, MD, physician-in-chief and scientific director at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, is motivated by the endless opportunities in Infectious Diseases to discover more about these little mysteries that affect our patients.Hosts Carolyn Coyne, PhD, and Brian Martin, DMD, ask Dr. Dermody about what drew him to Virology and Infectious Diseases and how he balances his research and clinical work. Dr. Dermody also introduces the Pittsburgh Study, a multi-year longitudinal population study that aims to follow children in Allegheny County from birth to completion of high school to answer the question: What determines health?
This special episode of That’s Pediatrics tackles a subject currently on the minds of pediatricians and parents alike: Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM). This is a rare childhood neurological disorder that causes weakness in the arms or legs — sometimes even paralysis.John Williams, MD, our division chief of Pediatric Infectious Disease at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, talks about the recent outbreak of AFM with enterovirus virologist Carolyn Coyne, PhD, and Brian Martin, DMD, VP of Medical Affairs.
A family history, working with children, and a love of math motivated Radhika Muzumdar, MD, chief of Pediatric Endocrinology, to choose a career focused on diabetes. Her research and clinical care aim to meet the short- and long-term goals of treatment and management of diabetes.In this episode, Dr. Muzumdar covers her career beginning with her earlier work on growth hormones and IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1), to her upcoming studies on the hypothalamus and the humanin peptide. Other current programs and studies include a mobile test kitchen and video game-based nutrition education.
When George Gittes, MD, and his research team came across an outcome they weren't expecting, Dr. Gittes’ surgical background helped identify an amazing discovery — using gene therapy to reverse autoimmune type I diabetes without immunosuppression.Hosts Stephanie Dewar, MD, and John Williams, MD, discuss the details of this fascinating study and more with Dr. Gittes. Dr. Gittes has recently been appointed the director of the Richard King Mellon Foundation Institute for Pediatric Research and co-scientific director at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
In the late ’80s, a young George Mazariegos, MD, had a one-month rotation with transplant pioneer Thomas E. Starzl, MD. Today, he is chief of Pediatric Transplantation at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and director of Pediatric Transplantation at the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute. Our hosts cover all things pediatric liver transplantation in Pittsburgh: What conditions require a transplant, what our center has accomplished, growing our transplant network, improving care after transplantation, and more.
In this special episode, learn all about measles, the most infectious human virus on the planet, and the recent outbreak in the U.S. Our two guests are Paul Duprex, PhD, director of Center for Vaccine Research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and John Williams, MD, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UPMC Children’s and fellow podcast host.
The cells in our body work together as a system to help us function and Amanda Poholek, assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Department of Immunology, is interested in what happens when these cell interactions “go wrong” and result in diseases. Dr. Poholek discusses transcription factors, the proteins that help direct our genetic information, and the breakthrough technology of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS or NextGen), which provides rapid and accurate genome analysis.
Kathryn “Cassie” Torok, MD, director of the Pediatric Scleroderma Clinic at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, is one of the few doctors in the nation that is considered an expert on pediatric scleroderma and patients will travel from other cities to meet with her. Learn about this uncommon condition and the clinical work and research coming from the Pediatric Scleroderma Clinic.
Can you name a disease where inflammation is not one of the major drivers? Scott Canna, MD, rheumatologist at UPMC Children’s Hospital and a Mellon Scholar with the Richard King Mellon Foundation Institute for Pediatric Research, asks our hosts this question and talks about modulating our immune system in both rare and common diseases. Dr. Canna has been actively researching ways to better understand and treat inflammatory disorders for over a decade.
Michael Morowitz, MD, is an associate professor of Surgery and an attending physician in the Division of Pediatric and General Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Morowitz’s research focuses on Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC), a mysterious disorder of intestinal inflammation in premature newborn infants. His lab studies the microbiome, the vast collection of microorganisms that cover our bodies, inside and out.
A family’s access to specialty pediatric care can sometimes depend on their home address. Kristin Ray, MD, director of Health Systems Improvements with Children’s Community Pediatrics (CCP), and a Mellon Scholar with the Richard King Mellon Foundation Institute for Pediatric Research, aims to improve the pediatric health care delivery system to make quality care more readily available to all. Dr. Ray discusses two interventions that can help with these challenges, telemedicine and electronic consultations, and the future of this specialty care delivery.
After six years of medical school in Romania, Mioara Manole, MD, came to the U.S. and discovered her passion for pediatric emergency medicine and the unique challenges it can bring. In addition to seeing patients in our emergency department, she is also the director of Basic and Translational Research in the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine.Learn about Dr. Manole’s journey to emergency medicine and how her research translates to her clinical work, including the creation of the FLO2 NeuroCap, a noninvasive device that measures brain oxygenation and neuronal activity in children after cardiac arrest or other brain injuries.
Bernhard Kühn, MD, is the director of research in Cardiology and an associate director for the Richard King Mellon Institute for Pediatric Research. The Kühn Lab focuses on cardiomyocytes and creating therapies that can help the heart muscle heal itself to recover from a heart attack or to help it restore a congenital heart defect to normal cardiac function without requiring surgery. He also reflects on the helpful collaboration with the cardiac surgery team here at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Thomas Diacovo, MD, is chief of the UPMC Newborn Medicine Program and director of Neonatal Cardiovascular Research at the Heart Institute. Dr. Diacovo discusses how he became interested in Thrombosis research, his journey to Pittsburgh, and his research testing new drugs for neonatal intensive care patients, particularly those with congenital heart disease who are at high risk for forming blood clots. Dr. Diacovo also credits the parents of our patients for the success of his clinical trials.
Alejandro Hoberman, MD, chief of the Division of General Academic Pediatrics and president of Children’s Community Pediatrics, has contributed research on urinary tract infections and acute otitis media, and in this episode, the focus is on the ears. He discusses the role of antibiotics, duration of treatment, resistance, adverse outcomes, allergies, and more. Dr. Hoberman also talks about the role that new technologies and multimedia tools play in treatment and discussions with parents.
Dr. Paul Szabolcs trained at Semmelweis University School of Medicine in Budapest. He completed his residency at Bellevue Hospital/NYU Medical Center and was Chief Fellow at Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. He completed postdoctoral fellowships at Memorial Sloan Kettering in Molecular Biology and at Rockefeller University in Physiology and Cellular Immunology. He has been Chief of the Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapies division at the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh since 2011. Dr. Szabolcs has dedicated his career to developing effective “reduced-intensity” chemotherapy regimens for patients in need of a blood or bone marrow transplant, especially children with rare immune-system defects and degenerative brain diseases.
Dr. Daniel Weiner is the Medical Director at the Pulmonary Function Laboratory, Co-Director at The Antonio J. and Janet Palumbo Cystic Fibrosis Center and Professor of Pediatrics at The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Andrew Feranchak is the Chief of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Learn about their research on Cystic Fibrosis
Dr. McElroy's research interests include studying the interactions that occur between the host immune system and emerging viral pathogens. To do this, animal model systems, clinical specimens from cases of human disease, and in vitro models are used. Previous work has focused on the Hantaviruses, Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, and Ebola virus. Current studies are utilizing the mouse model to elucidate the role of T cells in immunity to RVFV.
Dr. Andrew Nowalk is Associate Professor and Clinical Director in the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Pediatrics, both at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.He maintains a clinical practice and an active research program in Lyme disease, examining the epidemic of Lyme disease in Western Pennsylvania and searching to improve treatment and testing for pediatric Lyme disease cases. In addition to his research interests, Dr. Nowalk serves as a residency program director in pediatrics for the UPMC Medical Education program, and lectures and mentors students, residents and fellows through the Medical Center.
Dr. Nischal joined UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh as chief of the Division of Pediatric Ophthalmology, Strabismus, and Adult Motility in 2011. He directs pediatric program development at the UPMC Eye Center and is a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Nischal has pioneered the use of new surgical techniques, previously used only in adults, in children with corneal disorders. He is one of the world’s foremost pediatric eye specialists and an author of more than 100 published research articles.
John Alcorn, PhD is a scientist at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and an associate professor in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The Alcorn lab is focused on T cell immunity, host defense, epithelial cell biology, and lung physiology. A primary lab focus is on Influenza infection and the host defense mechanisms of T helper 17 cells. His lab has recently shown that the TH17 effector cytokines IL-17 and IL-22 are required for host defense against a variety of extracellular pathogens.
Dean Yimlamai, MD, PhD, is a physician-scientist at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and is trained as a clinical gastroenterologist. He specializes in gastroenterology with an interest in pediatric liver diseases and liver tumors. His research group uses mouse models to understand the fundamental mechanisms of liver growth during development, its restoration from injury and changes that lead to cancer. His group specializes in the Hippo Signaling Pathway, a relatively recently recognized signaling pathway that controls organ growth and regeneration.
Liza Konnikova, MD, PhD, FAAP, is a neonatologist at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and an assistant professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Developmental Biology and Immunology in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Her lab focuses on the develop of neonatal immunity at mucosal surfaces and its role in the pathogenesis of diverse diseases such as sepsis, preterm labor, necrotizing enterocolitis, and very-early onset IBD (VEO-IBD).She has pioneered the application of mass cytometry to frozen mucosal biopsies, helping to improve our understanding of mucosal immunity. This innovation has helped to identify novel populations of immune cells in VEO-IBD and to perform serial monitoring of IBD activity during drug trials.
Sylvia Owusu-Ansah MD, MPH, FAAP is a board-certified pediatrician, pediatric emergency medicine, and emergency medical services (EMS) physician who is currently an attending at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and Director of Pre-hospital and EMS. Dr. Owusu-Ansah has been extremely involved in pediatric advocacy and education of EMS providers at all levels, locally, regionally and nationally. She currently sits on the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Advocacy and EMS Committees with the American Academy of Pediatrics, and additional regional and national committees related to her work. One of the contributions she is most proud of is advocating for pediatric health on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. office on federal, state, and community pediatric advocacy issues including the School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2013. She is proud mother of two girls and wife a transitioning paramedic.
Carlton Bates, MD, chief of the Division of Pediatric Nephrology, has been caring for children with pediatric kidney disease for many years, but he often finds another organ on his mind: the bladder and the role it plays in the health of a kidney. Dr. Bates discusses his well-recognized research program in Pittsburgh focused on the genetic regulation of kidney and bladder development.
Lots of people have a personal connection to their work and Kishore Vellody, MD, medical director of the Down Syndrome Center, credits his motivation to his older brother, who has Down syndrome. Dr. Vellody discusses his career, the thriving Down syndrome community in Pittsburgh, and starting his own podcast, the Down Syndrome Center of Western Pennsylvania podcast. The National Down Syndrome Convention will be held in Pittsburgh at the end of June.
Dr. DePas's lab is focused on developing a clear picture of the biogeography of infection sites, determining how the spatial structure impacts bacterial activity and interactions with host cells, and recapitulating important aspects of the infection environment in vitro in order to gain an in-depth understanding of cellular processes that are relevant to pathogenesis. To achieve these goals, they utilize MiPACT-HCR, a tissue-clearing and cellular visualization technique that allows for 3D imaging of fixed tissue samples, along with in vitro techniques to characterize the formation and dispersal of bacterial biofilms in conditions that mimic the in vivo environment. Dr. DePas's lab is chiefly interested in nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), emerging pathogens that are particularly problematic for patients with CF. By applying their described methodology, they are working to determine the context in which NTM form biofilms during infection and how biofilm formation contributes to disease severity.
Dr. Bailey is a pediatric oncologist with an interest in pediatric sarcomas. She is also a physician-scientist in the Lucas/ McAllister Lab in the Rangos Research Center of the UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Currently, Dr. Bailey's research focus is on Ewing sarcoma, a rare bone malignancy in children.
The central focus of the Kane Lab is understanding the genetic and immunological basis for protective antiviral immune responses, as well as the molecular details underlying the direct inhibition of retroviral replication by restriction factors. Dr. Kane’s lab utilizes both in vitro and in vivo tools to investigate intrinsic, innate, and adaptive immune responses to retroviral infection. The research is centered around three questions: What allows some individuals to restrict or control retroviral replication? How do retroviruses counteract host defenses? And what are the features of successful anti-retroviral immune responses?
Dr. Radovic is interested in increasing adolescent and parent participation in mental health treatment when depression or anxiety treatment is recommended within primary care. She is especially interested in using internet technology such as social media to enable connections between adolescent and young adult peers as well as parent peers who have mental health illness in common and has developed a publicly available website intervention for teens and young adults (sova.pitt.edu) and for parents (wisesova.pitt.edu). Currently, she is has a career development award from National Institute of Mental Health and is conducting a pilot randomized controlled trial of the SOVA intervention. She is also part of the ETUDES (Enhancing Treatment and Utilization for Depression and Suicidality in Pediatric Primary Care, etudes.pitt.edu) team, an NIMH funded ALACRITY center.
Dr. Linda McAllister-Lucas is an NIH-funded physician-scientist who investigates how dysregulated intracellular signaling contributes to inflammatory disease and cancer. She co-directs a research laboratory with her husband Dr. Peter Lucas, a member of the faculty in the Department of Pathology. Their joint Lucas / McAllister Laboratory comprises ten scientists at varying stages of training. Learn more about Dr. McAllister’s research.
Dr. Panigrahy is board certified in both Pediatric Radiology and Neuroradiology. He is a Professor of Radiology, Radiologist-in-Chief at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and Vice Chair of Clinical and Translational Imaging Research at UPMC. He has been continuously funded by the NIH since 2009 including both a K23 and current multi-center Ro1. He also has active funding from the Department of Defense, Society for Pediatric Radiology and private foundations. Dr. Panigrahy’s research focuses on applying advanced MR techniques to the study of fetal/neonatal/pediatric brain development and injury in those diagnosed with congenital heart disease and its impact on neuro-developmental across the lifespan.
The Silva Lab studies chikungunya virus, a reemerging arbovirus that has recently caused explosive epidemics of febrile arthritis throughout many parts of the world. Dr. Silva’s research interests are focused on virus-host interactions that dictate chikungunya virus entry, tropism, replication compartment formation, and pathogenesis. By understanding the molecular mechanisms that govern viral and host determinants of viral replication, Dr. Silva aims to contribute to a better understanding of acute and chronic chikungunya disease. Dr. Silva also serves as the Facility Manager for the A-BSL3 laboratory at Rangos Research Center.
Dr. Allyson Larkin is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and is part of the Allergy and Immunology Division here at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. She joined the Department of Pediatrics in July of 2011 after completing her fellowship program here at Children’s. She currently serves as the Fellowship Program Director, the Co-Director of the Difficult to Treat Asthma Clinic and the Course Director for medical students and resident allergy and immunology rotations.
Dr. Chong is the Chief of the Division of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Allergy and Immunology. At the Center for Rare Disease Therapy at UPMC Children’s, Dr. Chong’s role often involves evaluating patients with immune disorders to determine whether they are candidates for a bone marrow transplant.
July is Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness Month! Jesse A. Goldstein, MD, is an Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at University of Pittsburgh. He practices as a pediatric plastic and craniofacial surgeon at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, helping patients from newborns to young adults restore function and appearance as a result of birth defects, trauma, injury, or disease. Dr. Goldstein serves as the Program Director of the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh/UPMC Pediatric Plastic and Craniofacial Surgery Fellowship and is a member of many regional and national medical societies including the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the American Society of Craniofacial Surgeons, the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Society, as well as the Northeastern Society of Plastic Surgeons, the Ohio Valley Society of Plastic Surgeons, and the American Society of Pediatric Plastic Surgeons. Follow Dr. Goldstein on Instagram at @jessegoldsteinmd
Gerard Vockley, MD, PhD, is an internationally recognized leader in medical genetics and the field of inborn errors of metabolism. He joined Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh as chief of the Division of Medical Genetics in 2004 and was named professor of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and professor of human genetics at the university's Graduate School of Public Health.
Dr. Freeman is a Fellow at UPMC specializing in Infectious Diseases. Learn about her Coronavirus research.
Dr. Serena H. Chan is an obstetrician-gynecologist specializing in pediatric and adolescent gynecology.
Dr. Abel’s clinical interest is in pediatric neurosurgery, epilepsy surgery, and neuromodulation. He completed a fellowship in epilepsy surgery and deep brain stimulation with Philippe Kahane, Dominique Hoffmann, and Stephan Chabardes at University Hospital of Grenoble in Grenoble, France. In Grenoble, Dr. Abel received special training in identification of epileptic foci using stereoelectroencephalography and use of the ROSA robot for epilepsy surgery. Dr. Abel then completed a pediatric neurosurgery fellowship with Jim Drake and Jim Rutka at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada focusing on epilepsy surgery, neuro-oncologic surgery, craniofacial surgery, and endoscopic techniques.
Dr. Kemaladewi has extensive training in human genetics and development of genetic therapy, with a focus on neuromuscular disorders. She is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying layers of pathophysiology involved in muscular dystrophies, including muscle atrophy, -regeneration, -fibrosis, and nerve damages. In parallel, the exposure to technology-driven field of human genetics has provided a strong basis on her translational research arm. She has a robust portfolio on the development and evaluation of therapeutic genetics, such as antisense oligonucleotides and CRISPR/Cas to correct mutations and modulate disease modifier genes in mouse models.
Dr. Freeman is a Fellow at UPMC specializing in Infectious Diseases. Learn about her Coronavirus research.
Dr. Andrew Buchert joined the Paul C. Gaffney Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine (PHM) in 2009 immediately following completion of his pediatric residency at Children’s of Alabama. Since that time, Dr. Buchert has assumed a major role in the oversight and expansion of quality improvement and high-value clinical care endeavors both at the hospital level for Children’s as well as for the entire UPMC Graduate Medical Education program. This administrative experience allows him to approach his clinical work with the PHM Division as a pediatric hospitalist with a systems-based practice perspective. Dr. Buchert serves in the clinician-educator role, supervising medical students and residents as a teaching attending at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh on the general pediatrics wards.
Dr. Kochanek is internationally respected for his expertise in and research on traumatic brain injury and cardiopulmonary arrest, as well as for his leadership of the Safar Center for Resuscitation Research. As director for 25 years, he has established the Safar Center as one of the leading sites in the world for the investigation of traumatic brain injury and cardiopulmonary arrest. The Safar Center focuses on bench to bedside investigations for TBI and CA related to mechanisms involved in the evolution of secondary brain injury, translational neuroscience, and the development of novel therapies and interventions that can be implemented at any point in the chain of survival—from the field through to rehabilitation.
Dr. Stacey Cook is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Director of The Complex Care Center at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.This center offers primary care and care coordination for kids with complex medical needs. Their mission is to be a central point of contact for families who use many services at Children’s.
Next to the common cold, acute otitis media is the most frequently diagnosed illness in children in the United States. Dr. Alejandro Hoberman discusses medical management for recurrent acute otitis media.
Many children with developmental and behavioral health needs often experience a difficult journey toward wellness due to services that are fragmented or inaccessible. UPMC Children’s partnered with renowned UPMC Behavioral Health Services to launch a behavioral health medical home pilot for children and adolescents, Whole Child Wellness Clinic. This clinic is the first of its kind in the United States, and if proven effective, could revolutionize how to care for behavioral health in children, minimize stigma, and lessen the burden on families. As a pilot, Whole Child Wellness Clinic is largely supported by philanthropy.
Dr. Ettinger is a Senior Research Scientist at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics In the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine. She is currently working on the Pittsburgh Study and the Family Strengths Survey, a survey of how caregivers support their children during COVID-19.
Joseph Carcillo, MD, a physician scientist in Critical Care Medicine at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the intersection of precision medicine and pediatric critical care medicine research.
Anne-Marie Rick, MD, MPH, newborn care physician researcher and director of the Newborn Research Support Service (NuRSERy) at the University of Pittsburgh Clinical and Translational Science Institute, discusses how mothers can best protect their infants from infectious disease during pregnancy and after birth.
Tyler Harris, MD, a pediatric cardiologist at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses MIS-C and specifically myocarditis (inflammation of the heart) that can occur in children who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or have received the vaccine.
Kate Watson, DO, FAAP, director of the Pediatric Residency Program at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses how the program prepares residents to be physician leaders in Pittsburgh and beyond.
Bryan Goldstein, MD, FACC, FSCAI, director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory ("Cath Lab") and Interventional Cardiology Service at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the intersection of research and precision medicine in interventional cardiology.
John “Jack” Rozel, MD, MSL, medical director of resolve Crisis Services, discusses the services available for free to all residents of Allegheny County, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year through resolve.
Alison Culyba, MD, PhD, MPH, and Sarah London, LSW, of the Empowering Teens to Thrive (ET3) hospital-based violence intervention program for assault-injured youth at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh discuss their work empowering patients who have experienced traumatic events.
Loreta Matheo, MD, pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses all things adolescent and young adult health and the ways to support and care for pre-teens and teens as they navigate change and self discovery.
Gerard (Jerry) Vockley, MD, PhD, director of the Center for Rare Disease Therapy and chief of the Medical Genetics Division at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the growing potential of gene therapy, especially in treating patients with rare diseases.
Basil Zitelli, MD, former (retired) division chief of Pediatric Hospital Medicine and former (retired) director of the Diagnostic Referral Service at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the history of the unique, multi-practitioner Pediatric Hospitalist Program at UPMC Children’s.
Elizabeth Sinclair, MD, medical director of the Feeding and Swallowing Clinic and co-medical director of the Center for Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Diseases at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses feeding and swallowing disorders in children and how therapists can treat these patients.
Lina Ghaloul-Gonzalez, MD, a medical geneticist at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses next-generation (next-gen) sequencing and its impact on the field of genetic medicine.
Andrew Buchert, MD, medical director of Clinical Resource Management at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses how data-informed clinical pathways improve experiences and outcomes for patients and providers alike.
Diane Hupp, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, president of UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses her new role and her goals and plans for the growth of the hospital under her leadership.
Michael McClincy, MD, pediatric orthopaedic surgeon and head of the Adolescent and Young Adult Hip Preservation program at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses nonsurgical and surgical interventions for adolescents and young adults experiencing hip disorders.
Sandra Kim, MD, pediatric gastroenterologist and director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Center at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses how the Center diagnoses, treats, and researches IBD in children and young adults.
Abeer Azzuqa, MD, clinical director of the UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh's Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), discusses all things neonatology and the innovative services, collaborations, and family-centered care available at UPMC Children's.
Diego Chaves-Gnecco, MD, MPH, FAAP, founder and program director of Salud Para Niños (Health for the Children), the Spanish language clinic at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the growth of the Clinic over the past 20 years as well as plans for the next 20.
Ericka Fink, MD, MS, FCCM, and Shannon Snatchko, MSN, RN, CCRN, discuss the Critical Illness Recovery for ChiLdrEn (CIRCLE) program at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Christine Leeper, MD, a trauma and general surgeon and intensivist at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh discusses trauma-induced coagulopathy (TIC) and the life-saving trauma research she is working on.
Chelsea Grefe McCann, PsyD, licensed psychologist and certified clinician in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Cristin McDermott, MD, psychiatrist in Pediatric Behavioral Health Consultation and Liaison Services, both at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discuss the epidemic of gun violence in the United States and its effects on children.
Guang Li, PhD, researcher at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh discusses his research on the developing heart with the hope of one day preventing congenital heart defects.
Michelle Manni, PhD, assistant professor of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, discusses challenges often faced by women in academic research or medicine and what institutions can do to support women leaders in this space.
Maya Ragavan, MD, MPH, MS, pediatrician and researcher at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses her community partnered research efforts focused on preventing intimate partner violence and supporting survivors through healing-centered care.
Scott Maurer, MD, division chief, Pediatric Palliative Medicine and Supportive Care, and Justin Yu, MD, MS, physician researcher, Pediatric Palliative Medicine and Supportive Care, both at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discuss the “full-service” palliative and supportive care program at Children’s and their work to support children and caregivers where they are both emotionally and physically.
Ellen Mazo, former (retired) director of Government Affairs at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the children’s healthcare advocacy work taking place at the Hospital and how others can become advocates for kids.
Stephanie Greene, MD, pediatric neurosurgeon, director of vascular neurosurgery, and co-director of the new Neurovascular Center of Excellence at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the innovative fetal neurosurgery and pediatric neurovascular surgery programs at Children’s and her experience as a woman in a male-dominated field.
Thomas Hooven, MD, physician-scientist in neonatology at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses his genetic research aimed at protecting NICU babies from bacterial infections.
Marcus Malek, MD, FACS, FAAP, director of Pediatric Surgical Oncology at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh discusses the technology gap in the operating room that inspired his research to improve cancer surgery imaging.
Katherine Guyon-Harris, PhD, physician-researcher and licensed clinical psychologist at UPMC Children’s Primary Care Center in Oakland, discusses her clinical and research work utilizing a strengths-based approach and relationship-based framework to support positive parent-child relationships.
Molly Carter, PsyD, Justin Kopec, PhD, NCSP, Alexis Rodgers, PhD, and Kenneth Tormey, PsyD, four psychologists from the Developmental Medicine Clinic at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh discuss the diagnostic evaluation of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Chris Vitale, RN, MSN, injury prevention manager for UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses how the Safety Center at the Hospital helps prevent childhood injuries.
Elizabeth “Liz” Miller, MD, PhD, chief of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the importance of centering community voices and the role of research in promoting health equity and child thriving.
In this special episode of That’s Pediatrics, get to know your hosts, Amanda Poholek, PhD, and Arvind Srinath, MD, MS and their journeys to careers in pediatric medicine.
Rachel Petrucelli, president of the UPMC Children's Hospital Foundation, discusses the Foundation’s current fundraising initiatives and the importance of storytelling and connecting donors to the emotional impact of their support to inspire engagement and fuel the life-changing work of the hospital.
Michelle Clayton, MD, MPH, FAAP, chief of the Division of Child Advocacy at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the prevalence and different forms of human trafficking, how it can affect children, and resources that are available to survivors.
Ken K. Nischal, MD, FAAP, FRCOphth, medical director for Digital Health at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the potential of digital health initiatives to transform the patient journey and improve access and care.
Sylvia Choi, MD, FAAP, and Allison Fleischer, MD, both of the Paul C. Gaffney Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discuss the innovative concept of direct admissions, where eligible pediatric patients skip the ED and head straight from their primary care physician's office to an inpatient bed.
Angela Gordon, MSW, Lead Coordinator in the Volunteer Services Department at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the Pet Friends Volunteer Program at the Hospital and how dogs can bring joy and comfort to patients, families, and staff in the hospital setting.
Dori Ortman, family faculty member and the family and self-advocacy training director for LEND (Leadership Education in Neuro/Developmental Disabilities) Center of Pittsburgh, discusses the program and training leaders to support families in caring for children with disabilities.
Orquidia “Kiki” Torres, MD, MS, director of Medical Student and Resident Education and Fellowship Program director in the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the development of an antiracist curriculum to educate trainees on the impact of racism, especially in healthcare and in Pittsburgh.
Laura Olivieri, MD, director of Noninvasive Cardiac Imaging at UPMC Children's Hospital Pittsburgh, discusses how the field of cardiac imaging has changed, utilizing less invasive techniques that improve patient care, and what’s to come as the field continues to evolve.
Angela Garcia, MD, pediatric physiatrist in the Division of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses Children’s pediatric pain rehabilitation program and the team’s work to improve functioning in children with chronic pain.
Tomar Pierson-Brown, JD, LLM, director of the Health Law Clinic at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses transition planning for youth with disabilities and collaborations between legal services and hospitals that address social determinants that can affect health outcomes.
Gabriel Cisneros, MD, medical director of UPMC Children’s Express Care – Lawrenceville and Maya Ragavan, MD, MPH, MS, pediatrician and researcher at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discuss their work with Clinicians for Climate Action (C4CA ) and the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on pediatric patients.
Gabriel Cisneros, MD, medical director of UPMC Children’s Express Care – Lawrenceville and Maya Ragavan, MD, MPH, MS, pediatrician and researcher at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discuss their work with Clinicians for Climate Action (C4CA ) and the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on pediatric patients.
Tomar Pierson-Brown, JD, LLM, director of the Health Law Clinic at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses transition planning for youth with disabilities and collaborations between legal services and hospitals that address social determinants that can affect health outcomes.
Angela Garcia, MD, pediatric physiatrist in the Division of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses Children’s pediatric pain rehabilitation program and the team’s work to improve functioning in children with chronic pain.
Laura Olivieri, MD, director of Noninvasive Cardiac Imaging at UPMC Children's Hospital Pittsburgh, discusses how the field of cardiac imaging has changed, utilizing less invasive techniques that improve patient care, and what’s to come as the field continues to evolve.
Orquidia “Kiki” Torres, MD, MS, director of Medical Student and Resident Education and Fellowship Program director in the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the development of an antiracist curriculum to educate trainees on the impact of racism, especially in healthcare and in Pittsburgh.
Dori Ortman, family faculty member and the family and self-advocacy training director for LEND (Leadership Education in Neuro/Developmental Disabilities) Center of Pittsburgh, discusses the program and training leaders to support families in caring for children with disabilities.
Jennifer Marin, MD, MSc, medical director of Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the many applications of POCUS in and beyond the emergency department.
Angela Gordon, MSW, Lead Coordinator in the Volunteer Services Department at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the Pet Friends Volunteer Program at the Hospital and how dogs can bring joy and comfort to patients, families, and staff in the hospital setting.
Sylvia Choi, MD, FAAP, and Allison Fleischer, MD, both of the Paul C. Gaffney Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discuss the innovative concept of direct admissions, where eligible pediatric patients skip the ED and head straight from their primary care physician's office to an inpatient bed.
Ken K. Nischal, MD, FAAP, FRCOphth, medical director for Digital Health at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the potential of digital health initiatives to transform the patient journey and improve access and care.
Michelle Clayton, MD, MPH, FAAP, chief of the Division of Child Advocacy at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the prevalence and different forms of human trafficking, how it can affect children, and resources that are available to survivors.
For many, losing a large amount of weight signifies an important health milestone. But post-weightloss, you may face a new set of challenges.
Rachel Petrucelli, president of the UPMC Children's Hospital Foundation, discusses the Foundation’s current fundraising initiatives and the importance of storytelling and connecting donors to the emotional impact of their support to inspire engagement and fuel the life-changing work of the hospital.
Grief, Loss, and Dementia - A dementia diagnosis can be devastating to a family. Bereavement Counselor, Elizabeth Schandelmeier, LCSW from Family Hospice, Part of UPMC, discusses ways both the patient and caregivers can cope with emotions during this difficult journey.
In this special episode of That’s Pediatrics, get to know your hosts, Amanda Poholek, PhD, and Arvind Srinath, MD, MPH and their journeys to careers in pediatric medicine.
Elizabeth “Liz” Miller, MD, PhD, chief of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the importance of centering community voices and the role of research in promoting health equity and child thriving.
Chris Vitale, RN, MSN, injury prevention manager for UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses how the Safety Center at the Hospital helps prevent childhood injuries.
Molly Carter, PsyD, Justin Kopec, PhD, NCSP, Alexis Rodgers, PhD, and Kenneth Tormey, PsyD, four psychologists from the Developmental Medicine Clinic at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh discuss the diagnostic evaluation of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Katherine Guyon-Harris, PhD, physician-researcher and licensed clinical psychologist at UPMC Children’s Primary Care Center in Oakland, discusses her clinical and research work utilizing a strengths-based approach and relationship-based framework to support positive parent-child relationships.
Marcus Malek, MD, FACS, FAAP, director of Pediatric Surgical Oncology at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh discusses the technology gap in the operating room that inspired his research to improve cancer surgery imaging.
Thomas Hooven, MD, physician-scientist in neonatology at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses his genetic research aimed at protecting NICU babies from bacterial infections.
Ellen Mazo, former (retired) director of Government Affairs at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the children’s healthcare advocacy work taking place at the Hospital and how others can become advocates for kids.
Stephanie Greene, MD, pediatric neurosurgeon, director of vascular neurosurgery, and co-director of the new Neurovascular Center of Excellence at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the innovative fetal neurosurgery and pediatric neurovascular surgery programs at Children’s and her experience as a woman in a male-dominated field.
Guang Li, PhD, researcher at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh discusses his research on the developing heart with the hope of one day preventing congenital heart defects.
Maya Ragavan, MD, MPH, MS, pediatrician and researcher at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses her community partnered research efforts focused on preventing intimate partner violence and supporting survivors through healing-centered care.
Michelle Manni, PhD, assistant professor of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, discusses challenges often faced by women in academic research or medicine and what institutions can do to support women leaders in this space.
Scott Maurer, MD, division chief, Pediatric Palliative Medicine and Supportive Care, and Justin Yu, MD, MS, physician researcher, Pediatric Palliative Medicine and Supportive Care, both at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discuss the “full-service” palliative and supportive care program at Children’s and their work to support children and caregivers where they are both emotionally and physically.
Chelsea Grefe McCann, PsyD, licensed psychologist and certified clinician in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Cristin McDermott, MD, psychiatrist in Pediatric Behavioral Health Consultation and Liaison Services, both at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discuss the epidemic of gun violence in the United States and its effects on children.
Sandra Kim, MD, pediatric gastroenterologist and director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Center at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses how the Center diagnoses, treats, and researches IBD in children and young adults.
Michael McClincy, MD, pediatric orthopaedic surgeon and head of the Adolescent and Young Adult Hip Preservation program at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses nonsurgical and surgical interventions for adolescents and young adults experiencing hip disorders.
Andrew Buchert, MD, medical director of Clinical Resource Management at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses how data-informed clinical pathways improve experiences and outcomes for patients and providers alike.
Lina Ghaloul-Gonzalez, MD, a medical geneticist at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses next-generation (next-gen) sequencing and its impact on the field of genetic medicine.
Basil Zitelli, MD, former (retired) division chief of Pediatric Hospital Medicine and former (retired) director of the Diagnostic Referral Service at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the history of the unique, multi-practitioner Pediatric Hospitalist Program at UPMC Children’s.
Basil Zitelli, MD, former (retired) division chief of Pediatric Hospital Medicine and former (retired) director of the Diagnostic Referral Service at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the history of the unique, multi-practitioner Pediatric Hospitalist Program at UPMC Children’s.
Elizabeth Sinclair, MD, medical director of the Feeding and Swallowing Clinic and co-medical director of the Center for Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Diseases at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses feeding and swallowing disorders in children and how therapists can treat these patients.
Gerard (Jerry) Vockley, MD, PhD, director of the Center for Rare Disease Therapy and chief of the Medical Genetics Division at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the growing potential of gene therapy, especially in treating patients with rare diseases.
Loreta Matheo, MD, pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses all things adolescent and young adult health and the ways to support and care for pre-teens and teens as they navigate change and self discovery.
Ericka Fink, MD, MS, FCCM, and Shannon Snatchko, MSN, RN, CCRN, discuss the Critical Illness Recovery for ChiLdrEn (CIRCLE) program at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Abeer Azzuqa, MD, clinical director of the UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh's Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), discusses all things neonatology and the innovative services, collaborations, and family-centered care available at UPMC Children's.
Abeer Azzuqa, MD, clinical director of the UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh's Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), discusses all things neonatology and the innovative services, collaborations, and family-centered care available at UPMC Children's.
Abeer Azzuqa, MD, clinical director of the UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh's Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), discusses all things neonatology and the innovative services, collaborations, and family-centered care available at UPMC Children's.
Diego Chaves-Gnecco, MD, MPH, FAAP, founder and program director of Salud Para Niños (Health for the Children), the Spanish language clinic at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the growth of the Clinic over the past 20 years as well as plans for the next 20.
Christine Leeper, MD, a trauma and general surgeon and intensivist at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh discusses trauma-induced coagulopathy (TIC) and the life-saving trauma research she is working on.
Diane Hupp, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, president of UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses her new role and her goals and plans for the growth of the hospital under her leadership.
Joseph Carcillo, MD, a physician scientist in Critical Care Medicine at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the intersection of precision medicine and pediatric critical care medicine research.
Bryan Goldstein, MD, FACC, FSCAI, director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory ("Cath Lab") and Interventional Cardiology Service at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the intersection of research and precision medicine in interventional cardiology.
Anne-Marie Rick, MD, MPH, newborn care physician researcher and director of the Newborn Research Support Service (NuRSERy) at the University of Pittsburgh Clinical and Translational Science Institute, discusses how mothers can best protect their infants from infectious disease during pregnancy and after birth.
Alison Culyba, MD, PhD, MPH, and Sarah London, LSW, of the Empowering Teens to Thrive (ET3) hospital-based violence intervention program for assault-injured youth at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh discuss their work empowering patients who have experienced traumatic events.
Kate Watson, DO, FAAP, director of the Pediatric Residency Program at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses how the program prepares residents to be physician leaders in Pittsburgh and beyond.
John “Jack” Rozel, MD, MSL, medical director of resolve Crisis Services, discusses the services available for free to all residents of Allegheny County, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year through resolve.
Tyler Harris, MD, a pediatric cardiologist at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses MIS-C and specifically myocarditis (inflammation of the heart) that can occur in children who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or have received the vaccine.
Next to the common cold, acute otitis media is the most frequently diagnosed illness in children in the United States. Dr. Alejandro Hoberman discusses medical management for recurrent acute otitis media.
Many children with developmental and behavioral health needs often experience a difficult journey toward wellness due to services that are fragmented or inaccessible. UPMC Children’s partnered with renowned UPMC Behavioral Health Services to launch a behavioral health medical home pilot for children and adolescents, Whole Child Wellness Clinic. This clinic is the first of its kind in the United States, and if proven effective, could revolutionize how to care for behavioral health in children, minimize stigma, and lessen the burden on families. As a pilot, Whole Child Wellness Clinic is largely supported by philanthropy.
Dr. Ettinger is a Senior Research Scientist at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics In the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine. She is currently working on the Pittsburgh Study and the Family Strengths Survey, a survey of how caregivers support their children during COVID-19.
Dr. Kochanek is internationally respected for his expertise in and research on traumatic brain injury and cardiopulmonary arrest, as well as for his leadership of the Safar Center for Resuscitation Research. As director for 25 years, he has established the Safar Center as one of the leading sites in the world for the investigation of traumatic brain injury and cardiopulmonary arrest. The Safar Center focuses on bench to bedside investigations for TBI and CA related to mechanisms involved in the evolution of secondary brain injury, translational neuroscience, and the development of novel therapies and interventions that can be implemented at any point in the chain of survival—from the field through to rehabilitation.
Dr. Andrew Buchert joined the Paul C. Gaffney Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine (PHM) in 2009 immediately following completion of his pediatric residency at Children’s of Alabama. Since that time, Dr. Buchert has assumed a major role in the oversight and expansion of quality improvement and high-value clinical care endeavors both at the hospital level for Children’s as well as for the entire UPMC Graduate Medical Education program. This administrative experience allows him to approach his clinical work with the PHM Division as a pediatric hospitalist with a systems-based practice perspective. Dr. Buchert serves in the clinician-educator role, supervising medical students and residents as a teaching attending at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh on the general pediatrics wards.
July is Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness Month! Jesse A. Goldstein, MD, is an Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at University of Pittsburgh. He practices as a pediatric plastic and craniofacial surgeon at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, helping patients from newborns to young adults restore function and appearance as a result of birth defects, trauma, injury, or disease. Dr. Goldstein serves as the Program Director of the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh/UPMC Pediatric Plastic and Craniofacial Surgery Fellowship and is a member of many regional and national medical societies including the American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the American Society of Craniofacial Surgeons, the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Society, as well as the Northeastern Society of Plastic Surgeons, the Ohio Valley Society of Plastic Surgeons, and the American Society of Pediatric Plastic Surgeons. Follow Dr. Goldstein on Instagram at @jessegoldsteinmd
Dr. Freeman is a Fellow at UPMC specializing in Infectious Diseases. Learn about her Coronavirus research.
Dr. Kemaladewi has extensive training in human genetics and development of genetic therapy, with a focus on neuromuscular disorders. She is interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying layers of pathophysiology involved in muscular dystrophies, including muscle atrophy, -regeneration, -fibrosis, and nerve damages. In parallel, the exposure to technology-driven field of human genetics has provided a strong basis on her translational research arm. She has a robust portfolio on the development and evaluation of therapeutic genetics, such as antisense oligonucleotides and CRISPR/Cas to correct mutations and modulate disease modifier genes in mouse models.
Gerard Vockley, MD, PhD, is an internationally recognized leader in medical genetics and the field of inborn errors of metabolism. He joined Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh as chief of the Division of Medical Genetics in 2004 and was named professor of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and professor of human genetics at the university's Graduate School of Public Health.
Dr. Abel’s clinical interest is in pediatric neurosurgery, epilepsy surgery, and neuromodulation. He completed a fellowship in epilepsy surgery and deep brain stimulation with Philippe Kahane, Dominique Hoffmann, and Stephan Chabardes at University Hospital of Grenoble in Grenoble, France. In Grenoble, Dr. Abel received special training in identification of epileptic foci using stereoelectroencephalography and use of the ROSA robot for epilepsy surgery. Dr. Abel then completed a pediatric neurosurgery fellowship with Jim Drake and Jim Rutka at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada focusing on epilepsy surgery, neuro-oncologic surgery, craniofacial surgery, and endoscopic techniques.
Dr. Freeman is a Fellow at UPMC specializing in Infectious Diseases. Learn about her Coronavirus research.
Dr. Serena H. Chan is an obstetrician-gynecologist specializing in pediatric and adolescent gynecology.
Dr. Stacey Cook is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Director of The Complex Care Center at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. This center offers primary care and care coordination for kids with complex medical needs. Their mission is to be a central point of contact for families who use many services at Children’s.
Dr. Allyson Larkin is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and is part of the Allergy and Immunology Division here at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. She joined the Department of Pediatrics in July of 2011 after completing her fellowship program here at Children’s. She currently serves as the Fellowship Program Director, the Co-Director of the Difficult to Treat Asthma Clinic and the Course Director for medical students and resident allergy and immunology rotations.
The Silva Lab studies chikungunya virus, a reemerging arbovirus that has recently caused explosive epidemics of febrile arthritis throughout many parts of the world. Dr. Silva’s research interests are focused on virus-host interactions that dictate chikungunya virus entry, tropism, replication compartment formation, and pathogenesis. By understanding the molecular mechanisms that govern viral and host determinants of viral replication, Dr. Silva aims to contribute to a better understanding of acute and chronic chikungunya disease. Dr. Silva also serves as the Facility Manager for the A-BSL3 laboratory at Rangos Research Center.
Dr. Chong is the Chief of the Division of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Allergy and Immunology. At the Center for Rare Disease Therapy at UPMC Children’s, Dr. Chong’s role often involves evaluating patients with immune disorders to determine whether they are candidates for a bone marrow transplant.
Dr. DePas's lab is focused on developing a clear picture of the biogeography of infection sites, determining how the spatial structure impacts bacterial activity and interactions with host cells, and recapitulating important aspects of the infection environment in vitro in order to gain an in-depth understanding of cellular processes that are relevant to pathogenesis. To achieve these goals, they utilize MiPACT-HCR, a tissue-clearing and cellular visualization technique that allows for 3D imaging of fixed tissue samples, along with in vitro techniques to characterize the formation and dispersal of bacterial biofilms in conditions that mimic the in vivo environment. Dr. DePas's lab is chiefly interested in nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), emerging pathogens that are particularly problematic for patients with CF. By applying their described methodology, they are working to determine the context in which NTM form biofilms during infection and how biofilm formation contributes to disease severity.
The central focus of the Kane Lab is understanding the genetic and immunological basis for protective antiviral immune responses, as well as the molecular details underlying the direct inhibition of retroviral replication by restriction factors. Dr. Kane’s lab utilizes both in vitro and in vivo tools to investigate intrinsic, innate, and adaptive immune responses to retroviral infection. The research is centered around three questions: What allows some individuals to restrict or control retroviral replication? How do retroviruses counteract host defenses? And what are the features of successful anti-retroviral immune responses?
Dr. Bailey is a pediatric oncologist with an interest in pediatric sarcomas. She is also a physician-scientist in the Lucas/ McAllister Lab in the Rangos Research Center of the UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Currently, Dr. Bailey's research focus is on Ewing sarcoma, a rare bone malignancy in children.
Dr. Radovic is interested in increasing adolescent and parent participation in mental health treatment when depression or anxiety treatment is recommended within primary care. She is especially interested in using internet technology such as social media to enable connections between adolescent and young adult peers as well as parent peers who have mental health illness in common and has developed a publicly available website intervention for teens and young adults (sova.pitt.edu) and for parents (wisesova.pitt.edu). Currently, she is has a career development award from National Institute of Mental Health and is conducting a pilot randomized controlled trial of the SOVA intervention. She is also part of the ETUDES (Enhancing Treatment and Utilization for Depression and Suicidality in Pediatric Primary Care, etudes.pitt.edu) team, an NIMH funded ALACRITY center.
Dr. Linda McAllister-Lucas is an NIH-funded physician-scientist who investigates how dysregulated intracellular signaling contributes to inflammatory disease and cancer. She co-directs a research laboratory with her husband Dr. Peter Lucas, a member of the faculty in the Department of Pathology. Their joint Lucas / McAllister Laboratory comprises ten scientists at varying stages of training. Learn more about Dr. McAllister’s research.
Dr. Panigrahy is board certified in both Pediatric Radiology and Neuroradiology. He is a Professor of Radiology, Radiologist-in-Chief at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and Vice Chair of Clinical and Translational Imaging Research at UPMC. He has been continuously funded by the NIH since 2009 including both a K23 and current multi-center Ro1. He also has active funding from the Department of Defense, Society for Pediatric Radiology and private foundations. Dr. Panigrahy’s research focuses on applying advanced MR techniques to the study of fetal/neonatal/pediatric brain development and injury in those diagnosed with congenital heart disease and its impact on neuro-developmental across the lifespan.
Dr. Daniel Weiner is the Medical Director at the Pulmonary Function Laboratory, Co-Director at The Antonio J. and Janet Palumbo Cystic Fibrosis Center and Professor of Pediatrics at The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Andrew Feranchak is the Chief of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Learn about their research on Cystic Fibrosis
Dr. Paul Szabolcs trained at Semmelweis University School of Medicine in Budapest. He completed his residency at Bellevue Hospital/NYU Medical Center and was Chief Fellow at Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. He completed postdoctoral fellowships at Memorial Sloan Kettering in Molecular Biology and at Rockefeller University in Physiology and Cellular Immunology. He has been Chief of the Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapies division at the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh since 2011. Dr. Szabolcs has dedicated his career to developing effective “reduced-intensity” chemotherapy regimens for patients in need of a blood or bone marrow transplant, especially children with rare immune-system defects and degenerative brain diseases.
Dr. McElroy's research interests include studying the interactions that occur between the host immune system and emerging viral pathogens. To do this, animal model systems, clinical specimens from cases of human disease, and in vitro models are used. Previous work has focused on the Hantaviruses, Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, and Ebola virus. Current studies are utilizing the mouse model to elucidate the role of T cells in immunity to RVFV.
Sylvia Owusu-Ansah MD, MPH, FAAP is a board-certified pediatrician, pediatric emergency medicine, and emergency medical services (EMS) physician who is currently an attending at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and Director of Pre-hospital and EMS. Dr. Owusu-Ansah has been extremely involved in pediatric advocacy and education of EMS providers at all levels, locally, regionally and nationally. She currently sits on the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Advocacy and EMS Committees with the American Academy of Pediatrics, and additional regional and national committees related to her work. One of the contributions she is most proud of is advocating for pediatric health on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C. office on federal, state, and community pediatric advocacy issues including the School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2013. She is proud mother of two girls and wife a transitioning paramedic.
Dr. Nischal joined UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh as chief of the Division of Pediatric Ophthalmology, Strabismus, and Adult Motility in 2011. He directs pediatric program development at the UPMC Eye Center and is a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Nischal has pioneered the use of new surgical techniques, previously used only in adults, in children with corneal disorders. He is one of the world’s foremost pediatric eye specialists and an author of more than 100 published research articles.
Dr. Andrew Nowalk is Associate Professor and Clinical Director in the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Pediatrics, both at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.He maintains a clinical practice and an active research program in Lyme disease, examining the epidemic of Lyme disease in Western Pennsylvania and searching to improve treatment and testing for pediatric Lyme disease cases. In addition to his research interests, Dr. Nowalk serves as a residency program director in pediatrics for the UPMC Medical Education program, and lectures and mentors students, residents and fellows through the Medical Center.
Dean Yimlamai, MD, PhD, is a physician-scientist at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and is trained as a clinical gastroenterologist. He specializes in gastroenterology with an interest in pediatric liver diseases and liver tumors. His research group uses mouse models to understand the fundamental mechanisms of liver growth during development, its restoration from injury and changes that lead to cancer. His group specializes in the Hippo Signaling Pathway, a relatively recently recognized signaling pathway that controls organ growth and regeneration.
John Alcorn, PhD is a scientist at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and an associate professor in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The Alcorn lab is focused on T cell immunity, host defense, epithelial cell biology, and lung physiology. A primary lab focus is on Influenza infection and the host defense mechanisms of T helper 17 cells. His lab has recently shown that the TH17 effector cytokines IL-17 and IL-22 are required for host defense against a variety of extracellular pathogens.
Liza Konnikova, MD, PhD, FAAP, is a neonatologist at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and an assistant professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Developmental Biology and Immunology in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Her lab focuses on the develop of neonatal immunity at mucosal surfaces and its role in the pathogenesis of diverse diseases such as sepsis, preterm labor, necrotizing enterocolitis, and very-early onset IBD (VEO-IBD).
She has pioneered the application of mass cytometry to frozen mucosal biopsies, helping to improve our understanding of mucosal immunity. This innovation has helped to identify novel populations of immune cells in VEO-IBD and to perform serial monitoring of IBD activity during drug trials.
Carlton Bates, MD, chief of the Division of Pediatric Nephrology, has been caring for children with pediatric kidney disease for many years, but he often finds another organ on his mind: the bladder and the role it plays in the health of a kidney. Dr. Bates discusses his well-recognized research program in Pittsburgh focused on the genetic regulation of kidney and bladder development.
Lots of people have a personal connection to their work and Kishore Vellody, MD, medical director of the Down Syndrome Center, credits his motivation to his older brother, who has Down syndrome. Dr. Vellody discusses his career, the thriving Down syndrome community in Pittsburgh, and starting his own podcast, the Down Syndrome Center of Western Pennsylvania podcast. The National Down Syndrome Convention will be held in Pittsburgh at the end of June.
In this special episode, learn all about measles, the most infectious human virus on the planet, and the recent outbreak in the U.S. Our two guests are Paul Duprex, PhD, director of Center for Vaccine Research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and John Williams, MD, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UPMC Children’s and fellow podcast host.
Can you name a disease where inflammation is not one of the major drivers? Scott Canna, MD, rheumatologist at UPMC Children’s Hospital and a Mellon Scholar with the Richard King Mellon Foundation Institute for Pediatric Research, asks our hosts this question and talks about modulating our immune system in both rare and common diseases. Dr. Canna has been actively researching ways to better understand and treat inflammatory disorders for over a decade.
Kathryn “Cassie” Torok, MD, director of the Pediatric Scleroderma Clinic at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, is one of the few doctors in the nation that is considered an expert on pediatric scleroderma and patients will travel from other cities to meet with her. Learn about this uncommon condition and the clinical work and research coming from the Pediatric Scleroderma Clinic.
The cells in our body work together as a system to help us function and Amanda Poholek, assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Department of Immunology, is interested in what happens when these cell interactions “go wrong” and result in diseases. Dr. Poholek discusses transcription factors, the proteins that help direct our genetic information, and the breakthrough technology of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS or NextGen), which provides rapid and accurate genome analysis.
Michael Morowitz, MD, is an associate professor of Surgery and an attending physician in the Division of Pediatric and General Thoracic Surgery. Dr. Morowitz’s research focuses on Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC), a mysterious disorder of intestinal inflammation in premature newborn infants. His lab studies the microbiome, the vast collection of microorganisms that cover our bodies, inside and out.
A family’s access to specialty pediatric care can sometimes depend on their home address. Kristin Ray, MD, director of Health Systems Improvements with Children’s Community Pediatrics (CCP), and a Mellon Scholar with the Richard King Mellon Foundation Institute for Pediatric Research, aims to improve the pediatric health care delivery system to make quality care more readily available to all. Dr. Ray discusses two interventions that can help with these challenges, telemedicine and electronic consultations, and the future of this specialty care delivery.
Thomas Diacovo, MD, is chief of the UPMC Newborn Medicine Program and director of Neonatal Cardiovascular Research at the Heart Institute. Dr. Diacovo discusses how he became interested in Thrombosis research, his journey to Pittsburgh, and his research testing new drugs for neonatal intensive care patients, particularly those with congenital heart disease who are at high risk for forming blood clots. Dr. Diacovo also credits the parents of our patients for the success of his clinical trials.
Bernhard Kühn, MD, is the director of research in Cardiology and an associate director for the Richard King Mellon Institute for Pediatric Research. The Kühn Lab focuses on cardiomyocytes and creating therapies that can help the heart muscle heal itself to recover from a heart attack or to help it restore a congenital heart defect to normal cardiac function without requiring surgery. He also reflects on the helpful collaboration with the cardiac surgery team here at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Alejandro Hoberman, MD, chief of the Division of General Academic Pediatrics and president of Children’s Community Pediatrics, has contributed research on urinary tract infections and acute otitis media, and in this episode, the focus is on the ears. He discusses the role of antibiotics, duration of treatment, resistance, adverse outcomes, allergies, and more. Dr. Hoberman also talks about the role that new technologies and multimedia tools play in treatment and discussions with parents.
After six years of medical school in Romania, Mioara Manole, MD, came to the U.S. and discovered her passion for pediatric emergency medicine and the unique challenges it can bring. In addition to seeing patients in our emergency department, she is also the director of Basic and Translational Research in the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine.
Learn about Dr. Manole’s journey to emergency medicine and how her research translates to her clinical work, including the creation of the FLO2 NeuroCap, a noninvasive device that measures brain oxygenation and neuronal activity in children after cardiac arrest or other brain injuries.
In the late ’80s, a young George Mazariegos, MD, had a one-month rotation with transplant pioneer Thomas E. Starzl, MD. Today, he is chief of Pediatric Transplantation at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and director of Pediatric Transplantation at the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute. Our hosts cover all things pediatric liver transplantation in Pittsburgh: What conditions require a transplant, what our center has accomplished, growing our transplant network, improving care after transplantation, and more.
Tim Shope, MD, professor of Pediatrics at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, has lived in many places, but common pediatric infections, including urinary tract infections (UTIs) are everywhere. His team created the UTICalc, available at uticalc.ptt.edu. This user-friendly tool prompts the clinician with five questions, providing an estimated risk of UTI to help reduce unnecessary catheterization and improve outcomes. Also, learn about Dr. Shope’s time with the U.S. Navy, and his famous family member in the world of infectious disease research.
When an infant is born, their first introduction is to a new immune system and new bacteria. Tim Hand, PhD, assistant professor with the Richard King Mellon Foundation Institute for Pediatric Research, takes samples from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, to look at how antibodies in a mother’s breast milk may shape the relationship between an infant and their microbiome. Listen in as Dr. Hand discusses the unique microbiome of premature infants, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), and how maternal IgA, an active component in a mother’s breast milk, can shape a child’s immune system.
A family history, working with children, and a love of math motivated Radhika Muzumdar, MD, chief of Pediatric Endocrinology, to choose a career focused on diabetes. Her research and clinical care aim to meet the short- and long-term goals of treatment and management of diabetes.
In this episode, Dr. Muzumdar covers her career beginning with her earlier work on growth hormones and IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1), to her upcoming studies on the hypothalamus and the humanin peptide. Other current programs and studies include a mobile test kitchen and video game-based nutrition education.
When George Gittes, MD, and his research team came across an outcome they weren't expecting, Dr. Gittes’ surgical background helped identify an amazing discovery — using gene therapy to reverse autoimmune type I diabetes without immunosuppression.
Hosts Stephanie Dewar, MD, and John Williams, MD, discuss the details of this fascinating study and more with Dr. Gittes. Dr. Gittes has recently been appointed the director of the Richard King Mellon Foundation Institute for Pediatric Research and co-scientific director at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
This special episode of That’s Pediatrics tackles a subject currently on the minds of pediatricians and parents alike: Acute flaccid myelitis (AFM). This is a rare childhood neurological disorder that causes weakness in the arms or legs — sometimes even paralysis.
John Williams, MD, our division chief of Pediatric Infectious Disease at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, talks about the recent outbreak of AFM with enterovirus virologist Carolyn Coyne, PhD, and Brian Martin, DMD, VP of Medical Affairs.
There are so many types of germs that cause illness, but so little we know about them. Terence Dermody, MD, physician-in-chief and scientific director at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, is motivated by the endless opportunities in Infectious Diseases to discover more about these little mysteries that affect our patients.
Hosts Carolyn Coyne, PhD, and Brian Martin, DMD, ask Dr. Dermody about what drew him to Virology and Infectious Diseases and how he balances his research and clinical work. Dr. Dermody also introduces the Pittsburgh Study, a multi-year longitudinal population study that aims to follow children in Allegheny County from birth to completion of high school to answer the question: What determines health?
When our young patients are hurting, we can only guess what's causing their pain since they cannot speak for themselves. Rachel Berger, MD, chief of the Child Advocacy Center at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, and her team want to ensure one possibility isn’t left off the table: a brain injury.
Dr. Berger talks with hosts Stephanie Dewar, MD, and John Williams, MD, about a blood test to help physicians identify infants who may have bleeding of the brain as a result of abusive head trauma, sometimes referred to as shaken baby syndrome. UPMC is the first hospital system to have a universal screening for child abuse in their Emergency Departments.
"That's Pediatrics" will explore the latest discoveries and innovations in pediatric medicine and research at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Learn about what to expect from “That’s Pediatrics” and meet two of the hosts, Stephanie Dewar, MD, and John Williams, MD.