That's Pediatrics

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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.

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

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.