Chair's Message

November 27, 2019

Dear Colleagues,   With the holiday season approaching, I want to thank each of you for your service to Children’s. You are truly the reason UNC is such a special place.

I am truly grateful for the care provided to our families by our multidisciplinary teams! Nothing speaks to this more than the wonderful story of Jett Leahy and his journey with his family and the UNC Maternal Fetal Medicine, Pediatric Cardiology, and Congenital Heart Surgery Teams.  Please read their story on the UNC Department of Surgery site, which highlights the Pediatric Congenital Heart Team’s outstanding work! According to Jett's mom, "The entire team at UNC is incredible. Everyone from the PICU nurses who are like family to us, to the cardiology team, to all the people who supported us in a million ways during our stay at the Children’s hospital. I wholly recommend UNC Children’s hospital, because it’s truly a remarkable place.”

I would also like to highlight several faculty who were recently accepted into the Society for Pediatric Research:   Ian Davis, MD, PhD - Hematology/Oncology Andrea Trembath, MD, MPH - Neonatal/Perinatal Medicine Ajay Gulati, MD - Gastroenterology Ilona Jaspers, PhD - Allergy/Immunology & Rheumatology and the Curriculum on Toxicology Francisco Sylvester, MD - Gastroenterology Rebecca Fry, PhD - Public Health, frequent collaborator with Neonatal/Perinatal Medicine

Happy Thanksgiving! With sincere gratitude,

Pediatric Missions Update

Please Welcome our New Providers!

Holly Barber, CPNP Research Instructor Allergy/Immunology & Rheumatology Holly joined the division on November 1st as a research study coordinator with the Food Allergy Initiative (FAI). Previously, she worked at UNC Children’s Hospital for 16 years as a registered nurse in the Neonatal Critical Care Center. She then completed her pediatric nurse practitioner training at the UNC School of Nursing. While in school, she worked with the Food Allergy Initiative to collect data to support their long-term follow-up study of clinical trial participants. She graduated from the School of Nursing in May 2019. In her current role with the FAI, Holly will be working with four other research coordinators to conduct clinical trials that benefit children with food allergies and related disorders.

Katherine Jordan, MD Assistant Professor General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine Dr. Jordan will be familiar to you all as one of our 2018 Chief Residents following her years as a Primary Care resident and a medical student. For the last year, Katie has been working at Cone Health in Greensboro as well as working part-time with us at the UNC Children’s Primary Care Clinic . Beginning November 1st, Katie is increasing her time with UNC - dividing her duties between the Child Maltreatment Consultation Service and the UNC Children’s Primary Care Clinic.

Jennifer Brondon, MD Assistant Professor Hematology/Oncology Dr. Brondon began her part-time position on November 18th. She joins us after completing a Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Fellowship at Duke. You may remember her as a fellow in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at UNC from 2015-2018. Dr. Brondon will be working in Chapel Hill and at the Blue Ridge location. The Pediatric Hematology Oncology faculty and staff are thrilled to have her join our team!

Kate Gitzinger, CPNP Advanced Practice Practitioner II Hematology/Oncology Kate graduated from James Madison University in 2004 with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. While working as a staff nurse in the NICU at Virginia Commonwealth University, she obtained her Masters in Nursing from VCU. Kate has worked in Greenville, NC in the Pediatric Transitional Care Unit at Vidant Medical Center and then moved to the Triangle to work at Duke in the Transitions Program for medically fragile NICU graduates. We are happy to have Kate back in the Triangle and working with us at UNC.

Molly Miller, CPNP Advanced Practice Practitioner II Hematology/Oncology Molly graduated from Appalachian State with her degree in Nursing in 2012. She has worked at UNC Health Care as an RN on 5 Children's for seven years, during which time she attended UNC to earn her Masters in Nursing. Molly graduated with her MSN in May of 2019 and we are very excited to have Molly continue working with our Pediatric Hematology-Oncology team and patients.

We're so excited that Dr. Mike Steiner has been elected Secretary/Treasurer for the national Academic Pediatric Association. Dr. Steiner will join his newly elected colleagues to further the APA mission, which is to nurture the academic success and career development of child health professionals engaged in research, advocacy, improvement science, clinical care and educational scholarship in order to enhance the health & well-being of all children.

A big THANK YOU to Ceila Loughlin, Britt Mann, Will Kanipe, and Kevin Brady for all the last minute planning required to ensure the on-time opening of the new UNC Children’s Raleigh! We are all looking forward to seeing patients there on December 9th.

We continue to perform high quality resuscitation for suspected sepsis with timely antibiotic/bolus administration in the Peds ED. Our average time from being roomed to both bolus and antibiotics is less than 30 mins (28 mins for bolus; 17 mins for first antibiotic)! Our duration of first bolus was 21 mins. Please consider push-pull boluses or Life Flow for those patients who we are extra concerned about.

Thank you to Dan Park for leading our sepsis pathway in the Emergency Department. He specifically highlighted the following team members for their strong work in significantly decreasing time to antibiotic and fluid bolus administration: Nursing: Laura McDavid, Chris Clark, Ian Barr (he’s on this list every month; extra kudos to you, sir), Jess Briggs, Yaz Abunada, Emilia Frederick, and Becky Wheeler  Residents: Khadijah Bhatti, Erin Dunneback, Erin Finn, Katherine Schroeder, Alex Turek, Annika Koppen, and Kiersten Sapp  Attendings: Cheryl Jackson, Maglin Halsey-Nichols, Mackenzie Esch, and Rob Clemons

Volumes on our inpatient services have significantly increased. This is a late respiratory season this year! Thanks to everyone for all of the hard work as the intensity and "busy-ness" begins to build.

Dr. Carl Seashore, Professor of Pediatrics in General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine has produced a two part-webinar series on Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS).  This webinar series provides those who serve infants with, or at-risk for NAS and their families the information they need to provide compassionate and effective support and intervention. The training includes detailed information about NAS and appropriate care of and intervention for the infant and family, including developmental and child health outcomes, screening, non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic treatment, evidence-based treatment for women with opioid addiction, and strategies for working with families challenged by addiction. Dr. Seashore has published and presented numerous times on NAS and has been featured on WRAL and PBS NewsHour programs to help the public understand the nuances of NAS and its impact on families and society.  The webinars are sponsored by the Leo M. Croghan Memorial Foundation.

Dr. William Mills honored as Preceptor of the Year for Physician Assistant Studies Program The  Physician Assistant Studies   program at the UNC School of Medicine has named  William A. Mills Jr.   as its 2019 Preceptor of the Year. Mills spearheaded creation of the pediatric rotation for second-year PA students as part of their clinical experience; his involvement with the PA program began with its first cohort of students, accepted in January 2016. The PA program is housed in the Department of Allied Health Sciences.   The PA pediatric rotations grew out of Mills’ experience doing pediatric clerkship for UNC School of Medicine students. His goal is to have well-rounded graduates from the PA program. “Dr. Mills epitomizes the great collaborative spirit that prevails at UNC,”  Paul Chelminski , PA program director, said. “More important are his efforts to fully and equitably integrate our students into the clinical environment so that they feel like true members of the health care team.”   The PA program has a focus on nontraditional students, specifically with  veterans from special forces medics . Nearly one-third of incoming PA students are veterans; the national average hovers around four percent. “For a lot of folks, this is a completely different experience,” Mills said. “For them to come out on the other side and say ‘I can come out of this experience and treat peds’ is really rewarding.”  For further information on the award, check out the PA program website.

Erin Finn - 2019 Robert C. Cefalo House Officer Awardee Dr. Erin Finn, a 4th year Med/Peds resident, has been selected as a 2019 recipient of the Robert C. Cefalo House Officer Award ! The award recognizes members of the Hospitals’ Housestaff for exemplary service to patients and families, professional performance and compassionate patient care. The general criteria used for recommendation include: Demonstrated empathy for patients and their families Demonstrated effectiveness in listening to and communicating with patients and families Advocacy for and demonstration of the highest standards of patient care Exemplary professional and interpersonal interactions with colleagues, staff, patients and visitors Congratulations Erin!!

The residency programs are already halfway through the interview season. We have welcomed over 200 students to UNC Pediatrics since late October! Thank you to our faculty, fellows, and residents for their participation in the recruitment process - we couldn't do this without you! If you haven't yet signed up to interview applicants, it's not too late - contact Kelly Lear (Peds) and Robin Howard (Med-Peds).

Commendation & Gratitude We often here wonderful things about our residents but recently we heard something pretty special. From a Nurse Practitioner, working with our residents at Cone, we received the following: Not often enough do we recognize each other for the good we do for our patients and each other. I would like to take this opportunity to commend Drs. Hutton Chapman and Amalia Lee .   On Sunday morning, 11/17/19, in the ED, I found myself in an uncomfortable situation and needed help from someone more experienced. I called the Peds Residents and requested assistance. Drs. Chapman and Lee responded quickly and without question. The took charge of the situation very quickly and professionally without making me feel badly about my request. We became a team that ensured the proper medical management of the patient.   I cannot thank them enough for their professionalism, quick response and team support. They went above and beyond in the manner in which they treated all the team members with utmost respect, including myself. Their knowledge and behavior exuded professionalism and I can anticipate their success in the field of Pediatric Medicine. Please ensure they and the Pediatric Team know how much I appreciate the assistance I received from Drs. Chapman and Lee. It truly meant the world to me. Well Done! Dr. Lee and Dr. Chapman

We held the first UNC Children’s Physician Scientist Training Program (PSTP) interviews for pediatric residents on November 14th and 21st. We are excited to see all of the strong applicants and the strong interest in our pediatric research programs!

Congratulations to Megahan Rebuli, PhD! Megan won the 2020 Best Postdoctoral Publication Award from the Society of Toxicology Postdoctoral Assembly Executive Board for her publication “Wood Smoke Exposure Alters Human Inflammatory Responses to Viral InfecDon in a Sex-Specific Manner A Randomized, Placebo-controlled Study.” Dr. Rebuli currently works in Dr. Ilona Jaspers lab and continues to study the effects of air pollution on airways.

CRI Research Grant Initiative – for Faculty Pediatric Researchers

Do you need pilot or bridge funding? All faculty working in children’s health are eligible to apply for the 2019 Carolina for the Kids Faculty Investigator Awards ($40,000). Additionally, we have a new mechanism of funding starting this year,  specifically for early career faculty via the UNC Children’s Development Early Career Investigator Grants ($10,000) . Applications are open until December 16, 2019 .

Find out more and Apply Here!

Find Funding in ONE PLACE The Department is trying to keep emails to a minimum by collecting information into newsletters like this one and others through out the month. Likewise, rather than sending multiple funding opportunities to your email we recommend that you always check the CRI Website for the latest funding notices, listed alphabetically. We centrally collect information from the School of Medicine Office of Research, the UNC Office for the Vice Chancellor of Research, NC TraCS, Corporate and Foundation Relations Office, and others.   Even new notices may have rapidly approaching deadlines! Check frequently for updated information.

On Friday, November 1st, the Division of Genetics and Metabolism hosted the North Carolina Medical Genetics Association (NCMGA) 2019 Fall Meeting. A total of 139 attendees included Genetic Counselors, Physicians, Laboratory Directors, Residents, Genetic Counseling Students, and others from across the state met in the UNC Molecular Biomedical Research Building.   Speakers from UNC included faculty from Pediatric Genetics and Metabolism as well as the Departments of Cell Biology & Physiology, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Genetics. The full day of speakers covered topics such as: Angelman Syndrome, autism, the Personalized Medicine Initiative at UNC, fetal exome sequencing; the NC NEXUS Project (Genomic Sequencing in Newborns), the Mitochondrial Care Network, multiple newborn screening studies, and new treatment strategies for lysosomal storage disorders.   The goals of the NCMGA are to promote the quality and comprehensive genetic services to citizens of North Carolina in addition to promoting sharing of information and functioning as an advocate for genetics education. The NCMGA meeting provides a rich opportunity to interact with genetic service providers throughout the state.   Many thanks to Dr. Pandya and all of her faculty and staff for providing this opportunity for learning and promoting collaboration with our colleagues across the state!

UNC Genetic Counselors attending the NCMGA 2019 Fall Meeting

Fund Raising Campaign Updates... We are grateful for our Development team and all of our generous donors!

The NICU Family Time Camera system campaign was a huge success! The campaign raised over $103,000 to keep the camera system going for an additional 4+ years.

The annual wine tasting event, Corks for Kids, continues to thrive! This autumn event raised over $40,000 to support efforts at UNC Children’s!

Taylor Markstrom, with Gamers Outreach , donated FIVE game consoles for the patients at UNC Children’s!

As we enter a long and diverse holiday season, your Diversity and Equity Committee hopes everyone takes time to talk to the people you work with every day to better understand their belief systems and what they celebrate and enjoy this time of year. Our newsletter on December 4th will help emphasize the importance of this season.

Our unsung hero this month is Cassie Brennan from the Pediatrics Central Accounting Office Nominated by all of the Division Administrators! We all sincerely appreciate Cassie and consider her to be an absolute gem! Cassie has helped each of us at some point. She has worked with us and her colleagues to streamline processes that benefit us all and routinely goes above and beyond to ensure everyone's needs are met. She is well-organized, efficient, and responds quickly to all communications. She always works with us to problem-solve when unique situations arise. Cassie is happy to help answer any question and can make a problem into an opportunity! We greatly appreciate her efforts and feel very thankful to have her as a co-worker!

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