"His career included initiating the first neonatal transports across the state of Nebraska in the back of his station wagon. There are tens of thousands of infants who are all better because of him," said Ann Anderson-Berry, MD, UNMC Division Chief of Neonatology. "He was an educator not only to students, but also to nurses and neonatal nurse practitioners, and he was a mentor and colleague to so many physicians."

Dr. Bolam is survived by his three children and five grandchildren. He shared this piece of advice to physicians last year,

"Find joy in the reward of taking care of patients and working with the team of nurses. Nurses provide the most direct level of care to the patients you are treating. It is so important to respect the knowledge and experience that your nurses bring to the team."

"I had the distinct honor of working with Dr. Bolam for 34 years," said Carl V. Smith, MD, chair of the UNMC Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. "Time and time again he demonstrated his commitment to UNMC, and, more importantly, to the health of infants across the state. As medical director of the NICU, he was instrumental in establishing a number of pioneering projects, including neonatal surfactant administration and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. These efforts improved the survival and quality of life for many of our tiniest and most fragile patients. His efforts will be long remembered."

"Dr. Bolam was an amazing colleague, friend and mentor," said Dr. Anderson-Berry. "We are privileged to have had him at UNMC for more than 50 years. He was brilliant with medical, historical and trivia knowledge that was surpassed by few. But more importantly, he was kind, funny and caring. He was an advocate for women, me and the nurses and neonatal nurse practitioners he worked with and for the families we care for.”

She adds, “He played a huge part in shaping neonatology in the state of Nebraska and was named a Physician of Distinction at Nebraska Medicine, an honor that was truly deserved. Retiring just weeks ago, Dr. Bolam did what he loved until the very end. We are going to miss his presence immensely and are all better for knowing him and for his work."

The summer is flying by, and our new academic year has begun! Please join me in congratulating the faculty who were promoted in rank on July 1 (noted above) and in welcoming those who are joining us this summer as new faculty and trainees.

We have had a very busy summer with lots of students and residents working on research projects with our faculty and the Child Health Research Institute (CHRI). I also want to thank everyone who helped to create these successful experiences for our trainees, including the faculty mentors, the CHRI team and the Office of Education at Children's Hospital & Medical Center who helped get each trainee onboarded to work at Children's.

Another exciting change ongoing is renovations at UNMC on UT5 to remodel the office spaces, making them more compatible and comfortable for modern work. This includes the offices of the educational program support team, our residency program directors and chief residents, faculty housed at UNMC and the UNMC administrative team members who office on UT5. The resident library, conference room, call room and attached bathroom will also be fully remodeled!

It's an exciting time of growth and change in our department, and I'm excited about all that's happening in the coming months and the recent accomplishment reported on in this issue of the Pediatrics Newsletter!

Congratulations to Dr. Howard Needelman, MD, professor Department of Pediatrics and Developmental Medicine Fellowship program director, for being selected the UNMC College of Medicine director of the month! Dr. Needelman described the strengths of the Developmental Medicine Fellowship program saying, "We utilize the expertise present at both UNMC, especially the Munroe-Meyer Institute, and Children's Hospital & Medical Center. We are a small program and can give a great deal of personal attention to our trainees." Read the rest of Dr. Needelman's profile story here. The video below provide more information about the Developmental Medicine fellowship program.

Congratulations to Ashley Servais, MPH, CHRI Senior Research Manager, for being named UNMC College of Medicine Employee of the month. Ashley was nominated by Ann Anderson Berry, MD, PhD, CHRI Executive Director, who wrote, "Ashley does a phenomenal job running the Pediatric Research Office and has improved so many systems over the last two years. Her team is amazing, professional and highly productive, particularly doing research during the COVID-19 pandemic." Ashley wrote in her Employee of the Month profile that, "My favorite part of this job is getting to work with so many motivated basic science and clinical researchers on a wide variety of projects, all focused on improving child health." Read the full article here. Great job, Ashley!

Cindy Colpitts, education administrator, Pediatric Residency Program, received a Silver "U" award in July. She was nominated by David Finken, MD, assistant professor, Division of General Pediatrics, who commends Cindy for her service as the pediatric residency coordinator during the terms of four different program directors.

The 2022 Pediatric Cancer Research Symposium will feature a Poster Session on Wednesday, August 31 starting at 7:00am at the Truhlsen Event Center (inside Sorrell) on the UNMC Campus. The poster session will go from 7:00-8:00am and will also be available during breaks and the lunch hour.

Click here for the specific Symposium poster guidelines.

This month we feature Nadia Abraham, MD, current pediatric hospital medicine fellow and future faculty member, and Robert Crider, MBA, financial and business analyst.

The CHRI Conference will be primarily an in-person event that also includes some virtual elements. Thursday, Nov. 3 events will go from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. at Children's Hospital & Medical Center Solarium (light appetizers served). The Friday, Nov. 4 schedule will run from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at UNO's Scott Conference Center, with breakfast and lunch served. Complimentary parking will be available at both locations, but we ask that you indicate if you need guest parking at Children's Hospital for the Thursday session so we can best accommodate our guests.

The CHRI Conference is scheduled to include:

Abstract submission for the CHRI Conference will be open until September 15, 2022.

Outstanding scientific work submitted will be recognized at the Conference as follows:

The top three to four submissions will be asked to present during the morning plenary session at the CHRI Conference on Friday, Nov. 4 at the Scott Conference Center. The top four submissions in each of the 6 AOEs will be asked to present during the AOE Breakout Sessions in the afternoon on Friday, Nov. 4 at the Scott Conference Center

Click here for complete information regarding the CHRI Conference including abstract and poster guidelines.

Andrew Huang, MD, assistant professor, Division of Gastroenterology, was recently surprised to receive a $22,000 check from Paige, a longtime patient and now a student planning a career in pediatric gastroenterology. The donation delivered by Paige was raised by drivers, participants and supporters of the Furstenau Financial Viper Rendezvous Track Weekend.

The CityMatCH conference will be held Sept. 21-23, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. More information will be added to the website as it becomes available. Register here.