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Dr. Camilia Martin, Chief of the Division of Neonatology in the Department of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine has been awarded an R01 grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development for her study, 'Metabolic Mechanisms Induced by Enteral DHA and ARA Supplementation in Preterm Infants.'  The study will focus on the metabolic effects of providing essential polyunsaturated fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and Arachidonic Acid (ARA), to preterm infants.

DHA and ARA are vital for brain, eye development, and immune regulation, yet for almost 40 years, enteral supplementation of DHA and ARA to replace lost fetal accretion has failed to translate into long-standing clinical benefit. The failure to understand the metabolism and induced molecular changes of fatty acid supplementation during the postnatal period has led to erroneous assumptions and replacement strategies that are, at best, not clinical beneficial and, at worst, harmful. Dr. Martin's study aims to uncover the metabolic processes and molecular changes that occur when DHA and ARA are given through enteral supplementation to extremely preterm infants from birth to 36 weeks postnatal age.

Dr. Nitya Gulati has been awarded the Department of Pediatrics 2023 Pilot Award for her research project titled "Risk Stratification using Tumor Microenvironment Signatures in Primary Mediastinal B-cell Lymphoma." The project focuses on studying the tumor microenvironment so that it can be leveraged to predict outcomes and design effective treatment methods for children and young adults diagnosed with Primary Mediastinal B-cell Lymphoma (PMBCL).

PMBCL is a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) primarily affecting children, adolescents, and young adults. However, optimal therapy for PMBCL remains a subject of debate, as the current approaches yield suboptimal results regardless of treatment strategy. Moreover, clinical and biological factors that can guide risk stratification and predict patient prognosis remain undefined. A well-established fact is that non-cancerous cells present in the tumor microenvironment play a crucial role in influencing and communicating with cancer cells. This knowledge has proven valuable in identifying predictive biomarkers and designing targeted therapeutic strategies for diseases like Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma and Hodgkin Lymphoma. Unfortunately, the characteristics of the tumor microenvironment in PMBCL are not well-defined.

The Department of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine is pleased to announce the appointment of Kimberley A. Chien, M.D. as the Medical Director of the Pediatric Specialty Practice. In this role, Dr. Chien will lead patient care, operations, and quality improvement initiatives in the integrated pediatric specialty practice and will represent the practice at multiple College and Hospital meetings, committees and task forces. Working closely with Department leaders, Dr. Chien will participate in setting strategic priorities, including practice transformation and innovation, new initiatives, recruitments, facility renovation and capital investments. She will also lead, develop and facilitate protocols for transitions to adult care for pediatric subspecialties.

We are delighted to welcome Jennie G. Ono, M.D., M.S. as the new Chief of Pediatrics at NewYork- Presbyterian Queens (NYP-Q), effective October 1, 2023. Dr. Ono is an Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine and Associate Attending Pediatrician at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. She received her undergraduate degree at Vassar College and earned her medical degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. She completed her residency in Pediatrics at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Board-certified in pediatrics and pediatric hospital medicine, Dr. Ono has extensive experience and expertise in inpatient care, newborn medicine, and pediatric asthma. Dr. Ono is also a leader in research and education, with a master's degree in clinical and translational science, and has authored numerous prestigious publications in peer-reviewed journals. She joins NYP-Q from NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where she most recently served as the Medical Director for Inpatient Pediatrics and the Director of the Pediatric Asthma Program.

We are pleased to announce the promotion of Alexander Ja-Ho Chou, M.D., to Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine, effective July 1, 2023. This well-deserved promotion acknowledges Dr. Chou as a nationally recognized expert in the field of pediatric hematology-oncology, specifically in managing metastatic osteosarcoma and other solid tumors.

Damla Gonullu-Rotman, MD

Dr. Damla Gonullu-Rotman is a second-year fellow in the Divisions of Medical Genetics at Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). She was a member of the inaugural class of New York University Abu Dhabi. Afterwards, she attended the NY State-American Program of Tel Aviv University School of Medicine. Dr. Gonullu-Rotman went on to complete her residency in OB/GYN at Wayne State University School of Medicine.

What's life like for a fellow at WCM and MSKCC?

As of July 2023, I am the second year Medical Genetics fellow here at Weill Cornell Medicine and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. I spent most of my first year in the WCM and MSKCC outpatient genetics clinics, as well as doing inpatient consults at WCM. My second year will again be a mix of the outpatient clinics and inpatient WCM consults with six months dedicated to research, which I am very excited about.

The Department of Pediatrics is pleased to announce the appointment of Jane Chang, M.D. as Section Chief of Adolescent Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, effective July 1, 2023.  In this new role, Dr. Chang will work closely with Ambulatory Care Network (ACN) leadership and Susan Bostwick, M.D., MBA, Division Chief of General Academic Pediatrics, to transform the Adolescent Medicine practice and expand its services to all patients.

We would like to thank Lisa Ipp, M.D. for her outstanding leadership, service and dedication as Associate Medical Director for Adolescent Medicine, where among many other accomplishments as our first director of Adolescent Medicine, she oversaw the development of our adolescent clinical and education programs for over 20 years. We are grateful Dr. Ipp will remain the Director of Adolescent Education as well as continue serving as Chief of Pediatrics at the Hospital for Special Surgery, where she leads the clinical, quality and operations aspects of the pediatric service.

We are pleased to announce Perdita Permaul, M.D. FAAP, FAAAAI has been named Section Chief of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at Weill Cornell Medicine, effective July 1, 2023. Dr. Permaul, an expert in pediatric asthma, will provide strong leadership and oversight for the Division’s activities, including liaising with Department administration and supporting the Department’s vision and missions in patient care, research, and education as well as quality, diversity, and inclusion. Dr. Permaul, who has been serving as Interim Section Chief, will continue to serve as Director of Pediatric Research at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens.

We are pleased to announce that Weill Cornell Medical Center with NewYork-Presbyterian has been designated as a NORD Rare Disease Center of Excellence, becoming one of 40 U.S. academic medical centers selected to be a part of the first-of-it-kind national network of U.S. medical institutions dedicated to diagnosing, treating, and researching all rare diseases.  The network is led by the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) and is designed to foster knowledge sharing between rare disease experts across the country to help meet the unmet needs of more than 25 million Americans living with a rare disease. Omar Abdul-Rahman, M.D., Chief of Medical Genetics in the Department of Pediatrics, will be the director of the Rare Disease Center of Excellence at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. 

This article was originally posted in the NewYork-Presbyterian newsroom

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has been recognized as the 2023-2024 #1 children’s hospital in New York by U.S. News & World Report. This is the 17th year in a row that the Hospital has ranked among the best children’s hospitals in the nation.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital was the only hospital in New York to rank among the top 50 hospitals across all 10 pediatrics specialties evaluated. The Hospital ranked in the top 10 in pediatric diabetes & endocrinology, and in the top 20 in pediatric cardiology & heart surgery, pediatric neurology & neurosurgery, and neonatology.

NewYork-Presbyterian provides pediatric care in every area of medicine at two major sites: NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital. NewYork-Presbyterian is the nation’s only hospital affiliated with two world-class medical schools, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and Weill Cornell Medicine.

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