News | Page 4 | Pediatrics

Saving Finnley: How a Multidisciplinary Team at NewYork-Presbyterian Came Together to Save a Baby and Give a Family a Future Full of Hope

August 27, 2025

When Ashley Merchant was four months pregnant, she and her husband, Mark, put on hold the celebrations they had planned for their baby’s arrival — the baby shower, the hospital visits from family, and the welcome home party. “I wasn’t really sure what the outcome would be, so we kept quiet for a while,” says Ashley. “Things were just not normal or happy for a long time.”

Ashley learned early in her pregnancy that she could face serious challenges. Eight weeks in, an ultrasound test indicated the baby was at risk of a chromosomal, structural or genetic condition. She and Mark were living in Maine at the time and raising their first child, Emmett, but given the complexity of her case, they started searching online for experts in other cities. Many people recommended Dr. Julianne Lauring, an OB-GYN and maternal-fetal medicine specialist at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Ashley grew up in the New York area, so when they visited home for Thanksgiving in 2023, she scheduled an appointment.

“Ashley came to my clinic where I have bedside ultrasounds, and as soon as I put the ultrasound on her belly, I knew there were some serious complications that we needed to consider,” says Dr. Lauring. “She told me to do anything we could to give her baby a chance.”

Dr. Perdita Permaul's Study Provides New Insights into Post-Pandemic Return of Respiratory Viruses

August 20, 2025

COVID-19 prevention methods such as masking and social distancing also suppressed the circulation of common respiratory diseases, leaving young children lacking immunity to pathogens they otherwise would have been exposed to, a new multi-center clinical research study reveals. The investigators say their findings help explain the large post-pandemic rebound in these diseases and enable more accurate predictions for the future.

Dr. Sallie Permar Gives Keynote Address at the WCM Class of 2029 White Coat Ceremony

August 20, 2025

Jennifer Weiss’s path to medicine began as a young child, when an ambulance responded to her New Jersey home to care for her dad, who has heart disease. During the scary episode, one of Weiss’s earliest memories, the emergency medical technicians and paramedics offered empathy and compassion and put everyone at ease.

Inspired to help others, Weiss trained as an EMT at age 16 and joined her local first aid squad. But she quickly realized that she wanted more.

“I wanted to have a greater impact on my patients than just the short ride to the hospital,” she said, “where my knowledge and skills stopped and the receiving physician’s skills took over.”

Dr. Zachary Grinspan Awarded $1.1 Million Grant on Rare Neurodevelopmental Disorder

July 23, 2025

A $1.1 million grant from the parent-caregiver-led Rare Bird Foundation to Weill Cornell Medicine is supporting the launch of a natural history study for a rare neurodevelopmental disorder that causes developmental delays and seizures called MEF2C Haploinsufficiency syndrome (MCHS).

Currently, there are no specific therapies for MCHS, which affects about 400 people worldwide. Patients with the condition may experience developmental delays, difficulties communicating, and frequent seizures. The goal of the study, coined the Volāre Study, is to collect vital information about the condition to lay the necessary groundwork for future clinical trials of therapies for MCHS.

“The drive for this study comes from the parents of children with MCHS,” said principal investigator Dr. Zachary Grinspan, director of the Pediatric Epilepsy Program at Weill Cornell Medicine and vice chair of health data science for the Department of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital of Children’s Hospital of New York. “They share a sense of urgency to bring treatments to their kids and to others who have the disease. It makes the work very personal and meaningful for our team.”

Dr. Corinne Catarozoli Named Section Chief of Pediatric Mental Health

July 1, 2025

The Department of Pediatrics is pleased to announce the appointment of Corinne Catarozoli, Ph.D., as Section Chief of Pediatric Mental Health at Weill Cornell Medicine, effective July 1, 2025. In this new role, Dr. Catarozoli will work closely with Cori Green, MD Vice Chair of Behavioral Health Integration and Innovation and Susan Bostwick, MD, MBA, Division Chief, General Pediatrics as we continue to expand our integrated and collaborative mental health services within our department.

As Section Chief of Pediatric Mental Health in the Division of General Academic Pediatrics, Dr. Catarozoli will provide overall leadership and direction of the section’s clinical activities and will partner with Dr. Green to develop a program bolstered by academic scholarship and advances in clinical innovation and research. Dr. Catarozoli, who joined the Department in 2025 and WCM in 2016, has worked with our department since 2017 to build and oversee our mental health services. Dr. Catarozoli launched the Youth Cope program, which provides short-term co-located mental health treatment to children in both subspecialty and primary care pediatrics. She founded and directs the Pediatric Psychology and Integrated Care Fellowship and Externship programs. Dr. Catarozoli is also a recent graduate of the WCM Wolk Leadership Fellowship Program.

Dr. Sean Cullen Discusses How Vaccines Are Made

June 26, 2025

The very first vaccine was created at the tail end of the 18th century by Dr. Edward Jenner, an English physician and scientist, to protect against smallpox. He injected his patients with the cowpox virus, a related but far milder infection. And, lo and behold, it worked.

Jenner’s vaccine was refined later, but that “first” was one of the most stunning discoveries in the history of medicine. Smallpox was declared eradicated globally in 1980, with the last case reported in Somalia in 1977.

In what follows, Dr. Sean Cullen— The Friedman Family Foundation Clinical Scholar in Newborn Medicine and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Weill Cornell Medicine—explains the ins and outs of vaccines, including:

Promotion of Dr. Teresa Vente to Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics

June 25, 2025

The Department of Pediatrics is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Teresa Vente to Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics on the Pathway Recognizing Clinical Excellence effective June 1, 2025.

Dr. Vente graduated from Touro University of Nevada College of Osteopathic Medicine and then completed her Residency in Pediatrics/Adult Psychiatry/Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at Tufts Medical Center and then a fellowship in Palliative Care and Hospice Medicine at Northwestern University McGaw Medical Center. After completing her fellowship, she joined the faculty at Northwestern in 2019 and then joined our faculty at Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) in October of 2023 as Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics.

She is an expert in pediatric palliative care, a field that is in urgent need of talent and committed experts. Dr. Vente has lectured extensively on her work regionally, nationally and internationally. She has served on regional and national committees on curriculum development for pediatric palliative care. Most of her work and speaking engagements were done during her time at Northwestern. Her work spans a variety of areas in pediatric palliative care such as for children’s rare genetic disorders, fetal medicine, children undergoing surgery and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric palliative care.

Introducing Dr. Emina Hodzic as the Newest Member of Our Faculty

June 24, 2025

The Departments of Pediatrics and Cardiology are pleased to announce the recent appointment of Dr. Emina Hodzic as Assistant Professor in the Division of Pediatric Cardiology at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Dr. Hodzic brings a profound commitment to delivering compassionate, family-centered care to children with congenital and acquired heart conditions. Her clinical philosophy emphasizes empathy, clear communication, and holistic support for patients and their families throughout the continuum of care. By integrating the latest advancements in pediatric cardiology, Dr. Hodzic provides innovative, individualized treatment strategies tailored to each patient’s unique needs.

In her new role, Dr. Hodzic also serves as an attending physician at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. She is board-certified in both general pediatrics and pediatric cardiology by the American Board of Pediatrics.

Dr. Hodzic earned her medical degree from the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. She completed her residency in pediatrics at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, followed by a fellowship in pediatric cardiology at NYU Langone Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Her clinical interests include the diagnosis and management of congenital heart disease, transthoracic echocardiography, and fetal cardiology.

Dr. Jennifer Salant Recognized in WCM Impact Magazine for Advocacy on Behalf of Children and Families

June 24, 2025

As director of the Pediatric Advanced Care Team at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, Dr. Jennifer Salant (M.D. ’13) and her interdisciplinary team provide support for children with serious illnesses and their families. If a child needs symptom management or other palliative therapies, she’s there. If a family needs guidance in making complex decisions about their child’s medical journey, she’s there. And if a family is grieving, she’s there, too.

Dr. Salant attributes her passion for supporting children and their families during their most critical and vulnerable moments to her experience as a medical student at Weill Cornell Medicine.

“Helping families achieve peace and dignity during some of the most difficult times is very gratifying for me,” says Dr. Salant, assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine and assistant attending pediatrician at NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital. “What we do is a really beautiful facet of what can be a very serious side of medicine.”

Insights from Dr. Sallie Permar on the Children’s National Podcast

June 24, 2025

Children are 22% of our population but they’re 100% of our future. In the latest episode of The Lead in Peds we discuss what’s at stake as federal funding for pediatric research declines.

From clinical trials to training the next generation of physician-scientists, Dr. Nathan Kupperman sits down with Dr. Catherine Bollard and Dr. Sallie Permar from Weill Cornell Medicine to discuss the urgent case for continued investment — and what we risk losing without it.

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts: https://lnkd.in/d4mipmrK