News | Page 12 | Pediatrics

Dr. Oksana Lekarev Promoted to Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics

April 29, 2022

The Department of Pediatrics is pleased to announce the promotion of Oksana Lekarev, DO to Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, effective April 1, 2022.

Dr. Oksana Lekarev is the Associate Medical Director of the Weill Cornell Medicine Comprehensive Care Center for Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) and an Associate Attending Pediatrician at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. She is the Director of the Pediatric Endocrinology Fellowship Training Program and is board-certified in Pediatric Endocrinology and Pediatrics.

Dr. Lekarev received a B.A. in Linguistics from Barnard College of Columbia University, graduating cum laude with departmental honors. She received her medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - School of Osteopathic Medicine in Stratford, NJ. There, she completed her pediatric internship at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical Center before moving to Boston, Massachusetts where she completed her pediatric residency at Tufts-New England Medical Center. Dr. Lekarev moved back to New York City to complete her fellowship in Pediatric Endocrinology at Mount Sinai Medical Center. She served as a faculty member for two years in the Division of Adrenal Steroid Disorders before joining Weill Cornell Medicine in 2013.

Maria Lame, MD Named Recipient of the 2022 Pioneer in Diversity Bruce Laine Ballard, MD Award

April 11, 2022

This article was originally posted on WCM Emergency Medicine News

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Maria Lame, Assistant Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine and Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, on being named the recipient of the 2022 Pioneer in Diversity Bruce Laine Ballard, MD Award by the Weill Cornell Medicine (WCM) Office of Diversity & Inclusion. The award recognizes a faculty member who demonstrates commitment to improving student life and to fostering a nurturing and supportive environment where students are able to thrive and succeed.

Dr. Lame has played key roles in both the Department of Emergency Medicine and WCM’s many diversity initiatives. She serves as the diversity champion for the Department and was instrumental in the creation of our DiversifiED program. DiversifiED focuses on enhancing awareness and sensitivity to diversity, inclusiveness and belonging for all clinical and non-clinical providers through education, collaboration, and outreach. She has served as a mentor for both WCM’s Diversity Center of Excellence Mentorship Cascades Program and Underrepresented in Medicine (URiM) pediatric residents.

Dr. Virginia Pascual Receives Funding to Study Efficacy of Next Generation Influenza Vaccines in Older Adults

April 6, 2022

Virgina Pascual, MD, Director of the Gale and Ira Drukier Director of Children's Health Research, has received a U01 subaward from the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases for her study, “A deep longitudinal analysis of next-generation influenza vaccines in older adults.” The study aims to understand whether and why next-generation influenza vaccines might be more efficacious in older adults.

The WHO estimates that annual epidemics of influenza result in 3-5 million cases of severe illness and 300,000- 500,000 deaths. 90% of influenza-related deaths occur in older adults despite widespread vaccination programs with vaccines tailored for this high-risk group. The estimated effectiveness of the influenza vaccine in the U.S. for the 2018-2019 influenza season overall was 47%, but only 12-13% in older adults ((≥65yrs). Therefore, there is an urgent need to understand the mechanisms that are turned on/off in older adults that result in their limited response rate to the most commonly used influenza vaccine, Fluzone® High-Dose.

Dr. Steven Pon Named 2022 Physician of the Year by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital’s Department of Nursing

March 30, 2022

Congratulations to Dr. Steven Pon on being named the 2022 Physician of the Year by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital’s Department of Nursing.

Each year the Department of Nursing honors a small number of physicians who work with a spirit of collegiality and actively contribute to the safe clinical care of patients at all NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital (NYP) campuses. The award specifically “recognizes physicians, fellows, house staff and medical students who show competence and caring in the clinical setting and work together with the nurses to attain the highest standards of quality patient care.”

Dr. Steven Pon is the Associate Director of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and Medical Director of Respiratory Care at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center where he is also an associate attending pediatrician. Highly regarded and greatly respected as a physician, a master clinician, and a superb medical educator, Dr. Pon devotes his clinical practice to caring for critically ill and injured children in the pediatric intensive care unit.

Dr. Pon, who is also an associate professor of clinical pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine, was selected for this prestigious award because of his dedication to patient care excellence and steadfast leadership, which was crucial at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From the COVID Trenches, a Plea to Follow the Facts and Vaccinate Children

March 27, 2022

This op-ed was originally posted on InsideSources

As experts in pediatric infectious diseases, vaccination and epidemiology, we are on the frontlines when it comes to COVID-19 and children. Collectively, we have cared for hundreds of children with severe cases of COVID-19, experiencing firsthand the complexity of caring for a child battling this novel illness and the agony of seeing a child succumb to its ravages.

We cannot stay silent as we witness the barrage of misinformation deterring parents from vaccinating children 5 years old and older against COVID-19. Americans need facts, not agendas.

First, the sheer number of very sick children should be every parent’s wake-up call.

The vaccination data are alarming. As of March 9, only 27 percent of U.S. children between the ages of 5 and 11 and 56 percent between 12 to 15 are fully vaccinated, leaving tens of millions of children still unvaccinated. And while most of those children who will get COVID-19 will have mild to moderate illness, the small percentage of this huge pool of unvaccinated children that will become severely ill translates into large numbers of children needing specialized care.

To combat health disparities, diversify medicine

March 27, 2022

This article was originally posted on NEW YORK DAILY NEWS .

COVID-19 has laid bare stark health care disparities between Black and Hispanics and their white counterparts. According to the CDC, these communities have borne the brunt of the pandemic, with cases and deaths nationally exceeding their share of the population.

Here in New York, as a physician working for Weill Cornell Medicine, I witnessed this firsthand. On the Upper East Side of Manhattan, where Weill Cornell Medicine is located, mortality rates from COVID-19 were lower than in other parts of the city, particularly upper Manhattan and the Bronx, historically under-resourced areas where the population is largely Black and Hispanic.

Pandemic Response Repository – Microbial and Immune Surveillance and Epidemiology (PREMISE): Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) Pilot Study

March 25, 2022

Perdita Permaul, MD has been awarded an NIH/NIAID funded subcontract with the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, currently operated by Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., 3-year pilot multicenter study to demonstrate the utility of immunologic and epidemiologic surveillance for future emerging pathogens and drive the development of future diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventative tools.

The project, known as “Pandemic Response Repository through Microbial and Immune Surveillance and Epidemiology (PREMISE): Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) Pilot Study,” will be led at Weill Cornell by Dr. Permaul, with co-investigators Drs. Sallie Permar and Stefan Worgall, to study enterovirus (EV) D68, a contagious respiratory infection that mostly affects children and has been associated with acute flaccid myelitis cases, and for which there is no vaccine. The study will allow researchers to learn more about the pathogen and how a child responds and fights off infection.

Dr. Kosofsky to Serve as Co-Director of the Child Neurologist Career Development Program (CNCDP-K12)

March 22, 2022

Barry Kosofsky, MD, PhD has been awarded a subcontract from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Stroke (NINDS) to serve as Co-Director of the Child Neurologist Career Development Program (CNCDP-K12). The CNCDP-K12 aims to train talented early-career child neurologists to have a significant national and international impact on the field of pediatric neurology. Dr. Kosofsky will work in collaboration with the Kennedy Krieger Institute to oversee multiple programmatic aspects of the training program.

The NINDS established this nationwide K12 training program to provide three years of post-doctoral research support for six early career academic child neurologists selected each year from across the United States who want to pursue mentored basic or clinical developmental neuroscience research at their respective institutions.

The program funds exceptional customized research training for pediatric neurologists or graduates of neurodevelopmental disabilities fellowships. For three years, the CNCDP-K12 scholars receive an intensive, clinically relevant, basic and/or patient-oriented research mentorship at their home institution. A team of national experts in pediatric neurology and neuroscience provide additional mentoring and guidance regarding career development. The CNCDP-K12 scholars are supported to become the next generation of independent researchers and leading scientists.

10 Things to Know About the Child Life & Creative Arts Team at NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children's Hospital

March 16, 2022

Certified child life specialists are trained professionals with expertise in child development. They help hospitalized infants, children, youth, and families cope with the stress and uncertainty of an acute or chronic illness, injury, trauma, disability, loss, and bereavement.

At NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children's Hospital, the Child Life Specialists and Creative Arts team employ a mix of education, play, therapeutic, and self-expression activities to help children endure their hospitalization and illness. They provide information and support to families, and advocate for family-centered care and the needs of their patients.

The Komansky Child Life and Creative Arts team work closely with our pediatric providers to ensure their patient's emotional, mental, and physical needs are met. They are an integral part of our pediatric healthcare team.

In recognition of Child Life Month, here are 10 things you should know about the Child Life & Creative Arts Team at NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children's Hospital:

1. The Komansky Child Life and Creative Arts team is currently made up of one Art Therapist, two Music Therapists, one Child Life Assistant, and 13 Child Life Specialists.

Dr. Julia Brown Receives Funding to Study the Gut Microbiome's Influence on Early-life Immunity

March 16, 2022

Congratulations to Julia Brown, PhD on receiving funding for her study, “The role of the neonatal gut microbiome in lung immune development and antiviral immunity,” as part of the Biocodex Microbiota Foundation Grant Program.

The gut microbiome plays a critical role in neonatal immune development, and early-life perturbations to the microbiome have been linked to later susceptibility to respiratory conditions, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as well as modulating respiratory infection outcomes. Premature infants have a significantly altered microbiome, but it remains unclear how these alterations affect immune development or disease outcomes. For this study, Dr. Brown will use stool specimens from preterm and term infants to investigate the influence of the microbiome on immune responses to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which is particularly severe in premature infants, and determine whether the altered microbiome of premature infants skews the immune system towards a pathogenic rather than protective response. The ultimate goal of this project is to identify components of the gut microbiome that influence early-life immune development, which could open a path toward probiotic-based therapeutics to improve immune system development in premature infants.