News | Page 17 | Pediatrics

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.

Dr. Timothy Clapper Awarded Grant to Study the Use of His Evidence-based Training Model to Improve Delivery of Bad or Difficult News for Residents

March 8, 2022

Director of Education for the Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian Simulation Center, Dr. Timothy Clapper received a grant from the NewYork-Presbyterian (NYP) MDxPx Program for his research, “An innovative instructional design model to improve delivery of bad or difficult news for PGY-2 residents across multiple specializations.”

The award follows the NYP Patient Experience Group’s awarding Dr. Clapper funding to support the successful implementation of delivering bad or difficult news training for interdisciplinary fellows from five adult and pediatric subspecialty training fellowships.

He and his co-researchers, including faculty and staff from our Department of Pediatrics (Aliza Solomon, DO; Christine Joyce, MD: Kevin Ching, MD; Winnie Shen, and Kyle P. Burns) found significant improvements in fellow’s ability to deliver difficult news and value for the evidence-based, innovation framework that includes targeted feedback.

Dr. Camilia Martin Named Chief of Newborn Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital

March 8, 2022

This article was originally posted on WCM Newsroom.

NEW YORK (March 8, 2022)—Dr. Camilia Martin, an esteemed physician-scientist who combines clinical care and innovative research on neonatal nutrition to improve outcomes for premature and newborn babies, has been named chief of the Division of Newborn Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital, effective May 1.

Emily Coppedge Named Chief Nurse Practitioner for Pediatric Subspecialty Practice

February 23, 2022

The Department of Pediatrics is pleased to announce the promotion of Emily Coppedge, NP to Chief Nurse Practitioner for the Pediatric Subspecialty Practice at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. In this role, Ms. Coppedge will work with the Medical Director and Practice Administrator of the Pediatric Subspecialty Practice to enhance patient care in the unified practice.

As Chief Nurse Practitioner, Ms. Coppedge will serve as a clinical, educational, and administrative resource to nursing personnel and oversee patient care delivery and management. She will work in collaboration with attending physicians and multidisciplinary health care teams to optimize patient care and team performance.

Ms. Coppedge received a Bachelors in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Masters in Nursing from New York University. She is board certified as an advanced practice nurse specializing in pediatrics and brings 16 years of pediatric nursing experience to this role. As a registered nurse, Ms. Coppedge worked a variety of inpatient and outpatient roles and after extensive training in diabetes care, obtained her certified diabetes educator certification.

New Study Aims to Address the Needs of Black Adolescent Girls with Prediabetes

February 16, 2022

Marisa Censani, MD, associate professor of clinical pediatrics and Director of the Pediatric Obesity Program in the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, is co-investigator on a newly funded NIH study titled, “The preliminary efficacy of a culturally tailored, telehealth lifestyle intervention for Black adolescent girls with prediabetes: a pilot randomized controlled trial” (R21MD016986). The principal investigator is Tashara M. Leak, PhD, RD, an assistant professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences (Cornell University, Ithaca, NY). For 12 weeks participants will engage in a weekly virtual wellness session focusing on mindfulness and nutrition, an at-home cooking experience preparing healthy ethnic meals, and a virtual Afrocentric dance class. The overall aim of the study is to improve diet quality, increase physical activity, and improve glycemic measures.

Dr. Priyanka Mehrotra Receives Bronze Snapshot Research Award from Society of Critical Care Medicine

February 15, 2022

Pediatric ICU Fellow, Dr. Priyanka Mehrotra has received the Bronze Snapshot Research Award from the Society of Critical Care Medicine for her study, “Timing of Tracheostomy in Critically Ill Infants and Children with Respiratory Failure: A PHIS Study."

Despite tracheostomy’s historical depth, the growing complexity of the pediatric patient requiring long-term ventilation makes the decision of when to undergo tracheostomy challenging, creating vast variability in practice standards for timing of tracheostomy insertion in pediatric patients. In this study, Dr. Mehrotra aims to contribute to the current literature on timing of pediatric tracheostomy. She will describe the timing of tracheostomy placement, associated demographics, and clinical characteristics in a large pediatric critical care cohort using the Pediatric Health Information system database. Dr. Mehrotra will then compare the clinical outcomes based on timing of tracheostomy.

Dr. Mehrotra's overall goal is to provide more data on pediatric tracheostomy timing and associated outcomes to alleviate the shared decision-making burden amongst physicians and parents when discussing this life-altering intervention.