News | Page 19 | Pediatrics

Resources for Families: Summer Activities and Back to School -- Expert Advice from WCM Physicians

August 8, 2020

Physicians at Weill Cornell Medicine and our affiliate, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, weigh in about sending children back to school and how to enjoy summer activities. See below for two new resources.

New Leukodystrophy Center Opens at WCM

July 2, 2020

The Department of Pediatrics is pleased to announce the opening and accreditation of our new Leukodystrophy Center (LC), directed by Dr. Eric Mallack, an assistant professor of pediatrics and co-directed by Dr. Jamie Palaganas, assistant professor of clinical pediatrics, both in Division of Child Neurolgy at Weill Cornell Medicine.

There are more than 50 types of rare genetic disorders that disrupt the central nervous system, known as leukodystrophies. Collectively, these disorders affect about 1 in 7,000 people.

Awards & Honors: Dr. Cori Green selected for WCM Healthcare Leadership Fellows Program; Drs. Haviva Veler and Anthony Yuen receive travel grants

June 17, 2020

The Weill Cornell Physicians Organization has selected seven outstanding physicians for the Healthcare Leadership Fellows Program (2020-2021) to foster their development as physician leaders, including Cori Green, MD, MSc, associate professor of clinical pediatrics and Director of Behavioral Health Education and Integration in Pediatrics in the Weill Cornell Medicine Department of Pediatrics.

Dr. Green's fellowship will focus on the Behavioral and Mental Health (B/MH) program from an educational, clinical, and research standpoint in the Department of Pediatrics. The Department's initiatives will reach primary care faculty and practices and, eventually, subspecialty and inpatient care as well. For year one starting in July 2020, the goal is to begin to change attitudes and culture for all faculty members, to implement a 3-year longitudinal curriculum with the new interns, and to implement B/MH screening in the primary care settings. Dr. Green plans to be concurrently participating in the Fellowship Program during year one, and her project will be to study these implementation efforts.

Dr. Kevin Holcomb and Dr. Jessica Pena Named Associate and Assistant Deans of Weill Cornell Medical Colleges's Office of Admissions

June 1, 2020

Dr. Kevin Holcomb has been named Associate Dean for Admissions, effective July 1. Dr. Holcomb, a prominent gynecologic oncologist strongly committed to medical education, will succeed Dr. Charles Bardes, who is stepping down from this role and continuing his responsibilities as a professor of clinical medicine. Dr. Jessica Peña, an expert in cardiology and a dedicated mentor of students, residents, and fellows, has been appointed to the newly created position of Assistant Dean for Admissions. (6/2020)

Tatiana Ndjatou, MD, PGY-3 Named AAP Provisional Executive Coordinator of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

June 1, 2020

Dr. Tatiana Ndjatou, a third-year resident in the Department of Pediatrics, was named Provisional Executive Coordinator of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on Pediatric Trainees (SOPT). (6/2020)

2020-21 Pediatric Minority Housestaff Committee Chair and Vice Chair AnnouncedCynthia Perez, MD (PGY-3) and Sasha Licona- Freudenstein, MD (PGY-2) will serve as the new 2020-21 Pediatric Minority Housestaff Committee Chair and Vice Chair. (6/2020)

June 1, 2020

Cynthia Perez, MD (PGY-3) and Sasha Licona- Freudenstein, MD (PGY-2) will serve as the new 2020-21 Pediatric Minority Housestaff Committee Chair and Vice Chair. (6/2020)

Dr. Juhi Kumar Named Medical Director of the Pediatric Kidney Transplant Service, Division of Pediatric Nephrology

April 30, 2020

Dr. Juhi Kumar

The Department of Pediatrics is pleased to announce the appointment of Juhi Kumar, M.D., M.P.H. as Medical Director of the Pediatric Kidney Transplant Service in the Division of Pediatric Nephrology.

Dr. Kumar is an Assistant Professor in Pediatrics and Assistant Professor in Population Health Sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine. She is an expert in conditions affecting the kidneys in children, from congenital structural kidney abnormalities, kidney diseases causing proteinuria and hematuria, high blood pressure and fluid and electrolyte disorders. She cares for patients across the spectrum of kidney disease from acute kidney injury to chronic kidney disease that ultimakidney ately require renal replacement therapy, including dialysis and transplant. Dr. Kumar is also an Assistant Attending Pediatrician at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and NYP Phyllis and David Komansky Children’s Hospital.

Supporting Children’s Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic

April 6, 2020

While most states have closed schools and made social distancing a priority to address the COVID-19 pandemic, parents may be wondering how they can help their children cope with being housebound and physically cut off from friends and family.

Sticking to a schedule, explaining the importance of social distancing in an age-appropriate manner, staying connected through technology, and seeking out mental health support by using telemedicine all can help.

In this time of uncertainty, the structure of a daily routine provides predictability, said Dr. Justin Mohatt, vice chair for child and adolescent psychiatry, vice chair for faculty practice of the Department of Psychiatry, and an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Diversity COVID-19 Pandemic Town Hall Hosted by Office of Diversity and Inclusion

April 1, 2020

Weill Cornell Medicine's Office of Diversity and Inclusion held a recurring platform to allow our community to raise questions or concerns regarding diversity and inclusion at WCM during the pandemic. (4/2020)

WCM Faculty and Staff: to access session recordings click here and here.
Learn more: https://wcmcentral.weill.cornell.edu/news/diversity-and-inclusion-during-covid-19-pandemic

Match Day: A Brooklyn Girl’s Need for a Donor Kidney Inspires a Community

March 16, 2020

Healthy & Happy: Khadijah Sabir gets a post-transplant check-up from her doctor, Dr. Eduardo Perelstein. Credit: Julia Xanthos Liddy

On Khadijah Sabir’s 11th birthday—surrounded by friends and family during a party in her honor at her Brooklyn elementary school, PS 177—she received what she calls “the best gift ever.” After months of incapacitating exhaustion due to chronic kidney disease, which necessitated at least 10 hours of dialysis every night for months, she got the news: a kidney donor had been found.

When Khadijah was just 9 her parents had started noticing that she seemed more fatigued than her three siblings, often falling asleep as soon as she got home from school. Eventually, high levels of creatinine in her bloodwork prompted a visit to a nephrologist, who discovered that her kidneys were failing, likely due to her extremely elevated blood pressure. “We couldn’t believe it,” says Khadijah’s father, Sajid Sabir. “Her blood pressure was worse than an old man’s.” By the time the problem was identified, Khadijah’s kidneys were in such bad shape that she was almost immediately transferred to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, put on dialysis, and added to the transplant list.