News | Page 4 | Pediatrics

NYP/Weill Cornell Pediatric Epilepsy Center Accreditation

April 19, 2024

The National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC) is pleased to accredit NYP/Weill Cornell Pediatric Epilepsy Center under the leadership of Dr. Zachary Grinspan as a level 4 epilepsy center for 2024 and 2025. Level 4 epilepsy centers have the professional expertise and facilities to provide the highest level medical and surgical evaluation and treatment for patients with complex epilepsy

As a Level 4 epilepsy center, we serve as a referral center for epilepsy patients from across our region and beyond. In addition to the basic range of services, we provide complex neurodiagnostic monitoring, as well as extensive medical, neuropsychological and psychosocial treatment. A Level 4 accreditation also requires advanced epilepsy surgery services, including evaluation using intracranial electrodes.

April 17, 2024

The Department of Pediatrics is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Corinne Catarozoli as the Co-Director of the Behavioral Health Integration and Innovation Program effective May 1, 2024.

Dr. Catarozoli is an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Clinical Psychiatry and Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine. As a leader in pediatric integrated care at WCM, Dr. Catarozoli has worked across inpatient and outpatient medical settings to embed evidence-based mental health services into the continuum of care for children. Dr. Catarozoli has led mental health integration services within the Weill Cornell Pediatric Subspecialty practice since 2017, including the recent expansion to all pediatric divisions and the pediatric surgery service. She developed and oversees the Youth Cope program, which provides short-term co-located mental health treatment to children in both subspecialty and primary care. Dr. Catarozoli founded and directs the Pediatric Psychology and Integrated Care Fellowship Program and supervises multidisciplinary trainees within pediatric integrated care.

Dr. Permar Kids Health Podcast

April 10, 2024

In this episode of Kids Health Cast, Dr. Sallie Permar gives an overview of the specialties and services for families within the Department of Pediatrics. She shares how the department is committed to providing exceptional family-centered care and support for patients, cutting-edge research in child health, and educating the next generation of pediatricians and physician-scientists. She gives an overview of the twelve subspecialty divisions within the department that include dozens of programs, services, clinics and outpatient care sites across NYC. She discusses some of the latest developments in patient care including online scheduling and telemedicine options. She also highlights the affiliation with NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital and the department's community outreach efforts across the NYC area.

Dr. Alyson Weiner's Interview with Good Morning America About Teen Obesity and Weight Loss Medications

April 5, 2024

For years, Demi Buckley has struggled with obesity.

The 16-year-old told "Good Morning America" that despite living an active lifestyle, she started gaining a lot of weight when she was in elementary school.

"When I started puberty in fifth grade, that's when I started gaining a lot of weight," Demi said.

Today, Demi is one of many teens who have turned to prescription medications to help with obesity.

According to Dr. Sallie Permar, "A Nation With Too Few Pediatricians Could See a Soar in Health Care Costs."

April 5, 2024

This year’s National Residency Match, the day when medical graduates learn which health system they will do their residency programs for the next step of their clinical training, may have been a bellwether for U.S. health care — and the results are worrisome.

Although this year’s Match featured more applicants than ever, a lower proportion of medical school grads chose one key specialty than ever before: pediatrics. Despite the increasing number of applicants, close to 30% of pediatric residency programs did not fill their residency positions, with the total number of graduates applying to pediatrics declining by 6.1% over last year, the largest single drop in the past decade of a steady decline.

This year’s Match also saw the fewest number of graduates from M.D.-granting medical schools choosing pediatrics since 1994 and a plateau in the number from D.O.-granting medical schools choosing pediatrics. This is a disturbing trend, as the treatment and prevention of diseases in childhood is the highest yield and most cost-containing of all medical specialties.

Appointment of Dr. Zachary Grinspan as Vice Chair of Health Data Science

March 21, 2024

The Department of Pediatrics is pleased to announce the appointment of Zachary Grinspan, M.D., M.S. as Vice Chair of Health Data Science, effective March 1, 2024.

Dr. Grinspan is the Director of the Pediatric Epilepsy Program at Weill Cornell Medicine and the NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children's Hospital at Weill Cornell Medical Center. He is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Population Health Sciences at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Grinspan is board certified in Pediatrics, Neurology with Special Qualification in Child Neurology, and Epilepsy. He is also a Nanette Laitman Clinical Scholar at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Dr. Grinspan most recently served as the Interim Division Chief of Child Neurology where he worked to deliver high quality comprehensive patient- and family-centered care, to encourage the Division’s research activities and collaborative initiatives, and to provide a robust training environment for the next generation of clinicians and pediatrician-scientists.

In this new role, Dr. Grinspan will develop and execute a vision for health data science in the Department of Pediatrics, develop a health data science infrastructure and databases that support the data science needs of the Department and that can be used by the Department faculty, trainees, and staff to conduct innovative research as well as improve child healthcare quality and efficiency.

Gut Bacteria Make Neurotransmitters to Shape the Newborn Immune System

March 18, 2024

Weill Cornell Medicine investigators discovered that unique bacteria colonize the gut shortly after birth and make the neurotransmitter serotonin to educate gut immune cells. This prevents allergic reactions to food and the bacteria themselves during early development.

The preclinical study, published in Science Immunology on Mar. 15, showed that bacteria abundant in the guts of newborns produce serotonin, which promotes the development of immune cells called T-regulatory cells or Tregs. These cells suppress inappropriate immune responses to help prevent autoimmune diseases and dangerous allergic reactions to harmless food items or beneficial gut microbes.

Dr. Claire Otero Receives $150K Grant for Immunology and Vaccine Research

March 6, 2024

NEW YORK – Michelson Medical Research Foundation (MMRF) and Human Immunome Project (HIP) have awarded Dr. Siyuan Ding (Washington University in St. Louis), Dr. Claire Otero (Weill Cornell Medicine), and Dr. Dennis Schaefer-Babajew (Rockefeller University) the Michelson Prizes: Next Generation Grants, the organizations announced today.

The $150,000 research grants are awarded annually to support early-career scientists advancing human immunology, vaccine discovery, and immunotherapy research for major global diseases.

“Understanding and harnessing the human immune system is the next frontier in biomedicine. Already, breakthrough research in immunology has led to therapies that treat disease, improve human health, and save lives,” said Dr. Gary K. Michelson, founder, and co-chair of Michelson Philanthropies. “Catalytic and flexible philanthropic support helps to fund our brightest young minds to develop high-risk, high-impact science and enable future breakthroughs.”

How 1 leader went from the research lab to pediatric cardiology chief

March 4, 2024

Research labs are not necessarily known for the leadership opportunities they create. But for Bernard Kühn, MD, the lab helped lay the groundwork of leadership and administrative work that helped him land his current position.

Dr. Kühn stepped into his new role as chief of the division of cardiology in pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children's Hospital, both based in New York City, on Feb. 1.

He began working toward his medical degree in Germany before obtaining a scholarship that let him visit medical schools in the United States. He originally explored pediatrics because he thought it may be good knowledge for when he had his own kids. He eventually fell in love with it thanks to the "charismatic and happy cardiologists that made it look fun and always came to the job with a smile."

"I saw that here physicians scientists do a job that I found really attractive and they were able to be scientifically excellent," Dr. Kühn said. "The healthcare structure in Germany is different, where a lot of physicians are stretched extremely thin, but in the U.S. I had the opportunity to meet many great mentors and become involved in early heart regeneration and genetics research."

Dr. Melanie-Wilson Taylor Explains How to Treat Coughs in Kids

February 28, 2024

For parents and caregivers, winter can feel like a never-ending stretch of coughing and sniffles. During cold and flu season, children can have as many as seven to 10 respiratory infections and spend up to 140 days with a symptom related to a cold, says Dr. Melanie Wilson-Taylor, a pediatrician at NewYork-Presbyterian Komansky Children’s Hospital.

Among the most nagging symptoms of a respiratory virus is a cough. “We are seeing quite a bit of coughs right now, and cases will likely continue to rise for the next few weeks,” says Dr. Wilson-Taylor. “Many of the coughs are caused by colds. But we always tease out the different kinds of coughs and figure out if there’s something more serious happening versus just recurrent viral infections.”

Health Matters spoke to Dr. Wilson-Taylor about what causes a cough, how long they can last, and when to worry.

Dr. Melanie Wilson-Taylor