Inside Pediatrics Magazine Fall/Winter 2025

Recognitions

News, Leadership, Honors, Awards

NEWS

of all Americans. The AAP Council is responsible for reviewing the nominee applications for admittance to the AAP. Kutny Elected to COG Voting Body Steering Committee. Matthew Kutny, M.D., professor in the Division of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, and Blood and Marrow Transplantation, has been elected to the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) Voting Body Steering Committee. The COG brings together thousands of experts from the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Saudia Arabia in the fight against childhood cancer. Ilonze selected for Pediatric Hematology Oncology Sub-board of the American Board of Pediatrics. Chibuzo Ilonze, M.D., assistant professor in the Division of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation, was selected to serve on the Sub-board of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology of the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP). He will serve a six-year term beginning in January 2026. Each sub-board of the ABP works with test development staff to develop examination questions as subject matter experts, establish passing standards, and conduct form review. Timmerman elected chair of the Research Coordinator Network for CARRA. Livie Timmerman, clinical research coordinator II for the Division of Pediatric Rheumatology, has been elected to serve a three-year term as chair of the Research Coordinator Network for the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA). Established in 2002, CARRA is a collaborative research network comprising more than 800 members across more than 120 institutions, dedicated to advancing research in pediatric rheumatic diseases.

leaders. Its mission is to shape the future of academic pediatrics by engaging distinguished child and adolescent health leaders and scholars who represent the diversity of the field. “I look forward to continuing our efforts to increase the pediatric workforce by supporting pathway programs and career development, translating research into policy and practice, increasing health care financing to improve access and address social determinants of health, and engaging youth and communities to improve the health and well-being of all children and adolescents,” Coyne Beasley said. “We will also prioritize working collaboratively to nurture and support leaders and develop innovative and effective approaches to address child and adolescent health challenges and crises.” Salas Named SSPR President-Elect. Ariel Salas, M.D., MSPH, associate professor in the Division of Neonatology, has been named the 2026–2027 Southern Society for Pediatric Research (SSPR) president-elect. The SSPR strives to improve health outcomes for all children through the support of rigorous research, quality improvement and advancing cutting edge clinical care. Kimberlin Elected to Association of American Physicians Council. David Kimberlin, M.D., distinguished professor in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, has been elected to the Association of American Physicians (AAP) Council. He began a five-year term in May. “I am honored to serve the AAP as council member,” Kimberlin said. “UAB has many esteemed faculty that have been elected as members of the AAP over the years, and I hope to contribute to the advancement of the society’s mission during my years on the council.” The AAP was established in 1885 as an elected society of America’s leading physician-scientists, who are the pinnacle of long-lasting and impactful contributions to improving the health

Corn Masa Fortification Bill Passes. This spring, the Alabama legislature passed the Corn Masa Fortification Bill into law, marking a crucial milestone in Children’s of Alabama’s work to prevent spina bifida. “This is a major win for fortification and is a landmark for Alabama,” Children’s neurosurgeon Jeffrey Blount, M.D., said. Blount, in 2019, co-founded the Global Alliance for the Prevention of Spina Bifida, or GAPSBiF, an organization dedicated to increasing awareness and advocating for the prevention of spina bifida through large-scale food fortification with folic acid. It has affected change in fortification strategies around the world—Pakistan and Ethiopia earlier this year became the latest countries to commit to fortification. The Corn Masa Fortification Bill represents success closer to home. “It basically patches a hole in national fortification strategies and will protect children in cultures where corn is the predominant carbohydrate staple in the diet,” Blount said. The cause of spina bifida is not fully understood, but researchers know that nutritional shortage in folic acid is the most important contributor to spina bifida prevalence worldwide. “I am utterly thrilled about these advances, as they mean that children will not get these birth defects,” Blount said. Coyne-Beasley Elected APS President Elect. Tamera Coyne-Beasley, M.D., MPH, professor in the Division of Adolescent Medicine, was elected as the 2025–2026 president-elect of the American Pediatric Society (APS) and began serving her term in June. Founded in 1887, APS aims to advance child and adolescent health and well being through an engaged, diverse and inclusive community of pediatric thought LEADERSHIP

HONORS

Schmitt Gives Prestigious Lecture. At the Pediatric Endocrinology Society (PES) Annual meeting in May,

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