Inside Pediatrics Spring/Summer 2024

I n the world of medicine, research and of Alabama, we’re proud to have medical professionals who are committed to finding the most effective ways to treat our patients. In this issue of Inside Pediatrics , you’ll get a glimpse of our leading-edge ideas. In some cases, innovating means hiring the best people in their fields—for example, Rintaro Hashizume, M.D., Ph.D., who joined our Division of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, and Blood and Marrow Transplantation in 2023. His research on a rare, deadly brain tumor has led him to a new approach that could save lives. For the patient, it may one day be as easy as using a nasal spray. We also push the envelope when it comes to more common conditions, such as type 1 diabetes. Endocrinologist Gail Mick, M.D., is leading a study that shows how an over-the counter supplement could help treat new-onset cases of type 1 diabetes. In nephrology, our researchers are proving that certain patients previously thought to have little chance at life have hope, after all. In a study recently published in Pediatrics , they show how ECMO support and kidney support therapy provide hope for neonates with congenital kidney disease and severe respiratory failure. innovation are two of the keys to improving patient outcomes. Here at Children’s

Tom Shufflebarger, President and CEO

our first deep brain stimulation procedures for patients with progressive dystonia. This was made possible because of the expertise of neurologist Emily Gantz, M.D., who, according to one of her colleagues, “opened the door for us to be able to perform the technical aspects of the surgical procedure.” At Children’s, our patients experience our commitment to excellence all the time. In this issue, you’ll find the story of Liam Blakely, who credits the Children’s Psychiatric Intake Response Center, or PIRC, with saving his life. Since opening in 2018—when it was the first program of its kind in the Southeast—the PIRC has connected tens of thousands of parents with the right mental health resources for their children. Patients like Liam already know about the great things we do at Children’s. In this issue, you can learn about a few yourself.

New surgical procedures also have the power to transform lives. In 2023, Children’s neurosurgeons and neurologists performed