Inside Pediatrics Winter 2021

DR. NICHOLS RECEIVES ASSOCIATION OF PEDIATRIC PROGRAM DIRECTORS ROBERT S. HOLM, M.D., LEADERSHIP AWARD Michele Nichols, M.D. , professor in the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, was the 2020 recipient of the Robert S. Holm, M.D., Leadership Award. This award is presented by the Association of Pediatric Program Directors (APPD) each year to honor a member of the APPD for outstanding contribution to mentorship and support for other program directors in the APPD and for service as a role model to program leadership across the organization. Dr. Nichols served as the co-program director for the University of Alabama at Birmingham Pediatric Residency Program from 1995 to 2008 and took over as the program director in 2008. During her tenure, the program has graduated 554 residents working in pediatrics across the United States. Her commitment to creating a strong educational foundation and fostering outreach and advocacy opportunities has been instrumental in the residency program graduating well-rounded residents. As part of the APPD, Dr. Nichols has led several workshops and presentations to help mentor and teach other program directors across the nations. DRS. MARTIN AND SIMS SECURE R21 TO STUDY POTENTIAL NEC TREATMENT The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced it will fund the research of Colin Martin, M.D., FACS , associate professor in the Division of Pediatric Surgery, and Brian Sims, M.D., Ph.D. , associate professor in the Division of Neonatology. Martin and Sims will serve as the co-principal investigators on the project, “The Therapeutic Potential of Pasteurized Human Donor Breast Milk Exosomes.” The two-year grant totals more than $400,000. Martin and Sims are proposing a potential treatment to a devastating disease known as necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). NEC is the leading cause of intestinal mortality in newborns and is characterized by intestinal epithelial cell injury or death and systemic inflammation. DR. ROSS NAMED PEW STAND UP TO SUPERBUGS AMBASSADOR Shannon Ross, M.D., MSPH , associate professor in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, served as an ambassador for The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Stand Up to Superbugs initiative. Dr. Ross joined more than 40 other ambassadors in Washington, DC, to meet with the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, leaders from CDC, FDA and other key agencies and members of Congress and their staffs to urge action to fight the growing threat of antibiotic-resistant infections. Ambassadors represented health care, public health, research, farming, veterinary medicine and patients and patient families impacted by superbugs. Ambassadors met with the representatives from their states to share their expertise and experience to advocate for funding and support to preserve the effectiveness of existing antibiotics and to develop new antibiotics. DR. KONG NAMED TO GOOD MORNING AMERICA INSPIRATION LIST Michele Kong, M.D. , associate professor in the Division of Pediatric Critical Care, was named to the “Good Morning America Inspiration List: Who’s Making Asian American Pacific Islander History Right Now” for her work with Kulture City, a nonprofit organization with the mission to create a world where all individuals, regardless of their disabilities /sensory needs, can be accepted and included.

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