Dear Yale Pediatrics Family,
I'd like to start with a huge, warm welcome to our new residents, fellows, and faculty! We are so excited you're here and can't wait to get to work and see all the amazing thing you'll do.
I hope you're all doing your best to stay cool during our multiple heat waves, as well! Yale Medicine recently published an article about how to stay safe during extreme heat, if you need a refresher, check it out here.
Wishing you all the best,
Cliff
How can you keep children safe in the water? Drowning is the second-leading cause of death for children, and the fifth-leading cause of death across all age groups. Dr. James Dodington, a pediatric emergency medicine specialist with Yale Medicine, joined News 8 to provide insight.
Source: WTNHWith the temperatures rising, this weather can be downright deadly for some. It's why doctors are sounding the alarm when it comes to the dangers of hot cars and kids.
Source: WFSBProfessor Anne Alstott of Yale Law School and Dr. Meredithe McNamara of the Yale School of Medicine, the co-founders of The Integrity Project at Yale Law School, have co-authored a report with a team of international scientists that takes an expert, evidence-based approach to discussing key issues at stake in current legal battles to preserve access to health care for transgender youth.
Source: Yale Law SchoolAssociate Professor Term
Dr. Lisa DelSignore is an associate professor in pediatric critical care medicine at Yale University with a focus on medical education. Lisa completed her medical education at Georgetown University School of Medicine in 2008 and went on to complete her residency and chief residency in pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (2011, 2012) and pediatric critical care fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital (2015).
Her early research in medical education focused on evaluating the use of test-enhanced learning strategies and spaced learning for knowledge and retention in the online setting. She also has experience in applying principles of multimedia learning theory to reduce cognitive load and enhance learning using online, video-based content and curricula. Lisa has developed expertise in applying cognitive learning theories, active learning strategies, and integrating technology and gamification within traditional didactic teaching sessions and has facilitated workshops nationally on these topics.
Lisa is the fellowship program director for pediatric critical care medicine at Yale and is actively engaged in regional and national leadership positions through the Association of Pediatric Program Directors Organization. Prior to her time at Yale, she was involved in educational leadership as an associate residency program director, pediatric clerkship site director, and advanced pediatric clerkship/elective course director for fourth year medical students at Tufts University. Her current interests in medical education focus on mentorship and coaching, promoting learner autonomy, use of different assessment methods, as well as developing new curricula that incorporate the use of technology and active learning strategies.
Assistant Professor
Dr. DeMartino completed her pediatric residency training at the University of Vermont Medical Center and worked as a pediatric hospitalist for two years before completing her Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine fellowship training at Yale. Her scholarly interests include quality improvement and patient safety.
Assistant Professor
Dr. Zara Ilahi is an assistant professor of neonatology at Yale School of Medicine. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Neuroscience and Behavior from Barnard College, Columbia University and her Doctor of Medicine from American University of the Caribbean, School of Medicine. After completing residency at Staten Island University Hospital, Northwell Health, she completed a fellowship in Neonatal/Perinatal Medicine at the University of Massachusetts. Dr. Ilahi has a special interest in quality improvement (QI) and obtained her black belt in QI through the lean six sigma global institute.
Assistant Professor
Dr. Katelyn Wong completed her undergraduate studies at Dartmouth College and received her doctorate of medicine at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. She subsequently completed residency and allergy and immunology fellowship at Yale. Dr. Wong’s academic interests include food allergy, teaching, quality improvement, and electronic medical record optimization.
Vinita Misra Knight, MD, FAES is the recipient of the Yale Peds-ACE Award for the month of June 2024!
The Yale Pediatrics Department’s Award for Clinical Excellence (Yale Peds-ACE) recognizes exemplary clinicians who go above and beyond for patients, deliver the highest quality of care, and personify healing, innovation, and collaboration.
Her nomination included the following note: "Dr. Knight is Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology, Director of the EMU and Medical Director of the Pediatric Neurosciences ward. Her work has resulted in national epilepsy guidelines, scholarly publications and numerous publications including a book and educational materials on the ketogenic diet. Her quality of care initiatives have resulted in significant changes in clinical care for our most vulnerable patients."
Congrats, Dr. Knight!
The Department of Pediatrics is pleased to announce the winner of this quarter's Yale Pediatrics Employee Recognition Award: Malika Daly-Cowans! The award honors the outstanding attributes of a member of the Department of Pediatrics who demonstrates and exemplifies our goals, values, and mission.
Her nomination stated, "Malika demonstrated high leadership skills during our staffing issues in the section. She's always willing to go above and beyond and is willing to tackle any project given to her."
Congrats, Malika, on receiving this award! Thank you for living our mission by striving to make Yale a great place to work and for demonstrating a commitment to excellence in everything you do. Nominations for next quarter’s Employee Recognition Award are due September 3, 2024.
As Vice Chair of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development, I am overseeing that pillar to make sure it is represented in different aspects of the Strategic Plan.
How important it is to engage faculty at many points along the development process.
I am excited that by working to achieve many of the goals, we can have a positive impact on faculty satisfaction.
The MacArthur Foundation has launched a new round of its 100&Change competition to fund a single $100 million proposal to help solve one of the world's most critical problems of our time. The third round of 100&Change remains open to organizations and collaborations working in any field, anywhere in the world. Proposals must identify a significant problem and provide a solution that is impactful, evidence-based, feasible, durable, and just. Information on prior 100&Change awardees and finalists may be accessed here.
As you determine whether you may wish to apply, please note that the MacArthur Foundation has developed an assessment tool – the organizational readiness tool – designed to help you understand characteristics of the most competitive organizations and proposals. Notably, the following are select characteristics of teams/projects that may be competitive for consideration through the 100&Change program:
Interested applicants must complete the following steps:
Zandra Ruiz, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Proposal Development, is tracking faculty interest in 100&Change. Please contact zandra.ruiz@yale.edu directly to indicate your interest and or make inquiries.
It may be possible for a selected team to receive proposal writing support in advance of the September 5 application deadline. Should you wish to be considered for this support, please provide the results of your organizational readiness assessment and a one-page concept note to Zandra Ruiz by July 22.
A new article published in Gastro Hep Advances by a team of Yale researchers and led by Lauren Smith, MD, finds parental milk and donor human milk support intestinal health and epithelial growth and differentiation, while formula specifically inhibits certain growth factors and prevents differentiation.
A pilot project in New Haven aimed at giving money to people injured by violence to help them in their recovery is expanding. Yale New Haven Hospital, funded by the nonprofit 4-CT, last year gave $1,000 each to 100 victims of violent crimes – primarily young men recovering from gunshot wounds at the hospital.
Source: WNPRYale is the only hospital in Connecticut performing this procedure, and it was one of the first programs in the country to do so.
The Colton Center for Autoimmunity at Yale is pleased to announce the eleven 2024 Yale projects selected for their promising research in autoimmunity and allergic diseases. In addition to grant funding, Colton Center awardees receive mentorship, access to industry expertise, and feedback on their potential commercialization.
Source: Yale VenturesMost people get enough B12 from food, but your age, certain conditions, and medications may put you at risk for a deficiency.
Source: Yale MedicineNEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine released the findings of a new study looking into kids and COVID.
Source: Channel 8 news“There’s pretty clear evidence that poor infant sleep is associated with maternal depression, and it makes sense. You’re sleeping worse, you’re more likely to feel depressed. The real benefit of sleep training is the effect on maternal mood, in helping with maternal depression,” says Dr. Craig Canapari, M.D., a board-certified pediatric sleep specialist and director of the Yale Pediatric Sleep Center.
Source: RomperProfessor Anne Alstott of Yale Law School and Dr. Meredithe McNamara of the Yale School of Medicine, the co-founders of The Integrity Project at Yale Law School, have co-authored a report with a team of international scientists that takes an expert, evidence-based approach to discussing key issues at stake in current legal battles to preserve access to health care for transgender youth.
Source: Yale Law SchoolThe Yale Combined Internal Medicine/Pediatrics Residency Program emphasizes culture building and bonding in an effort to better themselves as healers and caregivers. Every year, Benjamin Doolittle, MD, MDiv, program director, chooses a theme for his residency program. This year, the theme was “The Eras of Medicine” and Doolittle together with his residents explored the history of the role of healer. In keeping with the program’s theme for the year, the residents collaborated with New Haven’s Ely Center of Contemporary Art, directed by Aimée Burg, to create a work of art that explored the relationship between healing and the creation of art.
The discovery of a new syndrome can bring validation and peace of mind to patients and their families. It can also suggest avenues to treatment.
Source: Yale NewsFrank Buono, PhD, associate research scientist in psychiatry, and Asher Marks, MD, associate professor of pediatrics, are guest editors of the journal, "Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking." The issue focusses on the virtual reality of medical education in cyberpsychology, behavior, and social networking.
Source: Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social NetworkingThe MHS-Med Ed program graduates and Medical Education Fellows were honored on Medical Education Day at Yale.
The Integrative Medicine Program at Smilow Cancer Hospital helps patients realize they are more than their illness.
Source: NBC CTJune 19 is World Sickle Cell Day. Sickle cell disease is a rare disorder where red blood cells become hard, sticky and C-shaped, leading to blood flow blockages that can result in organ damage, serious infections or even stroke. Cece Calhoun, MD, MBA, a hematologist-oncologist with Yale Medicine, explains the signs of the disease and what treatments are available.
Source: WTNHWith obesity continuing to loom as a major public health threat, a leading panel of independent U.S. health experts released recommendations Tuesday urging doctors to refer children and teens with obesity to programs that can provide guidance on healthy eating, safe exercising and understanding food labels.
Source: Yahoo NewsAs a member of the SPR junior council, I've learned about various resources designed for trainees and junior faculty within the organization. These include mentoring programs, a grant writing course, leadership opportunities, and professional networking initiatives. I also want to highlight the importance of the Pediatric Research Journal, as a key platform for connecting senior and junior members. Additionally, SPR Perspectives provides briefs on cutting-edge research methods and content, serving as a valuable resource for knowledge exchange across different career stages.
Source: SPRSome experts say the advice should include the prescription of weight-loss drugs when warranted.
Source: Washington PostThe US Preventive Services Task Force updated its final recommendations Tuesday for how primary care clinicians can best help children with a high body mass index, the measure most practitioners use to determine whether a person has obesity.
Source: CNNTo improve productivity and innovation and reduce duplicative services, ITS is phasing out Box @ Yale as an available service offering by July 2025. As part of the effort to eliminate use of the service new users to the University are no longer being provisioned with Box accounts automatically.
Microsoft OneDrive, Teams, and SharePoint are recommended as robust and efficient alternatives, offering superior collaboration features with no cost to you.
You can use the Mover tool to easily transfer your Box files to Microsoft OneDrive (and later SharePoint if necessary). Use the directions from ITS here to easily grant permission to both your Box and OneDrive accounts to begin transferring your files. The files should continue to transfer in the background should your computer go to sleep.
Please contact Yale ITS with any questions, troubleshooting, or issues with your file transfers. You can connect over the phone, by chat, or schedule an in-person meeting. Start here to get in touch with ITS.
If OneDrive and/or SharePoint are new to you or you need to brush up, there are 2 available trainings via LinkedIn Learning.
Paw Prints works to connect with and strengthen our community through the power of storytelling. The blog hopes to highlight blog posts from a diverse array of people, perspectives, and experiences with a focus on social justice and advocacy topics. Long or short form writing, drawings, poems, photos, and different media are welcome. To submit, please email molly.markowitz@yale.edu. Read the latest submissions here.
The CDC has updated their recommendations for steps individuals should follow if they develop symptoms of any respiratory infection, including COVID. The new recommendations represent a notable change in policy, as they eliminate the five-day isolation period for COVID and align recommendations for all respiratory viral illness. Those recommendations are the following:
Importantly, the new guidance does NOT apply to healthcare settings, which continue to follow existing guidance. Yale healthcare workers with respiratory symptoms should test for COVID and should remain in isolation for seven days from symptom onset if they test positive. If symptomatic but COVID negative, healthcare workers should follow the general respiratory viral guidance above.
Read more in the latest Campus Health Update here.
Reminder: Faculty, staff, and students with a valid Yale ID can pick up a maximum of two free rapid antigen test kits at a time at these locations on campus during business hours.
Since the 2022 outbreak, cases in the U.S. have declined dramatically due to community activation, behavior change, and uptake of the mpox vaccine by those at risk. While not at their 2022 peak, cases now are more than double what they were last year at this time, suggesting that ongoing action and vigilance is needed. Read more from Madeline Wilson, MD, Chief Campus Health Officer here.
The Department has embarked on a strategic planning phase that will help create a clear, creative, and concrete strategic plan that will guide Yale Pediatrics’ next five years.
A good strategic plan will:
You can keep up with updates and event information on the Pediatrics intranet, here.
Print or save this flyer if you need assistance on campus during an emergency, to get support or make a report about misconduct, reach mental health counseling, or report other concerns.
Are you interested in sharing your expertise with community pediatricians, advanced practice providers, and school-based nurses? It’s a great way to promote your clinic/program and increase your reach. If so, fill out this short Qualtrics survey to let us know what you want to talk about.
The Pediatric Medical Education Research Collaborative (P-MERC) can be found here. P-MERC provides resources and support to members of the Department of Pediatrics who are interested in engaging in educational research and scholars. If you have suggestions for the site, please reach out to Melissa Langhan, MD, MHS at Melissa.Langhan@yale.edu.
Scan the QR code on any of the posted signs around the Department or text “Peds1” to (831) 222-2333 to send a Hylite. You can also send a Hylite HERE anytime from a web browser. Happy Hyliting!