Katie Paul, MD joined the Pediatric Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine on August 7, 2023. Dr. Paul completed her medical degree in 2017 with us at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was a Pediatric Resident between 2017 and 2020 at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center/New York Presbyterian-Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital in New York. Dr. Paul completed her subspecialty training in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine in 2023 at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Welcome Katie!!

Alison Manikowski, PsyD joined the Pediatric Division of Hematology-Oncology on August 1, 2023. Dr. Manikowski completed her PsyD in 2020 at William James College in Newtown, MA. She was a Pediatric Psychology Resident between 2020 and 2021 at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at Emory University School of Medicine. Since then, Dr. Mankiowski has worked as a Clinical Psychologist with WakeMed Health in Raleigh. Welcome Alison!!

Cara Beth Carr, MD joined the Pediatric Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine on August 1, 2023. Dr. Carr completed her medical degree in 2017 at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. She was a Pediatric Resident between 2017 and 2020 and completed her subspecialty training in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine in 2023, both from Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. Welcome Cara Beth!!

Dr. Sharp joined the Department of Pediatrics as faculty on July 31, 2023. Dr. Sharp completed his medical degree at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1989. He was a Pediatric Intern at the Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio from 1989 to 1990 and a Pediatric Resident and then Chief Resident at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center at the Pennsylvania State University from 1990 to 1993. He completed subspecialty training in Pediatric Pulmonology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, WI in 1996. Dr. Sharp has held faculty positions at the Medical College of Virginia, the State University of New York at Buffalo, Duke University, and most recently at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Welcome Jack!

Dr. Colin Orr, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, received a K23 Career Development Award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), a part of the United States National Institutes of Health. Dr. Orr’s funded project is titled “Understanding and Addressing Food Insecurity and Obesity Among Infant-Parent Dyads.”

Investigators in Pediatric Pulmonology at UNC Children’s are playing key roles in the study and treatment of Cystic Fibrosis (CF). According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the current life expectancy for CF patients born between 2017 and 2021 is 53 years — a substantial change from just 10 years ago when the life expectancy was 38. These incredible improvements in the lives of children and adults with CF have been possible through years of laboratory and translational research at UNC and medical centers around the world. At UNC Children’s, clinical trials that test potential drugs and therapies in people with CF are a fundamental part of CF research and care.

Dr. Melissa Bauserman, Associate Professor of Pediatrics in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, and her team recently received notice of renewal for the funding in support of the University of North Carolina-Kinshasa School of Public Health Research Partnership in the Democratic Republic of Congo; a Model for Improving Women’s and Children’s Health Through Research. The total award is for over $3 million: approximately $500,000 per year for 7 years. This is a renewal of UNC as a research site for the NICHD Global Network for Women’s and Children’s Health Research project. For this ongoing research, UNC is in partnership with the Kinshasa School of Public Health.

Dr. Desmond Runyon, Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics in the division of General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, has been listed in the Research.com 2023 Ranking of Best Scientists in Social Sciences and Humanities.  Dr. Runyon was ranked 444 in the US across all social scientists and humanities!  What a great statement about his long and distinguished career in child maltreatment, and the enduring impact of his work. Congratulations Des!

Tom Belhorn, MD, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases, has been selected by UNC School of Medicine students to be the Fall Convocation and Award Ceremony Lecturer for the 2023 Fall Convocation and Awards Ceremony. Dr. Belhorn will provide a presentation at the ceremony planned for August 16th at 12:30 pm at MBRB building.

Michael Kappelman, MD, MPH, Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Gastroenterology, has received a CDC Cooperative Agreement Awards (U01) award entitled “Improving Outcomes and Reducing Disparities for Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease through Epidemiology, Enhanced Disease Management, Dissemination, and Education”. This will be a 5-year, $3.75 million award starting September 30, 2023. UNC is the Prime recipient. It is a multiple PI award with Dr. Kappenman as Lead PI along with adult GI colleagues Dr. Sid Singh at UCSD and Dr. Meena Bewtra at UPenn.