Dr. Adriana Herrera, Assistant Professor in Pediatric Hospital Medicine, and Dr. Jasmine Weiss, Assistant Professor in General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine have been selected to be a part of the 2022-2023 Passing the Torch Cohort. Both are true assets to our health care system and to the UNC Department of Pediatrics!

Passing the Torch is a faculty development program uniquely suited to junior Clinician Educator faculty to develop further patient care and teaching skills with a person-centered model. Supported by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, the Passing the Torch program strives to equip faculty with a variety of humanistic skills through experiential learning methods. As one of twelve participating program sites, the UNC School of Medicine is part of a larger cohort of medical institutions working toward helping faculty become better role models. Sites are in the process of evaluating program outcomes and hope to publish their learnings.

Congratulations Adriana and Jasmine!

Sean Sullivan joined the Wilmington Pediatric Specialty Division in Gastroenterology as an Associate Professor on November 14, 2022. Dr. Sullivan earned his MD from the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Rutgers University in 1996. He completed his Pediatrics Residency at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego in 2001 and a Fellowship in Pediatric Gastroenterology at Johns Hopkins University in 2006. Dr. Sullivan has served as a Pediatric Gastroenterologist at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth since 2015 and as a Pediatric Specialty Leader with the U.S. Navy since 2020. Dr. Sullivan also served as Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth from 2016 to 2019. Welcome Sean!

Matthew Vogt, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Microbiology & Immunology, is the 2022 recipient of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society’s Hall Award for Clinically Innovative Research Paper. The award is presented annually to a junior or mid-career investigator who is the first or senior author of a paper that best illustrates the innovative approach to clinical research demonstrated by Dr. Caroline Hall, for whom the award is named.

Congratulations to Dr. Sam Schilling!  Samantha Schilling, MD, MSHP, Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, has joined the NRSA Primary Care Research Fellowship program to serve as Associate Director of Pediatrics. Dr. Schilling has great expertise on mechanisms of child abuse prevention and conducts primary care-based studies of parenting interventions on the impact of parental self-efficacy, effectiveness, and reducing severe discipline and abuse. For years Dr. Schilling has been an important participant in the recruitment piece of the fellowship, meeting with potential fellows and providing key feedback. Dr. Schilling will expand the core faculty expertise within the program and enhance the fellowship experience.

Congratulations to Dr. Sam Schilling!  Samantha Schilling, MD, MSHP, Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, has joined the NRSA Primary Care Research Fellowship program to serve as Associate Director of Pediatrics. Dr. Schilling has great expertise on mechanisms of child abuse prevention and conducts primary care-based studies of parenting interventions on the impact of parental self-efficacy, effectiveness, and reducing severe discipline and abuse. For years Dr. Schilling has been an important participant in the recruitment piece of the fellowship, meeting with potential fellows and providing key feedback. Dr. Schilling will expand the core faculty expertise within the program and enhance the fellowship experience.

Natalia Akopyants, joined the Department of Pediatrics as an Associate Professor in the Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine on October 31, 2022. Dr. Akopyants, earned her PhD in Molecular Biology and Genetics at the Research Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry in the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia in 1988. In 1998, Dr. Akopyants completed post doctoral training in Microbiology with the Department of Molecular Microbiology at Washington University in Saint Louis, MO. Since 1999, Dr. Akopyants has continued her research career as faculty in the Department of Molecular Microbiology at Washington University School of Medicine. Welcome Natalia!

Congratulations to Wesley Jackson, MD MPH, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Sue Tolleson-Rinehart, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health, on their election to membership in the Society of Pediatric Research (SPR).

The Society for Pediatric Research encourages and supports pediatric research endeavors by creating a multi-disciplinary network of diverse researchers to improve child health. Collaboration among SPR members creates meaningful progress for the future of children’s health. Active Members are independent researchers conducting hypothesis-driven research in a field related to pediatrics that have been nominated and seconded by SPR members and approved by SPR Council.

Congratulations Sue and Wes!

Isabelle Dagher, MD, third-year Pediatric Resident, was awarded First Place in the Resident Clinical Research group of the Virtual Poster Competition at the North Carolina Medical Society LEAD 2022 Conference.  She won with her poster presentation: “Progression of Upper Airway Manifestations in Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia Throughout Childhood”.  Congratulations Isabelle!

Bryce Duncan joined the joined the Department of Pediatrics as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases on October 17, 2022. Dr. Duncan earned his PhD in at the Joint School for Nanoscience and Nanoengineering at UNC at Greensboro in 2017. Dr. Duncan completed post doctoral training with the Maness Laboratory in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Welcome to Pediatrics Bryce!

Congratulations to Dr. Colin Orr!  Dr.Orr has been selected to receive the 2022-23 James Woods Junior Faculty Award. The selection committee members were very impressed with his proposal to develop a novel peer support intervention to address food insecurity and consequently type 2 diabetes in children in the Hispanic population.