That's Pediatrics

Dr. Daniel Weiner is the Medical Director at the Pulmonary Function Laboratory, Co-Director at The Antonio J. and Janet Palumbo Cystic Fibrosis Center and Professor of Pediatrics at The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Andrew Feranchak is the Chief of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Learn about their research on Cystic Fibrosis

Dr. Paul Szabolcs has been Chief of the Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapies division at the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh since 2011. Dr. Szabolcs has dedicated his career to developing effective “reduced-intensity” chemotherapy regimens for patients in need of a blood or bone marrow transplant, especially children with rare immune-system defects and degenerative brain diseases.

Dr. McElroy's research interests include studying the interactions that occur between the host immune system and emerging viral pathogens. To do this, animal model systems, clinical specimens from cases of human disease, and in vitro models are used. Previous work has focused on the Hantaviruses, Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, and Ebola virus. Current studies are utilizing the mouse model to elucidate the role of T cells in immunity to RVFV.

Sylvia Owusu-Ansah MD, MPH, FAAP is a board-certified pediatrician, pediatric emergency medicine, and emergency medical services (EMS)  physician who is currently an attending at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and Director of Pre-hospital and EMS.

Dr. Nischal joined UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh as chief of Pediatric Ophthalmology, Strabismus, and Adult Motility in 2011. He directs pediatrics at the UPMC Eye Center and is a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Nischal has pioneered the use of new surgical techniques in children with corneal disorders. He is one of the world’s foremost pediatric eye specialists and an author of more than 100 published research articles.

The Latest in Lyme Disease with Andrew Nowalk, MD, PhD

Dean Yimlamai, MD, PhD, is a physician-scientist at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. He specializes in gastroenterology with an interest in liver diseases and liver tumors. His research group uses mouse models to understand the fundamental mechanisms of liver growth during development, its restoration from injury and changes that lead to cancer. His group specializes in the Hippo Signaling Pathway, a relatively recently recognized signaling pathway that controls organ growth and regeneration.

John Alcorn, PhD is a scientist at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and an associate professor in the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The Alcorn lab is focused on T cell immunity, host defense, epithelial cell biology, and lung physiology. A primary lab focus is on Influenza infection and the host defense mechanisms of T helper 17 cells. His lab has recently shown that the TH17 effector cytokines IL-17 and IL-22 are required for host defense against a variety of extracellular pathogens. 

Researching Early Immune Development with Liza Konnikova, MD

Carlton Bates, MD, chief of the Division of Pediatric Nephrology, has been caring for children with pediatric kidney disease for many years, but he often finds another organ on his mind: the bladder and the role it plays in the health of a kidney. Dr. Bates discusses his well-recognized research program in Pittsburgh focused on the genetic regulation of kidney and bladder development.

Lots of people have a personal connection to their work and Kishore Vellody, MD, medical director of the Down Syndrome Center, credits his motivation to his older brother, who has Down syndrome. Dr. Vellody discusses his career, the thriving Down syndrome community in Pittsburgh, and starting his own podcast, the Down Syndrome Center of Western Pennsylvania podcast. The National Down Syndrome Convention will be held in Pittsburgh at the end of June.

In this special episode, learn all about measles, the most infectious human virus on the planet, and the recent outbreak in the U.S. Our two guests are Paul Duprex, PhD, director of Center for Vaccine Research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and John Williams, MD, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UPMC Children’s and fellow podcast host.

Can you name a disease where inflammation is not one of the major drivers? Scott Canna, MD, rheumatologist at UPMC Children’s Hospital and a Mellon Scholar with the Richard King Mellon Foundation Institute for Pediatric Research, asks our hosts this question and talks about modulating our immune system in both rare and common diseases. Dr. Canna has been actively researching ways to better understand and treat inflammatory disorders for over a decade.

Kathryn “Cassie” Torok, MD, director of the Pediatric Scleroderma Clinic at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, is one of the few doctors in the nation that is considered an expert on pediatric scleroderma and patients will travel from other cities to meet with her. Learn about this uncommon condition and the clinical work and research coming from the Pediatric Scleroderma Clinic.

The cells in our body work together as a system to help us function and Amanda Poholek, assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Department of Immunology, is interested in what happens when these cell interactions “go wrong” and result in diseases. Dr. Poholek discusses transcription factors, the proteins that help direct our genetic information, and the breakthrough technology of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS or NextGen), which provides rapid and accurate genome analysis.