Two New Presidents, 2,000th Fetal Surgery Birth, Biomedical Sciences Pew Scholar, Research Experiences for Undergraduates

 

By Nancy McCann

Longer days, fireflies, and exciting research news from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia are all highlights of the official start of summer. This week's roundup brings you announcements of who among us has been elected president of their professional societies and the 2,000th fetal surgery birth. Learn the identity of our newly minted Pew Scholar, and meet the Injury Science Research Experiences for Undergraduates Class of 2021.

Milestone Reached: CHOP Celebrates Birth of 2,000th Fetal Surgery Patient

N. Scott Adzick, MD

For more than a quarter century CHOP's Richard D. Wood Jr. Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment has been a leader in fetal surgery, which uses highly complex surgical interventions to repair birth defects in the womb. This month marks a record-breaking milestone for the Center: the birth of CHOP's 2,000th fetal surgery patient.

"Forty years ago, fetal surgery was considered experimental, but now it has become the standard of care, offering a better quality of life to many children and families," said fetal surgery pioneer and CHOP Surgeon-in-Chief N. Scott Adzick, MD, founder and director of the Wood Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment. "A quarter of fetal surgeries ever performed have been done at CHOP, and we continue to refine our techniques so that we can improve even more patients' lives."

Established in 1995, the Wood Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment is the largest and most comprehensive fetal program in the world, having cared for more than 27,000 expectant parents from all 50 states and more than 70 countries. Dr. Adzick and other Center leaders were among the founders of modern fetal medicine and worked alongside other leading surgeons and researchers in experimental laboratories to develop the techniques that are used clinically today.

To learn more, see this CHOP press release.

And the Newly Elected Presidents are...

Tami Benton, MD

Please join us as we congratulate two of CHOP's renowned researchers recently elected president of their respective professional societies: Tami Benton, MD, psychiatrist-in-chief, as president of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP); and Beverly Coleman, MD, FACR, as leader of the American College of Radiology (ACR).

Dr. Tami Benton, who is also clinical director and chair of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, has dedicated her career to helping children in their mental health struggles, especially those in underserved communities. Her research focuses primarily on pediatric mood and anxiety disorders, sickle cell disease and psychiatric conditions, HIV and psychiatric conditions, neuroimmunology and mood disorders, health services research, eating disorders, and ethnically diverse children. Dr. Benton takes on this new leadership role in October.

"I am honored to be recognized by my peers and elected president of the AACAP," Dr. Benton said. "I look forward to working with my colleagues across the country as we strive to address the growing mental health issues our children are facing and provide more access and better resources for families in need."

Dr. Beverly Coleman is an internationally renowned radiologist and ultrasound expert, specializing in prenatal imaging. She is director of CHOP's Division of Fetal Imaging in the Department of Radiology and director of Fetal Imaging in the Richard D. Wood Jr. Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment, as well as professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.

Dr. Coleman has been actively involved with the ACR for more than 25 years, serving in a variety of roles including member of the Board of Chancellors, chair of the ACR Ultrasound Commission, and ACR liaison to the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine Board of Governors. Dr. Coleman is the first African American to be elected president in the almost 100-year history of the ACR.

"There is no greater accomplishment in my very lengthy academic radiology career than the ascension to the position of president of the American College of Radiology," Dr. Coleman said. "I am proud to take this historic step and I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues at ACR to make radiologic care better for those we serve."

For more information on Dr. Benton see this CHOP press release. For more information on Dr. Coleman, go to CHOP News.

Colin Conine, PhD, Named 2021 Pew Scholar in Biomedical Sciences

Colin Conine, PhD

Congratulations go out to Colin Conine, PhD, assistant professor of Pediatrics and Genetics, who was named by the Pew Charitable Trusts as a 2021 Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences. One of 22 early-career researchers of "outstanding promise in science relevant to the advancement of human health," Dr. Conine was selected from among 198 nominations submitted by leading U.S. academic institutions and researchers. He will receive four years of funding to invest in exploratory research, enabling him to continue his investigation into the diversity and roles of small RNAs in sperm.

"For years, researchers assumed the role of the sperm was fertilizing the egg, and that was pretty much it," Dr. Conine said. "However, in the last 10 to 15 years, we've learned that the paternal environment - like what they eat and their exposure to stress - impacts offspring traits like metabolism and behaviors, and that influence is due to changes in small RNAs carried by the sperm.

Learn more in this CHOP press release.

Welcome, Injury Science Research Experiences for Undergraduates Class of 2021

Research Experiences for Undergraduates ( REU) Class of 2021

CHOP's Center for Injury Research and Prevention (CIRP) - a leading multidisciplinary center engaged in collaborative research implementing real-world applications - is happy to announce the 12 members of the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) 2021 class.

The 10-week REU program, a summer pediatric research internship opportunity for diverse groups of undergraduate students, is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. REU provides underrepresented students with mentorship and hands-on research experience in the fields of behavioral science, education, engineering, population science, and statistics, as well as educational programming and networking opportunities.

Read this story in Research In Action, to learn more about the REU Class of 2021.

ICYMI

Catch up on our headlines from our June 11 In the News:

• Susan L. Furth Appointed as Chief Scientific Officer
• PolicyLab Releases First Annual Impact Report
• Cell Phone Use While Driving Linked to Other Risky Driving Behaviors
• CHOP Researchers Use 'Big Data' to Assess Seizure Burden and Improve Outcomes in Epilepsy
• Researchers Discover How HIV Affects White Matter in the Brain

Keep up with our news, stories, and updates in real time by following us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram. Or subscribe to our newsletter, Research Insider, to get an email sent every other Friday by signing up here.