Journeys & Frontiers in Pediatric Research
Building on the highly successful APS and SPR Journey Program, we are pleased to launch the 2023-2024 APS SPR Journeys program. This year the Journeys program will feature eight virtual sessions designed to encourage and support promising early-career investigators in pediatrics by offering inspiring career journey stories, career development mentoring, feedback on research and networking with experienced Cohort Leaders and peers in academic medicine.
Program participants will be organized into eighteen small cohort groups each guided by two leaders, experienced and successful academic pediatric professionals drawn mainly from the membership of APS and SPR. Pediatric department chairs, as well as leaders from FOPO and RAPID will nominate a total of 120 early-career participants, giving special attention to groups underrepresented in medicine. Further program details are below.
APS SPR Journeys Sessions
All Times CT, except for Mini-Gordon Conference
Session 1: Opening Plenary: The Power of Grit, Passion, Resilience, and Perseverance in Researcher Success.
November 10, 10-11am CT
Speaker: Dr. Jennifer Woo Baidal
Participants: Open to All – APS & SPR Members and Journeys Cohorts
Session 1: Cohort Breakout
November 10, 11-11:30am CT
Participants: Cohort Members and Leaders – invitation only
Sessions #2 – 6: Cohort Breakout Sessions (2nd Fri of month) (1-hour time TBD*)
December 8* between 10am-12pm CT
January 12* between 10am-12pm CT
February 9* between 10am-12pm CT
March 8* between 10am-12pm CT
April 12* between 10am-12pm CT
Topic: Science & Career Development
Participants: Cohort Members and Leaders – invitation only
Mini-Gordon Conference
May 3, tentatively 7am-12pm ET at PAS 2024, Toronto, Canada
- 7-7:10am ET: Welcome
- 7:10-8:40am ET: 3 Presentations
- 8:40-8:55am ET: Break
- 8:55-10:50am ET: 3 Workshops
- 10:50-11:00am ET: Break
- 11-11:45am ET: Lunch
Participants: Cohort Members and Leaders – invitation only
Session 7*:Cohort Breakout Session
May 10, 10am-12pmCT
Participants: Cohort Members and Leaders – invitation only
Session 8: Closing Plenary: The Power of Grit, Passion, Resilience, and Perseverance in Researcher Success.
June 14, 10-11am CT
Speaker: TBD
Participants: Open to All – APS & SPR Members and Cohorts
Session 8: Cohort Breakout
June 14, 11-11:30am CT
Participants: Cohort Members and Leaders – invitation only
Journeys Success Stories
2020-2021 Cohorts
- Mariko Bennett received a NIH DP5. “Our lab studies the role that microglia, the brain’s resident macrophages, play in normal development and disease. We are trying to uncover ways we can use microglia targeting therapeutically and our current focus is on overcoming natural microglia viral restriction to enable gene therapies.
The Journeys program allowed community and mentorship throughout the COVID shutdown during a critical period of my training (and new motherhood).”
- Praveen Chandrasekharan received an RO1. “After participating in the Journeys 2020 – 2021 and other supporting programs by NIH-NICHD and a strong lab team, I received an R01 grant in 2021, focusing on chest compressions for bradycardia during newborn resuscitation.
The Journeys program was helpful as an adjunct in interacting with peers and established investigators. Their experiences and inputs while discussing my research were valuable to me.”
- Thao (Tina) Ho received an R21. “The goal of my grant is to investigate characteristics of gut microbiota associated with severe anemia in preterm infants using stool multiomics approach.
The Journeys Program motivated me to stay focused on my research and how to improve on grant writing.”
- Monica Hsiung Wojcik received an R21. “My research focuses on equitable implementation of genomic medicine in the perinatal context, with particular emphasis on clinical effectiveness as well as parent/patient-reported outcomes towards improved health-related quality of life. To this effect, our team received an R21 in 2022 to evaluate an approach to equitable participation in rare disease genomic research. Recognizing the obstacles families face when attempting to access genomic sequencing for precision diagnosis, we have implemented a personalized and supportive approach to enrollment in the Broad Institute Rare Genomes Project.
I participated in the Journeys Program in one of my first years after graduating from a combined fellowship program, and it was extremely beneficial to learn about how my mentors in this program paved their own paths to independence from an early stage, to receive feedback on research and career plans, as well as to broaden my network of colleagues, collaborators, and friends.
- Emma Mohr received an RO1. “My research focuses on vertical transmission and infant developmental outcomes of emerging viral infections during pregnancy using a translational macaque model.
I benefitted from the Journeys program by improving how I communicate with department leaders.”
- Elizabeth Yen received a K23. “My K23-funded research focuses on understanding the sex-specific impact of prenatal opioid exposure on brain reward signaling and neonatal feeding regulation. While opioid-exposed infants are known to encounter growth and feeding issues, the molecular mechanisms underlying these problems are unknown. Using neonatal salivary gene expression, feeding, and growth measurements, our team aims to elucidate the impact of reward and hypothalamic signaling dysregulation of infant feeding behavior and growth trajectory. The role of sex as an important biological variable is also the focus of this multiyear study.
As a participant in the Journeys, I quickly learned that the path to a successful research career was not easy, yet it was possible. Surrounded by brilliant scientists and physicians, I realized the importance of strong mentorship, grit, resilience, team science, and effective communication. My group leaders (Drs. Beth Tarini and Bruce Gelb) were engaging, transparent, encouraging, and insightful. The group members provided stories of wins and losses and lessons learned that truly brought a healthy perspective for the entire cohort. The Journeys provided helpful, tangible advice for my grant application and fostered my long-term career growth.”
2021-2022 Cohorts
- Tell us your success
2022-2023 Cohorts
- Stuart Fraser received his first Child Neurologist Career Development Program K12 award!
- Terry Dean awarded NINDS K08 for Endogenous circadian clocks regulate NG2-glia regenerative potential!
APS SPR Journeys Cohort Leaders
| Kurt Albertine, University of Utah School of Medicine Pankaj Agrawal, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Brett Anderson, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Eric Austin, Vanderbilt University Medical Center Vineet Bhandari, The Children’s Regional Hospital at Cooper/Cooper Medical School of Rowan University David Brousseau, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University and Nemours Children’s Health, Delaware Helen Christou, Harvard Medical School Ann Chahroudi, Emory School of Medicine Stephanie Fritz, Washington University School of Medicine Misty Good, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill CW Gowen, Eastern Virginia Medical School Lori Holtz, Washington University School of Medicine David Hunstad, Washington University School of Medicine James Jarvis, Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences Praveen Kumar, University of Illinois Ashwini Lakshmanan, Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine Henry Lee, University of California, San Diego Steven Miller, University of British Columbia Teresia O’Conner, Baylor College of Medicine Anna Penn, Columbia University Jochen Profit, Stanford University Sally Radovick, University of Arizona Norman Rosenblum, University of Toronto Lisa Satlin, Icahn School of Medicine Emily Tam, University of Toronto Beth Tarini, Children’s National Hospital, George Washington University David Warburton, Keck School of Medicine of USC Ariel Williamson, University of Oregon |
APS SPR Journeys Cohort Participants
| Babajide Abidemi Ojo, Stanford University Pankaj Agrawal, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Joseph Alge, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Ashaunta Anderson, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Madison Anderson, Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine Nicolas Bamat, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Maria Barbian, Emory University & Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Tracy Bedrosian, Nationwide Children’s Hospital/The Ohio State University Soumyaroop Bhattacharya, University of Rochester Noah Bierwirth, University of Texas Health San Antonio Catherine Biggs, UBC & BC Children’s Hospital James Bohnhoff, The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center Viola Caretti, UTHealth Houston Matthew Carwana, UBC & BC Children’s Hospital Jessica Calihan, Boston Children’s Hospital Mia Chandler, Boston Children’s Hospital Marie-Coralie Cornet, UCSF Aditi Dhir, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Paula Dias Maia, University of Colorado Chinenye Dike, UAB Mallory Downie, McGill University Melanie Dubois, Weill Cornell Medicine Thomas J. Duggan, NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine Carol Duh-Leong, NYU Grossman School of Medicine Son Duong, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Melissa Dvorsky, Children’s National Hospital Daniel Ebbs, Yale School of Medicine Kelsey Egan, Boston University School of Medicine/Boston Medical Center Osayame Ekhaguere, Indiana University School of Medicine Rishi Ganesan, Western University, Children’s Hospital LHSC Alexander Glick, NYU Grossman School of Medicine Daniel Goldenberg, Saint Louis University Irina Gorbounova, Brown University/Hasbro Children’s Hospital Daniela Guisado, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Leslie M Harris, Rush University Children’s Hospital Jo-Anna Hudson, Memorial University of Newfoundland Zeyar Htun, NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine Cara Janusz, Wake Forest University School of Medicine LaQuita Jones, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Camilia Kamoun, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Andrew Kern-Goldberger, Cleveland Clinic Marcy Kingsbury, Massachusetts General Hospital Lauren Klein, Vanderbilt University Medical Center Emily Knight, University of Rochester Nana Kwaku Minkah, University of Washington/ Seattle Children’s Hospital Kayla LaRosa, Norton Children’s Medical Group/ University of Louisville Jimin Lee, Weill Cornell Medicine Carmen Monthe-Dreze, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Sonia Morales, University of California, Irvine Alison Nair, University of California San Francisco Christian Nieves Rivera, Louisiana State University Health Science Center Daniel Nolan, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin Marisa Orbea, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Esli Osmanlliu, McGill University William R. Otto, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Samuel Pabon Rivera, The University of Texas Health San Antonio Andrea Pedroza Tobias, Stanford University Angela Peraino, Dept of Pediatrics & Human Development, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine Ryan Perkins, Boston Children’s Hospital Katherine Pickard, Emory University & Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Catherine Poholek, University of Pittsburgh Spencer Poore, UAB Aidan Porter, University of Pittsburgh Jennifer Porter, University of Louisville Weston Powell, University of Washington/Seattle Children’s Hospital Ellen Pudney, Eastern Virginia Medical School/Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters Vidya Puthenpura, Yale School of Medicine Alexander Raskin, Medical College of Wisconsin Sara Sabbagh, Medical College of Wisconsin Ahmad Salah Sami, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Monica Serrano Gonzalez, Brown University/Hasbro Children’s Hospital Allison Shapiro, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Katharine Simon, University of California, Irvine Kanya Singhapakdi, Louisiana State University Health Science Center Fotios Spyropoulos, Brigham and Women’s Hospital Michelle Stransky, Boston Medical Center Brittany Tayler, Dept of Pediatrics & Human Development, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine Kalie L. Tommerdahl, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus/Children’s Hospital Colorado Keri Toner, Children’s National Laura Vella, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Alaina Vidmar, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Umesh D. Wankhade, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Lece Webb, University of Alabama at Birmingham Miheret Yitayew, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine- Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU Leal Yonker, Massachusetts General Hospital Diana Zepeda-Orozco, Nationwide Children’s Hospital/The Ohio State University |
Thanks to our 2023 – 2024 Journeys Book Sponsors for providing complimentary copies of the book GRIT: The Power of Passion and Perseverance to all Journey participants!
