Southern Society for Pediatric Research (SSPR) Annual Meeting 2025

On Behalf of Faizah Bhatti, MD MS, Director of Communications, SSPR

HOUSTON, April 8, 2025 – The Southern Society for Pediatric Research (SSPR) held their annual meeting from February 13-15, 2025, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The hallmark of SSPR has been showcasing research and academic presentations, trainee and junior faculty mentorship, and networking since the first meeting held in October 1960. SSPR members represent some of the most dedicated academic pediatricians in the Southern Region, but membership is not exclusive to the south and we welcome members from all over North America.

The SSPR annual meeting is held in conjunction with other Participating Sister Societies, including the Academic Pediatric Association, Louisiana Clinical and Translational Research Center, Mississippi Center for Clinical and Translation Research, and the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation.

This year’s meeting was a resounding success with a record-breaking 448 pediatric abstracts submitted! Beyond academic and research presentations, we recognize attendees with numerous awards, organize academic and training workshops and facilitate networking within our membership.

  • Four individuals standing indoors in front of a set of double doors, each wearing business attire and conference name badges. Two of them are holding black award folders, suggesting a recognition or award ceremony setting. A microphone is visible on the left side of the image.
  • A conference room filled with attendees seated in rows facing a stage. On the stage, a speaker stands at a podium with three panelists seated beside a table covered in a gold cloth. Two large chandeliers hang from the ceiling, and a projection screen displays content in the background. The setting is formal, with participants dressed in business attire.
  • Person standing at a microphone in a conference room, appearing to ask a question during a Q&A session. The background shows a projection screen with blurred text and other attendees seated in rows of chairs.
  • Five individuals standing indoors in front of a set of glass-paneled double doors, dressed in business attire and wearing conference name badges. Two people are holding black award folders, and one person is holding multiple documents, suggesting an award or recognition event.
  • Two individuals standing indoors during an award presentation. One person is holding a wooden plaque with a gold emblem and engraved text that reads: “Presented to Amy Hair, M.D. In appreciation for your service as President of the Southern Society for Pediatric Research 2024–2025.” Both are wearing business attire and conference name badges, and a microphone is visible in the foreground.
  • Two individuals standing indoors during an award presentation. One person is holding a wooden plaque with a gold emblem and engraved text that reads: “Presented to Amy Hair, M.D. In appreciation for your service as President of the Southern Society for Pediatric Research 2024–2025.” Both are wearing business attire and conference name badges, and a microphone is visible in the foreground.
  • Two individuals standing indoors, one holding a wooden plaque that reads “Southern Society for Pediatric Research – Abbott Nutrition Pediatric Educator Award” with the recipient’s name engraved. The plaque features a circular emblem with laurel design. Both are wearing business attire and conference name badges, and a microphone is visible in the foreground.
  • Two individuals standing indoors, one holding a wooden plaque that reads “Southern Society for Pediatric Research – Abbott Nutrition Pediatric Educator Award” with the recipient’s name engraved. The plaque features a circular emblem with laurel design. Both are wearing business attire and conference name badges, and a microphone is visible in the foreground.

    • SSPR AWARDS:

    1. Faculty Awards
      • Faculty SSPR Founders’ Award: This prestigious legacy award is presented to a member of the SSPR who has made significant contributions to both the health care of children and the activities of the SSPR.
        2025 Recipient: Patty Denning MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics in Neonatology, Emory University, Atlanta
      • Faculty SSPR Educator Award: Awarded to an SSPR member who is recognized as an outstanding educator in pediatric medicine.
        2025 Recipient: Annalise Sorrentino MD, Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham
    2. 2025 SSPR Young Faculty Travel Awards: Honors and supports travel of outstanding junior faculty. These awards are for work intimately related to pediatric research- 7 total awarded
    3. SSPR Young Investigator Awards: The Young Investigator Awards represent the best abstracts submitted for our annual meeting. They have received the highest scores by our reviewers. Three finalists are selected from both the basic and clinical science categories who are then asked to submit a manuscript of their work prior to the meeting, which is also scored by the judges. Finally, all finalists deliver oral presentations during the Plenary Session of the SSPR annual meeting. One winner is selected from each group and awarded a plaque as well as a monetary prize to help offset cost of travel.
      • 2025 SSPR Young Investigator Award -Clinical Science: Ahmad Salah Sami, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
      • SSPR Young Investigator Award -Clinical Science: Katherine Chetta, Medical University of South Carolina, Darby Children’s Research Institute
    4. SSPR David Oelberg Honorary Trainee Travel Award: Dr. David Oelberg, SSPR Officer-Emeritus, is an outstanding member of the SSPR who served in a variety of roles during his many years of service and leadership. His legacy and contributions to the mission of the SSPR are memorialized by this award. A total of 3 awards were granted:
      • Frank Abene, UTHealth, Houston TX
      • Amee Amin, Texas Children’s Hospital/ Baylor College of Medicine , Houston TX
      • Natalie Lanners, McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston TX
    5. 2025 SSPR Trainee Travel Awards: These awards are for work intimately related to pediatric research and meant to facilitate and encourage young trainees’ attendance to the meeting.- 23 total awarded

    WORKSHOPS, TRAINEE SESSIONS AND INVITED STATE OF THE ART TALKS

    1. Manuscript Preparation & Peer-Reviewed Publication Workshop-
      Denise Goodman, MD, Associate Editor, The Journal of Pediatrics,
      Professor of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
    2. The Successful Academician-From Patient Care to Research & Back – It’s All About Strategy Workshop-
      Leslie Gewin, MD, Washington University in St. Louis
      Don Rockey, MD, Medical University of South Carolina
      Jesse Roman, MD, Thomas Jefferson University
    3. Obtaining the Fellowship You Desire: Navigating the Specialty Match Workshop-
      S. Calvin Thigpen, University of Mississippi Medical Center
    4. Invited State-Of-The-Art Speakers:
      • Karl T. Weber Distinguished Lecture in Cardiovascular Medicine
        Bioenergetic Efficiency in Healthy Aging and Sarcopenic Obesity
        Christopher Axelrod, Pennington Biomedical Research Center
      • Cardiovascular Club
        Steadfast or Amended Therapy in Protracted Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction
        Thierry Le Jemtel, Tulane University School of Medicine
        Genetic Ablation of Npr1 Provokes Hypertension and Cardiac Dysfunction in Sex-Specific
        Manner
        Kailash Pandey, Tulane University School of Medicine
      • Cardiovascular & Pulmonary/Critical Care – Pediatric
        Simulation in Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care
        Jennifer Kramer, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
      • Pulmonary/Critical Care
        Therapeutic advances for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
        Chao He, Baylor College of Medicine
      • Renal, Electrolyte and Hypertension
        Platelets and their inhibitors modulate inflammation in patients with chronic kidney disease
        Nishank Jain, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
      • Endocrinology & Metabolism
        Type 2 Diabetes Prevention, Management, and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Young Adults
        Yilin Yoshida, Tulane University School of Medicine
      • Neurology and Neurobiology
        Intermittent Hypoxemia in Preterm Infants: Insights into Brain Injury and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes
        Elie Abu Jawdeh, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
      • Renal, Electrolyte and Hypertension II
        Implementation of risk-classification systems in acute kidney injury
        Javier Neyra, University of Alabama Birmingham
    5. SSPR Hot Chili Topics- “Collaboration is the Key to Improving Survival for People with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia”, presented by David McCauley MD, University of California San Diego.
    6. SSPR PERINATAL SECTION- Pediatric Nutrition Interest Group Panel Discussion Luncheon
      Panel Discussants:
      • Erynn M. Bergner, MD, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
      • Amy B. Hair, MD, Baylor College of Medicine
      • Ariel Salas, MD, MSPH, University of Alabama at Birmingham

    PEDIATRIC ACADEMIC SESSIONS

    1. Joint Plenary Poster Session (Joint Sister Societies) Poster Session
    2. SSPR Plenary Session with Basic and Clinical Young Investigator Award competition (oral presentations by finalists) and SSPR Business Meeting
      • SSPR President Elect 2025: Ariel Salas, MD, MSPH,
      • SSPR Councilors: Quyen Pham MD, Julie Mirpuri, MD, Tara Randis MD
    3. Neonatal Case Report Symposium
    4. Pediatric Clinical Case Symposium
    5. Pediatric Oral Sessions (some combined with adult):
      • Adolescent Medicine/Pediatrics
      • Cardiovascular & Pulmonary/Critical Care – Pediatric
      • Gastroenterology and Nutrition – Pediatric & Neonatal
      • Health Care Research, Quality Improvement & Patient Safety
      • Infectious Diseases/HIV/AIDS – Pediatric
      • Medical Education/Medical Ethics/Advocacy
      • Neonatal Clinical Case Symposium
      • Neurology/Neurobiology
      • Pediatric Clinical Case Symposium
      • Perinatal Medicine
      • Population Health & Precision Medicine
    6. Joint Plenary Session (Joint Sister Societies) Expert Session Saturday- Updates in Immunology: Across the Lifespan from Newborn
      • Pediatric Immunology: Important Pearls for The Early Years- Lisa Forbes Satter MD, Texas Children’s Hospital, Baylor College Of Medicine
      • Osteoimmunology: Bench to Bedside- Mary Beth Humphrey MD, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine

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    About the Society for Pediatric Research

    The Society for Pediatric Research (SPR) encourages and supports pediatric research endeavors by creating a multidisciplinary network of diverse researchers to improve child health. Collaboration among SPR members creates meaningful progress for the future of children’s health. For more information, please visit www.societyforpediatricresearch.org, and follow us on Facebook and X.

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