Dr. Sharp joined the Department of Pediatrics as faculty on July 31, 2023. Dr. Sharp completed his medical degree at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1989. He was a Pediatric Intern at the Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio from 1989 to 1990 and a Pediatric Resident and then Chief Resident at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center at the Pennsylvania State University from 1990 to 1993. He completed subspecialty training in Pediatric Pulmonology at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, WI in 1996. Dr. Sharp has held faculty positions at the Medical College of Virginia, the State University of New York at Buffalo, Duke University, and most recently at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Welcome Jack!

Dr. Colin Orr, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, received a K23 Career Development Award from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), a part of the United States National Institutes of Health. Dr. Orr’s funded project is titled “Understanding and Addressing Food Insecurity and Obesity Among Infant-Parent Dyads.”

Investigators in Pediatric Pulmonology at UNC Children’s are playing key roles in the study and treatment of Cystic Fibrosis (CF). According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the current life expectancy for CF patients born between 2017 and 2021 is 53 years — a substantial change from just 10 years ago when the life expectancy was 38. These incredible improvements in the lives of children and adults with CF have been possible through years of laboratory and translational research at UNC and medical centers around the world. At UNC Children’s, clinical trials that test potential drugs and therapies in people with CF are a fundamental part of CF research and care.

Dr. Melissa Bauserman, Associate Professor of Pediatrics in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, and her team recently received notice of renewal for the funding in support of the University of North Carolina-Kinshasa School of Public Health Research Partnership in the Democratic Republic of Congo; a Model for Improving Women’s and Children’s Health Through Research. The total award is for over $3 million: approximately $500,000 per year for 7 years. This is a renewal of UNC as a research site for the NICHD Global Network for Women’s and Children’s Health Research project. For this ongoing research, UNC is in partnership with the Kinshasa School of Public Health.

Dr. Desmond Runyon, Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics in the division of General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, has been listed in the Research.com 2023 Ranking of Best Scientists in Social Sciences and Humanities.  Dr. Runyon was ranked 444 in the US across all social scientists and humanities!  What a great statement about his long and distinguished career in child maltreatment, and the enduring impact of his work. Congratulations Des!

Tom Belhorn, MD, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases, has been selected by UNC School of Medicine students to be the Fall Convocation and Award Ceremony Lecturer for the 2023 Fall Convocation and Awards Ceremony. Dr. Belhorn will provide a presentation at the ceremony planned for August 16th at 12:30 pm at MBRB building.

Michael Kappelman, MD, MPH, Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Gastroenterology, has received a CDC Cooperative Agreement Awards (U01) award entitled “Improving Outcomes and Reducing Disparities for Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease through Epidemiology, Enhanced Disease Management, Dissemination, and Education”. This will be a 5-year, $3.75 million award starting September 30, 2023. UNC is the Prime recipient. It is a multiple PI award with Dr. Kappenman as Lead PI along with adult GI colleagues Dr. Sid Singh at UCSD and Dr. Meena Bewtra at UPenn.

Indriati Hood Pishchany, MD, PhD joined the Pediatric Division of Infectious Diseases on July 31, 2023. Dr. Hood Pishchany received her BS from Houghton College in Houghton, NY in 2006. She completed her PhD in Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology in 2012 and medical degree in 2014, both from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. She was a Pediatric Resident at Boston Children’s Hospital and Medical Center between 2014 and 2016. She completed her subspeciality training in Infectious Diseases at Boston Children’s in 2020. She will have a significant research focus to pursue basic and translational projects in addition to her clinical work. Welcome Indriati!!
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Dr. Christine Tangredi, a child neurologist in Wilmington, is using her own personal experience with a neurological disorder to help children and families in the community. She specializes in working with children with neurologic disorders including epilepsy at the Novant Health Nunnelee Pediatric Multispeciality Care Clinic at Autumn Hall.

Jesse Hart, MD joined the Division of General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine on July 17, 2023. Dr. Hart completed her pediatric residency at UNC and has provided pediatric primary care at WakeMed, where she was also an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Pediatrics. Dr. Hart has been very involved in student and resident medical education, including serving as the Co-Director of the Community Based Longitudinal Curriculum for the Raleigh campus. Dr. Hart will provide primary care, alongside Dr. Rao, at UNC Panther Creek, and will spend one day a week in our UNC Children’s Primary Care Clinic at Carolina Pointe II, supervising our pediatric residents. Welcome back Jesse!