Pediatrics Research Roundup, Measles and the Recommended Immunization Schedule

Episode 238

In this episode Lewis First, MD, MS, FAAP, editor-in-chief of Pediatrics, is back for “First Up.” He offers an overview of the March issue of the journal. David Hill, MD, FAAP, and Joanna Parga-Belinkie, MD, FAAP, also speak to Doctor Sean O’Leary, MD, MPH, FAAP, chair of the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases, about the emerging measles crisis in the U.S. and the 2025 vaccine schedule.

Guest, Lewis First, MD, MS, FAAP

Lewis First, MD, MS, FAAP, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Vermont (UVM) Larner College of Medicine, Chief of Pediatrics at the UVM Children’s Hospital, and editor-in-chief of the AAP’s peer-reviewed journal Pediatrics. Dr. First also educates the public weekly as a broadcaster and columnist with his “First with Kids” segments that appear on radio, television, and in local newspapers.

Guest, Sean O’Leary, MD, MPH, FAAP

Sean O’Leary, MD, MPH, FAAP, is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital Colorado, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist, an investigator at ACCORDS (Adult and Child Center for Outcome Research and Delivery Science), and the Director of the Colorado Children’s Outcomes Network (COCONet), Colorado’s pediatric practice-based research network. Dr. O’Leary is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Council on School Health and serves as the Chair of the Committee on Infectious Diseases (the Red Book Committee) for the AAP. He also serves as the liaison to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society and currently represents the AAP on ACIP’s COVID-19 Vaccine Work Group and Maternal/Pediatric RSV Work Group.

Bonus Episode with AAP Board Member Dr. Michelle Fiscus

Episode 73

In this episode AAP Board Member Michelle “Shelley” Fiscus, MD, FAAP, talks about being fired from her position as medical director of the Tennessee Vaccine-Preventable Diseases and Immunization Program. She tells hosts David Hill, MD, FAAP, and Joanna Parga-Belinkie, MD, FAAP, how a memo citing a Tennessee Supreme Court ruling led to her dismissal.

Guest, Michelle Fiscus, MD, FAAP

Dr. Michelle Fiscus is a board-certified pediatrician who practiced general pediatrics in Franklin, TN for 17 years. She is most recently the immediate past medical director of the Tennessee Vaccine-Preventable Diseases and Immunization Program.

Dr. Fiscus is an associate clinical professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. She is a past president of the Tennessee Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (TNAAP) and now serves on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Pediatrics as District IV Chair.

Low-carb Diet Risks, Parenting and Nutrition in Siblings

Episode 176

In this episode Tamara Hannon, MD, FAAP, explains the risks of low-carbohydrate diets for children and adolescents with or at risk of developing diabetes. Hosts David Hill, MD, FAAP, and Joanna Parga-Belinkie, MD, FAAP, also speak with Joshua Jeong, ScD, about his research on parenting and nutrition in low-resource communities.

Guest, Tamara Hannon, MD, FAAP

Dr. Hannon is a pediatric endocrinologist with training and expertise in nutrition science and diabetes research and clinical care. She is a Professor of Pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine and Director of the Pediatric Diabetes Program and the Youth Diabetes Prevention Clinic at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health.

Guest, Joshua Jeong, ScD

Joshua Jeong is a developmental scientist and a Rollins assistant professor in global health at Emory University. His work examines how parent-child relationships and the psychosocial wellbeing of families more broadly contribute to early child development in low-resource settings. Specifically, he studies how fathers influence young children’s development through male caregivers’ roles as parents and partners.

Disaster Preparedness, Stages of Engagement in ADHD Treatment

Episode 80

In this episode Scott Needle, MD, FAAP, who co-wrote the AAP policy statement, “Ensuring the Health of Children in Disasters,” explains the importance of planning for the unexpected. Hosts David Hill, MD, FAAP, and Joanna Parga-Belinkie, MD, FAAP, also talk to Andrea Spencer, MD, author of a new Pediatrics article, “Six Stages of Engagement in ADHD Treatment Described by Diverse, Urban Parents.”

Guest, Scott Needle, MD, FAAP

Dr. Scott Needle is a practicing community pediatrician and Chief Medical Officer with Elica Health Centers in Sacramento, Ca. Before moving to California in 2018, he was Medical Director for Quality and Safety at a federally qualified health center in Naples, Fla. He was a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Disaster Preparedness Advisory Council from its inception in 2007 until 2019 and currently is on the Executive Committee of the Council on Children and Disasters. Dr. Needle also served as Chair of the HHS National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters from 2017 to 2018. He was one of the lead authors on the 2015 AAP Policy Statement, “Ensuring the Health of Children in Disasters.”

Guest, Andrea Spencer, MD

Dr. Andrea Spencer is a child psychiatrist at Boston Medical Center and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine. Dr. Spencer’s clinical research program, REACH for ADHD (Revolutionizing Equal Access to Care and Health for ADHD), focuses on developing and testing innovative methods to improve and reduce disparities in ADHD treatment. Her research is currently funded by the NIMH, Charles H. Hood Foundation, and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Dr. Spencer is Board Certified in both Adult Psychiatry and in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Pathways to Pediatrics: Dr. Aura Obando

Episode 51

In this episode of the special series, “Pathways to Pediatrics,” hosts David Hill, MD, FAAP, and Joanna Parga-Belinkie, MD, FAAP, interview Aura Obando, MD, FAAP, Family Team Medical Director for Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program. Dr. Obando explains how a passion for global health in under-resourced areas led her to her own backyard.

Guest, Aura M. Obando, MD, FAAP

Aura M. Obando, MD, FAAP, was born in Bogotá, Colombia. She received her MD from the University of Pennsylvania and completed a combined residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Obando is also board certified in Addiction Medicine and is an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School. As the Family Team Medical Director for Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, Dr. Obando provides shelter-based medical care to families and unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness in the Boston area, as well as low-barrier addiction treatment and harm reduction services with a mobile outreach team. Dr. Obando’s primary clinical interests lie in immigration, women’s health, childhood poverty, youth homelessness and addiction.

The Pitt and Medical Portrayals in TV and Film, Standardizing the Diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy

Episode 247

In this episode Sylvia Owusu-Ansah, MD, FAAP, discusses her experience as a medical consultant on the hit television series The Pitt. Hosts David Hill, MD, FAAP, and Joanna Parga-Belinkie, MD, FAAP, also talk to Bhooma Aravamuthan, MD, DPhil, about standardizing the diagnosis of cerebral palsy.

Guest, Sylvia Owusu-Ansah, MD, FAAP

Dr. Owusu-Ansah is an associate professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She is a board-certified pediatrician with a specialization in pediatric emergency medicine and serves as an EMS physician. Currently, she holds the positions of EMS Medical Director and Associate Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. As a dedicated advocate, educator, and researcher, Dr. Owusu-Ansah actively promotes the principles of pediatric emergency medicine and emergency medical services within both academic settings and the wider community. Her significant contributions have earned her multiple awards and recognitions, and her work has been featured in esteemed media outlets, including The New York Times, Huffington Post, and US News and World Report.

Throughout her career, Dr. Owusu-Ansah has trained over 2,000 individuals in CPR, including prominent figures such as Ed Gainey, Pittsburgh’s first Black mayor, as well as members of the University of Pittsburgh’s Division I athletic teams. Notably, she played a crucial role in an event where a soccer goalkeeper utilized CPR skills learned under her guidance to save her father’s life, an effort documented in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Additionally, Dr. Owusu-Ansah co-leads a program aimed at underserved middle school students, providing them with healthcare and lifesaving skills while mentoring medical students of color. As the CEO and co-founder of Akoma United, she is committed to empowering underserved communities with vital skills, including initiatives targeted at Ghana. Furthermore, she is in the process of developing a book and co-owns the short film “In Good Hands,” which has progressed to the semi-finals at the 2025 New York Independent Film Festival. Dr. Owusu-Ansah also served as an advisor for the inaugural season of the medical drama series “The Pitt,” available for streaming on MAX.

Guest, Bhooma Aravamuthan, MD, DPhil

Dr. Aravamuthan is an assistant professor of neurology and Director of the Cerebral Palsy and Mobility Center at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. As a systems neuroscientist and pediatric movement disorders specialist, she conducts translational research on dystonia pathophysiology in cerebral palsy. Her research is funded through multiple sources including NINDS, CDC, and ABPN and her awards include the American Academy of Neurology Jon Stolk Award and Child Neurology Society Phillip R. Dodge Award. She is married to an adult epileptologist and a mom to 7-year-old twin boys and a 5-year-old girl.

Health Disparities in Tobacco Use, Teaching Toddlers Healthy Eating

Episode 41

In this podcast episode Susan Walley, MD, FAAP, chair of the AAP Section on Tobacco Control, speaks to the new clinical report on health disparities in tobacco use and exposure. Hosts Dr. David Hill and Dr. Joanna Parga-Belinkie also chat with Robert Nix, PhD, about his research on toddler eating and self-regulation, published in the peer-reviewed journal Pediatrics.

Guest, Susan Walley, MD, FAAP

Dr. Susan Walley is a Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Hospital Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and a pediatric hospitalist at Children’s of Alabama. She serves as the Chair of the AAP Section on Tobacco Control and is co-author of the AAP Policy Statement E-cigarettes and Similar Devices. Her research interests include developing effective health care and school-based interventions to decrease youth tobacco use and using QI methodology to improve care for common inpatient diagnoses. She is a Certified Tobacco Treatment Specialist and the Medical Director of the UAB Tobacco Consult Service. She also serves as the Principal Investigator of the Birmingham Youth Tobacco Prevention Program with the Alabama Department of Public Health.

Guest, Robert Nix, PhD

Robert Nix, PhD, is an Audrey Rothermel-Bascom professor in the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is also an integrated specialist within the Division of Extension. His research focuses on the development, implementation, and evaluation of community-based preventive interventions to promote the well-being of children living in poverty. He is especially interested in understanding the ways that interventions have the effects they do, so that we can make those interventions more and more effective over time.

COVID Q&A with Dr. Michael Bell; and Dr. Kyran Quinlan Advocates for Safer Microwaves

Episode 42

In this episode Michael Bell, MD, deputy director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, joins the podcast to answer listener questions about COVID-19. He tells hosts Dr. David Hill and Dr. Joanna Parga-Belinkie about Project Firstline, the national collaborative led by the CDC to provide infection control training and education to health care workers. The hosts also welcome Dr. Kyran Quinlan about his article on the dangers of microwave oven doors to children.

Guest, Michael Bell, MD

Dr. Bell is the deputy director of CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion and the lead physician for Project Firstline. Dr. Bell’s career has focused on investigating and preventing transmission of healthcare-associated illnesses for hospital staff and patients. He has been instrumental in advancing evidence-based programs for prevention of antibiotic resistance and improvements in safe medical practices.

Guest, Kyran Quinlan, MD

Dr. Kyran Quinlan is an academic general pediatrician and past Chair of the Executive Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Injury Violence and Poison Prevention. He is Professor of Pediatrics at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Dr. Quinlan has published numerous studies on child safety in the peer-reviewed periodicals.

Meet New AAP President Dr. Lee Savio Beers, Children’s Rise in Non-fatal Drug Overdoses

Episode 40

The AAP has a new President, Dr. Lee Savio Beers. Dr. Joanna Parga-Belinkie and Dr. David Hill get up close with the new President of the American Academy of Pediatrics on this episode. Douglas Roehler, PhD, also joins the show’s hosts to talk about his research on non-fatal drug overdoses. And, Mekala Neelakantan, a student at the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine shares her perspective as a current medical student.

Guest, Lee Ann Savio Beers, MD, FAAP

Dr. Lee Ann Savio Beers is the president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Professor of Pediatrics and the Medical Director for Community Health and Advocacy at Children’s National Hospital. She is the Founding Director of the D.C. Mental Health Access in Pediatrics program and Co-Director of the Early Childhood Innovation Network. She also oversees the Child Health Advocacy Institute’s Community Mental Health CORE, a public-private coalition that serves as a catalyst to elevate the standard of mental health care for every young person in Washington, D.C. She received the Academic Pediatric Association 2019 Public Policy and Advocacy Award.

Guest, Douglas Roehler, PhD

Douglas Roehler, PhD, MPH, serves as an epidemiologist for the Cannabis Strategy Unit in the Division of Overdose Prevention at CDC. His work at CDC has focused on coordinating and implementing CDC’s cannabis strategic plan, expanding cannabis surveillance and research, and building surveillance and prevention capacity for drug-related overdoses. He earned his doctorate from the University of Michigan School of Public Health and completed his postdoctoral training at Rush University Medical Center in the Department of Pediatrics.

Guest, Mekala Neelakantan

Mekala Neelakantan is a fourth-year medical student at the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine. She is passionate about pediatrics, mentorship, and medical education and hopes to become a neonatologist one day. Mekala has always been a fan of the arts (that’s what her name means!); music and writing have played a significant role in her life, and she strives to incorporate these interests into medicine whenever she can.