That's Pediatrics: Understanding Acute Flaccid Myelitis and Enterovirus D68 with Infectious Disease Physician Megan Freeman, MD, PhD.

Megan Culler Freeman, MD, PhD, pediatric infectious disease physician at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and assistant professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, discusses her recent studies on acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) and enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), performed at The Freeman Laboratory, which she heads.

Matthew Ford, MS, CCC-SLP, clinical coordinator, Cleft-Craniofacial Center, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the journey of new parents learning their child will have a cleft or birth anomaly. He describes the breadth of treatment options available for kids with craniofacial differences who remain patients of the center until adulthood.

Dr. Hoda Abdel-Hamid, director of the Pediatric Neuromuscular Program, Pediatric EMG Lab, and Pediatric MDA Clinic at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, discusses the care of children with chronic neuromuscular diseases and the coordination of subspecialists needed to treat them and their families.

Dr. Christopher Horvat, director of Health Informatics for Clinical Effectiveness at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, and our hosts discuss the emergence of electronic health records (EHRs) and their potential to deliver efficiencies and equities in care. Dr. Horvat describes how evidence-based medicine has informed the training of new physicians and how clinical trials help evolve and create new standards of care.

Stephanie Colaberardino, director of Child Life Volunteer Services and Family Resource Center, and Alanna Kanawalsky, Child Life lead adaptive care team specialist, UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, discuss the important role of child life specialists in the lives of hospitalized children. They describe the many unique offerings of UPMC Children’s Child Life, including the Dream Big TV Studio, Matt’s Maker Space, and STEAM programming.

Tim Shope, MD, professor of Pediatrics at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, has lived in many places, but common pediatric infections, including urinary tract infections (UTIs) are everywhere. His team created the UTICalc, available at uticalc.ptt.edu. This user-friendly tool prompts the clinician with five questions, providing an estimated risk of UTI to help reduce unnecessary catheterization and improve outcomes. Also, learn about Dr. Shope’s time with the U.S. Navy, and his famous family member in the world of infectious disease research.

When an infant is born, their first introduction is to a new immune system and new bacteria. Tim Hand, PhD, assistant professor with the Richard King Mellon Foundation Institute for Pediatric Research, takes samples from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, to look at how antibodies in a mother’s breast milk may shape the relationship between an infant and their microbiome. Listen in as Dr. Hand discusses the unique microbiome of premature infants, necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), and how maternal IgA, an active component in a mother’s breast milk, can shape a child’s immune system.

"That's Pediatrics" will explore the latest discoveries and innovations in pediatric medicine and research at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Learn about what to expect from “That’s Pediatrics” and meet two of the hosts, Stephanie Dewar, MD, and John Williams, MD.

When our young patients are hurting, we can only guess what's causing their pain since they cannot speak for themselves. Rachel Berger, MD, chief of the Child Advocacy Center at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, and her team want to ensure one possibility isn’t left off the table: a brain injury. Dr. Berger talks with hosts Stephanie Dewar, MD, and John Williams, MD, about a blood test to help physicians identify infants who may have bleeding of the brain as a result of abusive head trauma, sometimes referred to as shaken baby syndrome. UPMC is the first hospital system to have a universal screening for child abuse in their Emergency Departments.

There are so many types of germs that cause illness, but so little we know about them. Terence Dermody, MD, physician-in-chief and scientific director at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, is motivated by the endless opportunities in Infectious Diseases to discover more about these little mysteries that affect our patients. Hosts Carolyn Coyne, PhD, and Brian Martin, DMD, ask Dr. Dermody about what drew him to Virology and Infectious Diseases and how he balances his research and clinical work. Dr. Dermody also introduces the Pittsburgh Study, a multi-year longitudinal population study that aims to follow children in Allegheny County from birth to completion of high school to answer the question: What determines health?