Department of Pediatrics Researchers Elected into Renowned Pediatric Research Society
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Above, a W crest banner flutters in the wind at the University of Wisconsin-Madison during winter. (Photo by Jeff Miller/UW-Madison)
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Four physician-scientists from the University of Wisconsin Department of Pediatrics were recently selected to join the Society for Pediatric Research (SPR). Awni Al-Subu, MD (Associate Professor, Division of Critical Care), Tony Garcia-Prats, MD, MSc (Associate Professor, Divisions of General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine and Global Pediatrics), Dinushan Kaluarachchi, MBBS (Assistant Professor, Division of Neonatology & Newborn Nursery), and Emma Mohr, MD, PhD (Assistant Professor, Division of Infectious Diseases), were peer nominated and elected in recognition of their accomplishments in generating new knowledge to improve the health of children.
Membership in SPR marks the member’s standing as an internationally recognized pediatric researcher. To celebrate this elite honor, we asked Al-Subu, Garcia-Prats, Kaluarachchi and Mohr to discuss their current research interests.
Awni Al-Subu, MD
 During his fellowship training in pediatric critical care medicine at Duke University, it was interactions with children who suffered from acute respiratory failure and cardiac arrest that inspired Awni Al-Subu, MD, to enter research.
“I realized that we were in dire need of developing and utilizing accurate, real-time, noninvasive monitoring technologies of both oxygenation and circulation,” stated Al-Subu. “This fueled my interest in studying the utilization of volumetric capnography and Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) in the care of critically ill children, especially while managing Acute Lung Injury (ALI) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).” Read more.
Tony Garcia-Prats, MD, MSc
 “My interest in research developed organically during my time doing clinical work in Africa caring for children with HIV,” stated Tony Garcia-Prats, MD, MSc. After residency, Garcia-Prats joined the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative (BIPAI) in 2006 and moved to Maseru, Lesotho, to work in BIPAI’s pediatric HIV clinic.
“The experience was transformative for me,” reflected Garcia-Prats. “My colleagues and I were challenged daily by questions about how to optimally care for these children, but we lacked evidence-based guidance.” Read more.
Dinushan Kaluarachchi, MBBS
 As a clinician and pediatric researcher, Dinushan Kaluarachchi, MBBS, is working to help preterm infants achieve their best potential in life. The focus of his clinical and epidemiological research is to better understand neonatal diseases, specifically thyroid hormone dysfunction in preterm infants. Kaluarachchi also studies the screening and management of patent ductus arteriosus and pulmonary hypertension in preterm infants.
“There are still gaps in knowledge and uncertainties as to the best ways to manage extremely preterm infants,” stated Kaluarachchi. “My goal is to advance knowledge and refine management strategies to achieve the best possible outcomes for extremely preterm infants.” Read more.
Emma Mohr, MD, PhD
 When the Zika virus epidemic swept through South America in 2015, Emma Mohr, MD, PhD, was a pediatric infectious diseases fellow. “That’s when I became interested in congenital virus infection research,” reflected Mohr. “There was a great need to combine pediatric clinical expertise with basic virology to figure out the virus associated with the epidemic of microcephaly.”
Today Mohr’s research focuses on improving the health of children affected by congenital viral infections. She studies Zika virus and how it results in developmental deficits in prenatally exposed children. Read more.
About the Society for Pediatric Research
SPR’s mission is to create a network of multidisciplinary researchers to improve child health. Specifically, it works to facilitate active communications among and between researchers; promote research collaborations through mentoring and knowledge sharing; and advocate for funding and policies supportive of research. Election into the SPR also provides a gateway for investigators to enhance their own research through annual conferences and journal publications. In total, 34 Department of Pediatrics faculty are SPR members.
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Fellowship Match Day 2020: Department of Pediatrics Announces Incoming Fellows
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Above, an embroidered W crest is pictured on a medical student’s white coat during floor rounds at UW Hospital and Clinics. (Photo by Jeff Miller/UW-Madison)
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The University of Wisconsin Department of Pediatrics joins its pediatrics residents in celebrating their successful matches into fellowship programs across the country.
Five residents matched, including two residents who will continue their subspecialty training with the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Jesse Boyett Anderson, MD, matched with the pediatric cardiology fellowship, and Thomas Harris, MD, matched with the primary care sports medicine fellowship.
The following table lists the residents who matched, their subspecialties, and the location of their fellowship institution:
- Jesse Boyett Anderson, MD, Pediatric Cardiology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Johanna Sehloff, MD, Critical Care, University of Minnesota
- Stephanie Syu, MD, Hospital Medicine, Stanford University
- Brandon Tomlin, MD, Neonatal – Perinatal, University of Utah
- Thomas Harris, MD, Primary Care Sports Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Additionally, the Department of Pediatrics is excited to welcome six incoming fellows. The following table lists the incoming fellows, their subspecialties, and the location of their residency program:
- Zachary (Zac) Smith, MD, Critical Care, Western Michigan University (MI)
- Zachary (Zach) Gray, MD, Critical Care, Prisma Health/USC School of Medicine Greenville (SC)
- Kaitlyn (Katie) Voelz, MD, Hematology/Oncology, University of Buffalo (NY)
- Joseph (Joe) Presson, MD, Hematology/Oncology, University of South Dakota
- Ngoc Gia Khanh (Sarah) Trinh, MD, Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Sinai Hospital of Baltimore (MD)
- Erin Mustonen, MD, Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, University of Minnesota
Congratulations to all on this successful Fellowship Match Day!
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Paul Sondel, MD, PhD, Nominated for ACTS 2021 Distinguished Investigator Award
 Congratulations to Paul Sondel, MD, PhD (Professor, Division of Hematology, Oncology & Bone Marrow Transplant), on being selected as UW-Madison’s nominee for the Association of Clinical and Translational Science (ACTS) 2021 Distinguished Investigator Award. Sondel was nominated by the Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR) leadership and its Awards Committee, with supporting letters from Howard Bailey, MD (Associate Dean for Oncology), and colleagues from the University of Washington and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In its announcement of the nomination, the ICTR Awards Committee praised Sondel’s body of work in pediatric neuroblastoma, which resulted in the FDA approval of Dinutuximab for improved event-free survival.
Pediatric ‘Dream Team’ Members and Others Recognized with SITC’s Team Science Award
 Congratulations to Christian Capitini, MD, Kenneth DeSantes, MD, Amy Erbe-Gurel, PhD, Jacquelyn Hank, PhD, Anna Huttenlocher, MD, Mario Otto, MD, PhD, Alexander Rakhmilevich, MD, PhD, Paul Sondel, MD, PhD, and researchers at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center who were recently recognized with the Society for the Immunotherapy of Cancer’s (SITC) Team Science Award. The award recognized 35 cancer immunology teams and researchers from across the United States that have made a long-standing contribution to the field of cancer immunotherapy over the past 35 years. The award winners were honored as part of SITC's 35th Anniversary Annual Meeting, which was held virtually on November 14, 2020.
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New Grants
Anne Marie Singh, MD, Awarded Grant from Wisconsin Partnership Program
 Anne Marie Singh, MD (Associate Professor, Division of Allergy, Immunology & Rheumatology), along with Lisa Arkin, MD (Director of Pediatric Dermatology, Department of Dermatology), and a team of investigators from the University of Wisconsin and Medical College of Wisconsin, were recently awarded a one-year $125,000 grant for their project “Interferon Responses in COVID toes, the link to SARS-CoV-2 Infection” through the Wisconsin Partnership Program. In spring 2020, dermatologists worldwide observed an increase in the number of patients with reddish-purple blotches on their toes and suspected this observation suggested a link to COVID-19. These blotches resemble chilblains, a rare condition that occurs due to exposure to extreme cold, though they were appearing at uncommon times for chilblains. Appearance of chilblains typically signify a genetic disorder that also produces elevated levels of Type I interferons. Type I interferons are critical in the early response to viral infections, and patients with severe COVID-19 have been shown to have attenuated and delayed Type 1 interferon production, suggestion a link between these skin findings and increased levels of interferon early in COVID-19 infection. This project will seek to understand the role of interferon responses in dermatologic manifestations of SARS-CoV-2 infection, ranging from mild disease (COVID toes) to severe disease (multisystem inflammatory disease in children, or MIS-C) in children. More information on this project can be found here.
Bikash Pattnaik, PhD, Receives Two Awards from the UW Graduate School
 Bikash Pattnaik, PhD (Assistant Professor, Division of Neonatology & Newborn Nursery), has been awarded a $69,096 Fall Research Competition grant from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education (OVCRGE) for his one-year project entitled, “Functional read-through of both arginine and tryptophan nonsense mutations using novel ELOXX compounds.” The goal of the project is to use a combination of read-through drugs from collaborative partner ELOXX Pharmaceuticals and nonsense mediated decay inhibition to develop a potential treatment for nonsense mutation associated genetic diseases. Functional defects in ion channels, due to genetic mutation or altered molecular interaction, cause various disorders commonly termed channelopathies. Specifically, mutations in inwardly rectifying KCNJ family of potassium channels can cause blindness (Leber Congenital Amaurosis, LCA16). Given such associations of ion channels with blindness, targeting mutant (nonfunctional) channels with drugs remains an attractive treatment strategy, given acceptable side effects and patient tolerability.
In addition to the Graduate School Fall Competition Award, Pattnaik and his lab also received a $15,000 award from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education (OVCRGE) Pandemic Affected Research Continuation Initiative (PARCI) for the project, “Molecular Therapy for Kir7.1 Channelopathy.” This one-year award will provide additional support and resources for the Pattnaik Lab channelopathy research, including mouse breeding and cell line development, that was affected by limitations in on-campus research activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bryan Vonasek, MD, Wins Award from Thrasher Research Fund
 Congratulations to Bryan Vonasek, MD, pediatric infectious diseases clinical fellow, who recently received a Thrasher Research Fund Early Career Award in the amount of $25,000 in direct costs. The two-year award, under the leadership of mentor Anthony Garcia-Prats, MD, MSc, PhD, will support the work entitled, “Novel strategies to improve tuberculosis case finding in children with severe acute malnutrition.” This project will explore the effectiveness of three new non-invasive tests to aid in the diagnosis of tuberculosis in children with severe acute malnutrition. The study will be conducted in collaboration with the University of North Carolina Project-Malawi in Lilongwe, Malawi.
Drs. HuiChuan Lai, Phil Farrell, and Michael Rock Receive Renewal Grant from Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
  
Congratulations to HuiChuan Lai, PhD, RD (Professor of Nutritional Sciences, Pediatrics, and Population Health Sciences), Principal Investigator, and Phil Farrell, MD, PhD (Emeritus Dean and Professor, Division of Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine), Co-Principal Investigator, along with Co-Investigator Michael Rock, MD (Professor, Division of Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine), who were recently awarded a three-year renewal of their grant from Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) in the amount of $1,138,931 of total costs. This Clinical Research Award, entitled, “Impact of Early Malnutrition on Lung Disease Development in Cystic Fibrosis (CF),” builds on the continued success of her “Feeding Infants Right.. from the STart (FIRST)” study. Funding for Years 4 to 6 will: 1) Assess the impact of early nutritional status on CF lung disease as quantified by lung clearance index (LCI) and chest computed tomography (CT) at age 5-6 years; 2) Provide coordinated support for subjects participating in both LCI/CT and whole genome sequencing (WGS) study primarily funded by another grant; 3) Establish a biospecimen bank collected from the FIRST cohort through their first decade of life; and 4) Obtain CFF-ID for FIRST study subjects for linking with the CFF Patient Registry for future long-term outcome studies. This multi-center clinical study involves five CF Centers in four states (Utah, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Massachusetts), and continues to generate novel and critically important knowledge for better care of young children with CF.
Paul Sondel, MD, PhD, will Lead Project of New Program Project Grant Awarded by NIH
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin Departments of Pediatrics, Human Oncology, Medical Physics, Medicine, and Radiology (including UW Overall Multiple PIs, Drs. Jamey Weichert, Radiology, and Zachary Morris, Human Oncology) were recently awarded a Program Project Grant from the National Institutes of Health-National Cancer Institute (NIH-NCI) entitled, “Molecular Targeted Radionuclide Therapy for Tumor Immunomodulation and Enhancing Immunotherapy Response.” The overall P01, funded for five years in the amount of ~$2.5 million in total costs annually, includes an administrative core, three scientific cores, and four scientific projects, all focused on the development of a fundamental understanding of the complex interplay between two rapidly emerging fields in cancer therapy: 1) targeted radionuclide therapy (TRT) and 2) immunotherapy. Paul Sondel, MD, PhD (Professor, Division of Hematology, Oncology & Bone Marrow Transplant), will lead Project 3, entitled, “Combining Targeted Radionuclide Therapy with a Localized In Situ Vaccine to Overcome Immune Suppression in the Tumor Microenvironment and Augment T Cell Response.” The goals of Project 3 are to utilize immunocompetent mouse models of cold neuroblastoma and sarcomas, with the in vivo goal to use TRT to help eradicate all cancer in mice bearing macroscopic tumors in two separate sites as well as disseminated micro-metastases. Project 3 provides support for the Sondel Lab team in the amount of $326,693 of total costs annually.
Smith Lab Student Researcher Awarded Hilldale Research Fellowship
Congratulations to Tony Hu, a student researcher in Dr. Judith Smith’s lab, for recently being awarded a 2020-2021 Hilldale Undergraduate/Faculty Research Fellowship. The fellowship includes a $3,000 stipend for Hu and a $1,000 stipend for his faculty adviser, Judy Smith, MD, PhD (Associate Professor, Division of Allergy, Immunology & Rheumatology), to offset costs associated with Hu’s research expenses. Hu will present his research findings at the Undergraduate Symposium in April 2021.
Sondel Lab to Further Collaborations with Invenra
The Laboratory of Paul Sondel, MD, PhD (Professor, Division of Hematology, Oncology & Bone Marrow Transplant), has received a two-year award from Invenra, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of multispecific antibodies for immuno-oncology, to further their collaborative research testing the function and specificity and potential clinical utility of “SNIPER” genetically engineered bispecific antibodies created by Invenra. This new award, for $622,000 in total costs, has as its goal to provide greater control of in vivo anti-tumor immunity via developing SNIPERS that require co-recognition of two separate immune cell membrane receptors co-expressed on immunosuppressive tumor-infiltrating T-regulatory cells (Tregs) such as CD25 and CTLA4. A major component of the work will involve in vivo studies in mice, to evaluate the roles of these SNIPERS in mouse models, for their ability to augment endogenous anti-tumor immunity in “immunogenic” tumor models, and to augment the induction of anti-tumor immunity induced by other forms of immunotherapy in tumor models that are “weakly-immunogenic” or “non-immunogenic”.
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"Dr. Al-Subu is a fantastic attending to work with. He provided great on-the-fly teaching points that were very helpful. He has excellent bedside manner and treats everyone around him with kindness, regardless of their role. His approachability and enthusiasm for the job foster a positive learning environment and encourages residents and students to ask questions as they arise to facilitate effective teaching and learning."
"Thank you for your support in strengthening our commitment to patient safety! Your insight during our RCA meeting provided us with valuable information that helped us develop stronger recommendations to keep our patients safe. Thank you for being willing to take on the role of operational champion and helping to move action items forward!"