AMSPDC Committees and Member Liaisons

AMSPDC Committees

Clinical Care Committee

The AMSPDC Clinical Care Committee strives to share best practices and approaches to new challenges in an effort to promote access to high quality care for all children. With these goals in mind, the committee focused its attention on the unprecedented challenges created by COVID-19. Most centers felt under-prepared to meet the clinical strains of this pandemic. We have created a survey instrument to gather data on the range of responses by member institutions. This will help create a repository of information that could be very helpful in coordinating a response when faced with another challenge like this.

2025 Clinical Care Committee Report

Chair: John M. Cunningham, MD, University of Chicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital

Francis Chan, MD, Loma Linda University School of Medicine

Gul Dadlani, MD, University of South Alabama College of Medicine

Morris Gessouroun, MD, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine

Laura Hesemann, MD, University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine

Catherine Krawczeski, MD, Ohio State University College of Medicine

Leonard R. Krilov, MD, NYU Long Island School of Medicine

Carolyn Milana, MD, Stony Brook Children’s Hospital

Dedrick Moulton, MD, Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans

Steven Seidner, MD,  University of Texas School of Medicine at San Antonio

Manu Sood, MD, University of Illinois, Peoria School of Medicine

Mary Taylor, MD, University of Mississippi School of Medicine

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Nominations Committee

Chair: Ann Reed, MD, Duke University School of Medicine

Mary E. Aitken, MD, University of Texas Medical School at Houston

Jeanne James, MD, MBA, FAAP, Children’s Mercy Kansas City

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Advocacy Committee and Pediatric Policy Council (PPC)

The AMSPDC Advocacy Liaisons represent AMSPDC on the Pediatric Policy Council (PPC). The PPC has representatives from the major national pediatric organizations and is led by AAP. The PPC provides advocacy and policy recommendations primarily at the national level. This provides an opportunity for AMSPDC to offer input on a variety of important issues that impact child health and pediatric research.

2025 PPC Committee Report

Ann Reed, MD, Duke University School of Medicine

Tina Cheng, MD Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

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PLDP Committee

The PLDP fellowship program aims to foster the leadership development of academic pediatricians poised to become a pediatric chair in North America. The program will prepare them to lead our profession through the rapidly changing environment of academic medicine and health care in general.

The yearlong fellowship program consists of:

1. Formal Mentorship Program: This program is modeled on the current mentorship program AMSPDC has developed for new chairs. It consists of matching the candidate to a chair who matches their leadership interests and needs. The mentors are members of AMSPDC who meet the mentorship criteria set by the AMSPDC Leadership Committee. The mentor serves as support to the candidate during, and if desired by both parties, following the yearlong fellowship program.
2. Peer-to-Peer Mentorship Program: This program connects all members of each year’s cohort to rely on each other for support and information and possibly to work in teams during the leadership program on their projects. During the sessions, topics of importance to successful chairs of Departments (finance, recruitment, retention, philanthropy) are presented and discussed by the fellows.
3. AAMC Emerging Leaders Seminar: This seminar, sponsored by the AAMC allows PLDP fellows to join attendees from other disciplines in leadership sessions.
4. Leadership Development Project: This involves development of projects of value to the home department of the fellow, completed in conjunction with the home based Chair or immediate supervisor.
5. Attendance at Two Consecutive AMSPDC Annual Meetings: Fellows attend two Annual AMSPDC meetings, first as the incoming cohort of fellows then as the outgoing cohort as well as a meeting of the AMSPDC Board of Directors.

Chair: Catherine Scott Manno, MD, New York University School of Medicine

Michael Cabana, MD, MPH, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Loretta Cordova de Ortega, MD, University of New Mexico School of Medicine

Mary Ottolini, MD, The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center

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Planning Committee

The Annual Meeting Planning Committee needs YOU! Diverse representation from the AMSPDC family in terms of department size, chair experience and geography, etc is essential to successfully representing AMSPDC to produce a valuable and relevant annual meeting for everyone. The committee incorporates representation from other AMPSDC standing committee with “at-large” members to utilize AMSPDC member feedback/evaluations and knowledge of current “hot topics” to plan the Saturday – Sunday agenda for the annual meeting.

Chair: Barbara Ostrov, MD, Albany Medical Center

Tina L. Cheng, MD University of Cincinnati

Stephanie Duggins Davis, MD University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Phyllis Dennery, MD, Warren Alpert School of Medicine of Brown University

Leslie Walker, MD, Seattle Children’s

Mary Leonard, MD Stanford University School of Medicine

Terence Dermody, MD, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine​

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Education Committee

If you have an interest in medical education, The AMSPDC Education Committee is for you! The Education Committee provides you with an opportunity to discuss and disseminate high-quality innovative models of education within our Departments and across the educational continuum. Our committee represents AMSPDC in a number of national initiatives that impact medical education and provides an opportunity to contribute to the dialogue that is occurring in the many organizations involved in medical education. We host national webinars, publish regularly in AMSPDC Pages and develop the strategic input for educational regulations that are being considered by the ACGME, the NBME and other national organizations.

2025 Education Committee Report

Chair: Kimberly Boland, BS, MD, University of Louisville School of Medicine

Xylina Bean, MD, Meharry Medical College

Douglas Carlson, MD, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine

B. Keith English, MD, Michigan State University College of Medicine

Michael Donnelly, MD, Georgetown University School of Medicine

John Frohna, MD, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Z. Leah Harris, MD, Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin

Leonard R. Krilov, MD, NYU Long Island School of Medicine

Keith Mather, MD, University of Oklahoma, Tulsa School of Medicine

Mary Ottolini, MD, The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center

Kari Simonsen, MD, MBA, University of Nebraska Medical Center

Dawn Tuell, MD, East Tennessee State University

Andrew White, MD, SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital

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New Chairs Committee

The New Chairs committee supports new AMSPDC members appointed within the last three years. The Committee members familiarize new members to the organization, maintain a mentor program and develop the yearly New Chairs Program. Our goal is to foster a welcoming collaborative learning environment to help chairs transition into their roles. There are monthly calls and members assist with communication, mentorship and content development.

2025 New Chair Committee Report

Chair: Joseph Neglia, MD, MPH, University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital

Co-Chair: TBD

Charlotte Boney, MD, Baystate Children’s Hospital

Coleen K Cunningham, MD, University of California, Irvine

Steven J. Czinn, MD, University of Maryland School of Medicine

Stephanie Davis, MD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine

Lewis First, MD, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine

Mary Leonard, MD, MSCE, Stanford University School of Medicine

Mary Taylor, MD, University of Mississippi School of Medicine

Charles Woods, MD,MS, University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Chattanooga Campus

Meredith Irwin, MD, University of Toronto

Michael J. Donnelly, MD, Georgetown University School of Medicine

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Research Committee

AMSPDC’s Research Committee is focused at ensuring that children and adolescents will continue to experience and benefit from innovations in medical care. Ensuring a better tomorrow for our patients depends on research focused on children and adolescents, whether in the lab, behind a computer analyzing big data, or anything in between. Our committee focuses on how AMSPDC can strengthen the ‘pediatric research pipeline’ and support those who have entered the pipeline. We ask whether the pediatric academic community is pursuing research that is relevant to the health and wellbeing of the patient population that we serve. Our pipeline programs should be training pediatric investigators of the future and our committee is committed to identifying and promoting areas of discovery that are emerging or underrepresented in child health.

2025 Research Committee Report

Chair: Terence Dermody, MD, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Alexander Bassuk, MD, PhD, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine

Wendy Chung, MD, Harvard Medical School, Children’s Hospital

Wade Clapp, MD, Indiana University School of Medicine

Lisa Satlin, MD, Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Gary Silverman, MD, PhD, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine

Yatin Vyas, MBBS, MD, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine

Ex officio: Sallie Permar, MD, PhD Duke University School of Medicine

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Membership & Bylaws Committee

2025 Membership & Bylaws Committee Report

Chair: Loretta Cordova de Ortega, MD​ University of New Mexico School of Medicine

John Frohna, MD, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Charles Schleien, MD, MBA, Barabara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell

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Engagement Committee

The AMSPDC Engagement Committee is responsible for developing strategies and initiatives that enhance engagement and involvement across AMSPDC. Our goal is to help foster the development of pediatric department leaders and faculty whose backgrounds and experiences can contribute to the development of a pediatric workforce that meets the needs of and reflects the children we serve. The membership term is for two years.

2025 Engagement Committee Report

Chair: Michael Cabana, MD, MPH, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Xylina Bean, MD, Meharry Medical College

Phyllis Dennery, MD, Warren Alpert School of Medicine of Brown University

Lewis First, MD, University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine

Glenn Flores, MD, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine

Lilia Parra-Roide, MD, Creighton University School of Medicine

Charles Schleien, MD, Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell

Juan C. Salazar, MD, MPH, University of Connecticut School of Medicine

AAAP Rep: Kerstin Hilderbrandt

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Division Director Academy Committee

The program is designed to provide Division Directors access to resources, information, networking, and tools to lead and manage all aspects of division activities. Our faculty of chairs represent a diverse set of programs in terms of size, structure, location, and more. Attendees will come away from this program with the tools and knowledge to work more collaboratively and successfully with their department chairs, other division directors, and faculty so they can lead a division that enhances the overall success of the department.

2025 DDA Committee Report 

Chair: Jeanne James, MD, MBA, FAAP, Children’s Mercy Kansas City

Clifford Bogue, MD, Yale University of Medicine

Stephen Daniels, MD, University of Colorado School of Medicine

Phyllis Dennery, MD, Warren Alpert School of Medicine of Brown University

Patricia Emmanuel, MD, University of South Florida College of Medicine

Lucky Jain, MD,  Emory University School of Medicine

Catherine Manno, MD, New York University School of Medicine

Lawrence Rhein, MD, University of Massachusetts Medical School

Shehzad, Saeed, MD, Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine

Manu Sood, MD, University of Illinois, Peoria School of Medicine

William Steinbach, MD, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Barbara Ostrov, MD, Albany Medical Center

Mary Ottolini, MD, The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center

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Frontiers in Science

Chair: D. Wade Clapp, MD, Indiana University School of Medicine

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AMSPDC Member Liaisons

Academic Pediatric Association (APA)

Mary Ottolini, MD, The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center

FOPO Liaisons

John Frohna, MD, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Joe St. Geme, III, MD University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Journal of Pediatrics AMSPDC Pages Editor

William Steinbach, MD, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine

CoPS Representatives

Leah Harris, MD,Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin
Steven R. Seidner, MD, UT Health San Antonio

Council of Faculty Academic Societies (CFAS) of the AAMC

Robert Vinci, MD, Boston University School of Medicine

COMSEP Liaison

Douglas Carlson, MD, Southern Illinois University