Department of Pediatrics Biannual Report 2008-2009

Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital 

SUNY Upstate Medical University 

Department of Pediatrics 

Bi-Annual Report 

January 1, 2008 – December 31, 2009

CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION FROM THE CHAIR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

DEPARTMENT LEADERSHIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

PEDIATRICS BY THE NUMBERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

CRITICAL CARE AND INPATIENT PEDIATRICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

Hospital Medicine:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

CLINICAL OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

SELECTED CLINICAL DATA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

EDUCATION PROGRAM IN GENERAL PEDIATRICS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

Graduate Medical Education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 

Undergraduate Medical Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

Administrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

OVERVIEW. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

RESIDENCY CURRICULUM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

PEDIATRIC CLERKSHIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

EDUCATION OUTCOMES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

EDUCATION PUBLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 

Book Chapters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 

PUBLICATIONS WITH RESIDENTS, FELLOWS, OR STUDENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 

PRESENTATIONS AT NATIONAL MEETINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 

PRESENTATIONS AT NATIONAL MEETINGS WITH RESIDENTS, FELLOWS AND STUDENTS . . . . . . . . . . . 8 

GRANTS AND CONTRACTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 

CLINICAL OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 

PUBLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 

PRESENTATIONS AT SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 

HONORS, VISITING PROFESSORSHIPS, EDITORIAL DUTY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 

Editorial Boards/Reviewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 

GRANT ACTIVITY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 


PEDIATRIC ENDOCRINOLOGY, DIABETES & METABOLISM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 

AFFILIATED CLINICAL STAFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 



PUBLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 


INVITED WORKSHOPS, CME PRESENTATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 

GRANTS AND CONTRACTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 


GASTROENTEROLOGY & NUTRITION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 

AFFILIATED CLINICAL STAFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 

CLINICAL OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 

SELECTED CLINICAL DATA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 

GENERAL PEDIATRICS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 



RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Vaccines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 

Child Sex Abuse Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 

Foster Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 

PUBLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 

PRESENTATIONS AT NATIONAL MEETINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 

HONORS, VISITING PROFESSORSHIPS, EDITORIAL DUTY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 

INVITED WORKSHOPS, CME PRESENTATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 

GRANTS AND CONTRACTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 

Blatt SD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 

Botash AS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 

SELECTED CLINICAL DATA (DIVISION TOTALS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 

General Pediatrics, Adolescent, CARE, Enhance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 

Upstate Pediatrics Outpatient. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 

Inpatient encounters (General Pediatrics and Upstate Pediatrics) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 

Newborn inpatient encounters (General Pediatrics and Upstate Pediatrics) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 

GENETICS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 

Adjunct Faculty: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 

AFFILIATED CLINICAL STAFF: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 

CLINICAL OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 

PUBLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 


INVITED WORKSHOPS AND CME PRESENTATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 

GRANTS AND CONTRACTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 

SELECTED CLINICAL DATA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 

HEMATOLOGY & ONCOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 

AFFILIATED CLINICAL STAFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 

AFFILIATED RESEARCH STAFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 


Children’s Oncology Group Participation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 

KNOT Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 

Neuro-Oncology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 

Hemophilia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

New York State Designated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

Hemoglobinopathy Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

Educational Specialist and Neuropsychology Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

Pediatric Palliative Care. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 


Dr. William Kerr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

Dr. Jody Sima . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 

Dr. Richard Sills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 

PUBLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 


EDITORIAL SERVICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 


INFECTIOUS DISEASES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 

FELLOWS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 


AFFILIATED RESEARCH STAFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 



Clinical Trials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 

PUBLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 

PRESENTATIONS AT SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27


INVITED WORKSHOPS, CME PRESENTATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 


Weiner LB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 

Domachowske JB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 


NEPHROLOGY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 


AFFILIATED RESEARCH STAFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 



Role of Local Complement Synthesis in the Kidney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 

Development of Novel Inhibitors of Inflammation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 

PUBLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 

PRESENTATIONS AT SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 




NEURODEVELOPMENTAL PEDIATRICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 



PROGRAMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 


PUBLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 

Original Scientific Articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 

Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 

Reviews with American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Children with Disabilities (Dr. Liptak). . . . . . . . . . . 34 

Books and Book Chapters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 

Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 



GRANTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 


Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 

Physical Disabilities (excluding spina bifida) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 

Spina Bifida Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 

NEUROLOGY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 




PUBLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 

PULMONOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 



CURRENT RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 

PUBLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 


HONORS, VISITING PROFESSORSHIPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 

INVITED WORKSHOPS, CME PRESENTATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 



RHEUMATOLOGY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44


EDITORIAL DUTY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 

CLINICAL DATA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 

PEDIATRIC SURGICAL SPECIALTIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 

PEDIATIC ANESTHESIOLOGY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 

Full-Time: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 

Part-Time:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 


PUBLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 

PRESENTATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 

PEDIATRIC CARDIOVASCULAR-THORACIC SURGERY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 


PEDIATRIC GENERAL SURGERY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 


PEDIATRIC NEUROSURGERY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 


Conditions Treated: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 

Clinical Services Provided: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 

PUBLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 

PEDIATRIC OPHTHALMOLOGY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 


PUBLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 

PEDIATRIC ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 


PUBLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 

PEDIATRIC OTOLARYNGOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 


PUBLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 

AFFILIATED FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 

PEDIATRIC CARDIOLOGY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 


NEONATALOGY: ST. JOSEPH’S HOSPITAL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 


NEONATOLOGY: CROUSE HOSPITAL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 

FACULTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 


FACULTY RECOGNITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 

AMERICAN PEDIATRIC SOCIETY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 

SOCIETY FOR PEDIATRIC RESEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS, SECTION ON ENDOCRINOLOGY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 

AMERICAN BOARD OF PEDIATRICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 

THE HELFER SOCIETY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CLINICAL HYPNOSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 

SIGMA XI SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH SOCIETY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 

BEST DOCTORS IN AMERICA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

INTRODUCTION FROM THE CHAIR 

Bi-Annual Report • 1 

I am happy to share with you our department report for 2008 and 2009! 

This may have been the most important couple of years for our 

department since our first Chair, William Tomlinson Plant, published 

a study of childhood seizures in the inaugural edition of Archives of 

Pediatrics, in 1884. 2009 was the year that we opened the Upstate 

Golisano Children’s Hospital, realizing a decades-long dream of the 

community and many of my predecessors. In the short time we have 

been open, the hospital has already garnered some national recognition 

for its architecture, and some of our patient care innovations have been 

the subject of presentations in national meetings. 

Although the hospital was only open for the last three months covered 

by this report, its impact can be seen in many places. Many of the new 

pediatricians and pediatric surgical specialists who have joined us in 

the past two years were attracted to Syracuse by the opportunities 

afforded by a state of the art facility. Our volumes of patient activity, 

both in the outpatient and the inpatient settings, have been increasing 

substantially. We have made a number of efforts to streamline our 

referral process, including opening new regional subspecialty satellite 

clinics, initiating a “one call” system for transfers and appointments 

(1-800-464-KIDS), improving the entirety of the family experience 

during the visit, and providing timely and complete reports to referring 

professionals. 

One of our newest initiatives is a joint effort with the American Board 

of Pediatrics, which will permit us to offer a project which will help 

both referring physicians and our subspecialty consultants evaluate 

each other’s roles in the consultation experience, insure the safety of 

primary care/subspecialist “hand offs”, and provide ABP Maintenance of 

Certification (“MOC”) category 4 credit. As I am writing this letter, we 

are finalizing the operational details of this project, and will make these 

available on the Golisano Children’s Hospital website shortly. 

I hope that you will agree that the activity of our faculty and programs 

has grown in concert with our new hospital. Keep up with our 

programs through our newsletter (http://www.upstate.edu/gch/ 

education/newsletters.php) or through our website (http://www. 

upstate.edu/gch/). Remember that you can also register to use our 

online clinical question system, ePED Direct, through our website. 

Thomas R. Welch, MD 

Professor and Chair 


Upstate Medical University 

Medical Director 

Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital

2 • Department of Pediatrics 

DEPARTMENT LEADERSHIP 

With the growth in department activity which has already occurred, and which is planned for the coming years, it 

has become critical to apportion leadership responsibilities in a meaningful way. We now have a group of vice chairs 

who have primary responsibilities for a variety of functions within the department. This group meets weekly, and 

together acts as a deliberative body to set policy and direction. Each of these individuals is also empowered to make 

independent decisions within his or her area of responsibility. Although I am always available to speak with referring 

physicians regarding hospital or department issues, these individuals may also be contacted directly in regard to 

matters within their respective purviews. 

Ann Botash, MD (botasha@upstate.edu) is Vice Chair for Educational Affairs, with ultimate responsibility for all 

aspects of education in the department: undergraduate, graduate, and continuing. The enormous growth in our 

education services is outlined in the education section of this report. 

Ann is a well-known figure in pediatrics nationally. She has received the Advocacy Award from the Ambulatory 

Pediatrics Association, and is very visible regionally and nationally in the area of child abuse. 

Scott Schurman, MD (schurmas@upstate.edu) continues to serve as our Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs. Scott also 

directs our highly-regarded and growing program in kidney diseases. 

In his Vice Chair role, Scott has ultimate responsibility for all inpatient and outpatient activity in the department. He 

has played an important role in our recent growth in faculty and programs, and is in charge of the development of our 

satellites. 

Leonard Weiner, MD (weinerl@upstate.edu) rounds out the department leadership team as Vice Chair for Academic 

Affairs. A former interim chair of our department, with a national reputation for clinical care and research in infectious 

diseases, Len is well suited for this role. 

In addition to responsibility for the department’s faculty promotion and tenure process, Len has overall responsibility 

for our research programs. We have made some steady strides in this area, as indicated by the individual division and 

section reports. With growth in faculty and programs, this will continue. 

The leadership team is supported by Leo Sawyer (sawyerl@upstate.edu), practice administrator, Cherlynn Clarry 

(clarryc@upstate.edu), department office manager, and Barbara Delaney (delaneyb@upstate.edu), assistant to the 

chair. In the past year, additional support positions have been created. Joy Tompkins, RN, MS, PNP has assumed the 

role of department research coordinator and provides invaluable support to our investigators. Bonnie Miner, MS, RN, 

CNS recently assumed the role of patient safety officer. She is leading a number of GCH safety initiatives, including 

our collaborative involvement with safety projects of the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related 

Institutions.


PEDIATRICS BY THE NUMBERS 

A few pertinent numbers provide a snapshot of our growth in child health care activity over the past two years. The 

Golisano Children’s Hospital did not open until September, 2009, but in the remaining months of the year, our inpatient 

activity has accelerated significantly. 

Measure 2008 2009 % change 

Inpatient discharges 3,713 3,884 + 4.6% 

Observation patients 595 671 + 12.8% 

Average length of stay 4.4 4.3 - 2.3% 

Pediatric ED visits 20,714 23,123 + 11.6% 

Pediatric outpatient visits 63,334 65,292 + 3% 

Surgical procedures 3,558 4,076 + 14.6% 

About 46.8% (1,477) of the pediatric inpatients in the Golisano Children’s Hospital in calendar year 2009 came from 

Onondaga County, and nearly 1.4% (43) were from outside New York State. Approximately 46% (1,460) of inpatients 

were under the age of five years and about half of admissions come through the Pediatric Emergency Department. 

Outpatient pediatric visits were drawn from an even wider geographic area throughout New York State, with nearly 30% 

(19,469) of children from outside Onondaga County. About 1% (529) of our outpatient visits were from outside New York State.


CRITICAL CARE AND INPATIENT PEDIATRICS 

FACULTY 

Critical Care: 

William P. Hannan, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics 

Robert K. Kanter, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Division 

Director 

Kevin Ragosta, DO, Associate Professor of Pediatrics 

Neal A. Seidberg, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics 

Jennifer Zuccaro, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics 

Hospital Medicine: 

John Andrake, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics 

Charles Bergstrom, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics 

Elizabeth Jamme, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics 

James Listman, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics 

P. David Sadowitz, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics 

Thomas Welch, MD, Professor of Pediatrics 

CLINICAL OVERVIEW 

The Pediatric Critical Care service in the Golisano 

Children’s Hospital provides the only critical care for 

infants and children in a 15 county area of Central New 

York. The multidisciplinary medical and surgical Pediatric 

Intensive Care Unit includes 15 intensive care beds 

admitting 800 patients annually. The PICU serves the 

region’s Level 1 Trauma center. The Pediatric Interhospital 

Transport Service sends pediatric transport specialists to 

referring hospitals to provide care at the earliest possible 

time for critically ill infants and children throughout 

the region. We also coordinate the transition of care for 

children with special health care needs from intensive 

care to community based care, including formulation of 

plans for emergency treatment of future unpreventable 

illnesses in this vulnerable population. Outpatient care 

is provided for selected technology assisted patients 

(Dr. Ragosta), in collaboration with the patient’s other 

subspecialists and primary care physicians. Finally, the 

Pediatric Critical Care service provides pediatric critical 

care education to residents in pediatrics and emergency 

medicine, nursing students, respiratory therapy students, 

and pharmacy students. In recent years many of our 

pediatric residents have gone on to training in critical care 

medicine at the finest fellowship programs after their 

residency in Syracuse. 

The inpatient (“hospitalist”) service provides 

comprehensive, coordinated inpatient care to children 

who are not on a subspecialty service or whose primary 

care provider does not serve inpatients. National trends 

in inpatient child health care over the past few years have 

been reflected in Syracuse as well, resulting in significant 

growth of this program. 

Outstanding care coordination, including active 

involvement of nurse practitioners and discharge 

planners, has resulted in severity adjusted length of stay 

for children at the Golisano Children’s Hospital being 

below national benchmarks. 

The growth in volume and complexity of this program has 

necessitated its planning to add additional faculty in 2010 

and become a separate division within the department. 

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS 

Dr Kanter’s health services research investigates the 

balance between pediatric acute care needs and existing 

regional hospital resources. In large public health 

emergencies, hospital resources would be overwhelmed 

if large numbers of children were involved. Quantitative 

modeling studies demonstrate that temporary 

mass critical care approaches would be essential 

to accommodate large surges of patients in sudden 

impact regional emergencies. Sustained mass critical 

care approaches would be necessary to accommodate 

pandemic surges (study in progress). A panel of experts 

demonstrated a method to develop professional 

consensus regarding those hospital interventions that 

should be regarded as essential in mass critical care 

responses to a public health emergency. Evidence-based 

considerations for pediatric mass critical care in public 

health emergencies have been reviewed. A recently 

completed study found persistent changes in child 

mortality in the New Orleans region recovering from 

Hurricane Katrina. Persistent population displacement 

and post-disaster changes in demographics affect 

children’s needs for hospital services. 

SELECTED CLINICAL DATA 

Hospitalist service discharges 2008: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,809 

Hospitalist service discharges 2009: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,309 

Pediatric intensive care unit discharges 2008: . . . . . . . . 209 

Pediatric intensive care unit discharges 2009: . . . . . . . . . 266


EDUCATION PROGRAM IN GENERAL PEDIATRICS 

FACULTY 

Ann S. Botash, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Vice Chair for 

Educational Affairs 

Graduate Medical Education 

John Andrake, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, 

Director of Residency Program 

Bradley Olson, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, 

Associate Director of Residency 

Gloria Kennedy, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, 

Associate Director of Residency 

Undergraduate Medical Education 

Charles Bergstrom, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, 

Clerkship Director 

Robert Hingre, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, 

Associate Clerkship Director 

Administrative 

James F. Peacock, MS, Education Program Administrator 

Patricia Mondore, MA, Residency Program Coordinator 

Carol Plumley, Clerkship Coordinator 

OVERVIEW 

For more than fifty years, the Department of Pediatrics 

has maintained a residency training program in 

general pediatrics that provides residents with a 

strong foundation in primary care pediatrics, acute 

care medicine and all subspecialties. Our collegial 

environment allows a “hands on” approach with a low 

faculty to resident ratio. Due to the large catchment 

area served by the department, residents directly care 

for patients with a vast array of medical problems, 

from common primary care issues to the most unique 

subspecialty conditions. Residents are actively involved 

in varied learning experiences such as resident run journal 

clubs, research and pathophysiology conferences, casebased 

ambulatory care and subspecialty conferences, 

daily rounds with faculty, weekly grand rounds, and 

regular discourse with visiting professors. Our allencompassing 

curriculum has successfully prepared 

residents for fellowship training in subspecialties and 

careers in primary care pediatrics across the country. In 

2008, the residency received a full five-year accreditation 

from the ACGME with no citations. 

Our 6-week clerkship provides pediatric education to 

about 120 students every year. The students are exposed 

to extensive in-patient (3 weeks) and out-patient (3 weeks) 

experiences. They attend thirty core lectures given by 

the faculty and are required to study CLIPP (Computer 

Learning in Pediatric Project; www.clippcases.org) cases. 

A teaching attending is assigned to the students during 

their in-patient rotation. 

RESIDENCY CURRICULUM 

The broad-based curriculum enables residents to 

become competent in all areas of general pediatrics. 

Some of the highlights of the curriculum include: 

• Seminars - In 2007, the core curriculum for the 

residents was updated with some innovative 

changes. The faculty have translated the core 

curriculum to an on-line environment that is 

available to the residents anytime and anywhere. 

The material is contained within Blackboard and 

resident participation in the online curriculum is 

actively monitored. The first year residents have 

a separate case based series of seminars and the 

senior residents attend a more in depth seminar on 

the same topics later in the day. These interactive 

seminars reinforce and complement the on-line 

lectures and offer and interactive approach to 

learning through cases. Residents complete quiz 

materials online that can be used for preparation 

for the board examination. 

• Primary care – The training in primary care takes 

advantage of the well-developed division of general 

pediatrics and takes place at the University Pediatric 

and Adolescent Center (UPAC). The residents 

participate in a continuity clinic experience one 

half day per week. In addition, there are six 

separate month-long block rotations at UPAC. 

This combination of experience provides residents 

with a greater continuity for health maintenance, 

chronic diseases and acute illnesses. In the second 

year, residents combine their UPAC experience 

with longitudinal training in the outpatient clinics 

of various subspecialties. An additional rotation in 

Adolescent Medicine rounds out their education 

in general pediatrics. Community practices are 

also available as sites for resident education, and 

nicely complement their training in the inner city, 

hospital-based UPAC. 

• Critical Care – The Golisano Children’s Hospital 

PICU is the setting for the training in Pediatric 

Critical Care Medicine. Residents provide direct 

patient care for the sickest children in Central 

New York, with a wide-range of acute conditions. 

Residents also provide concurrent care for 

patients admitted primarily for surgical conditions. 

Residents have exposure to Neonatal Intensive Care 

through two distinct NICU experiences, first at St. 

Joseph’s Hospital Health Center and subsequently 

at the tertiary care NICU at Crouse Hospital. 

• Emergency Medicine – Residents are the front line 

for children up to 18 years of age who come with 

medical or surgical emergencies to the area’s only 

Pediatric Emergency Department. More than 20,000 

annual visits are seen, and supervised by board 

certified Pediatric Emergency Medicine faculty.


• Developmental Pediatrics – This rotation takes 

advantage of some of the outstanding community 

resources in child development, as well as those 

at our Center for Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics. 

The Center is home to services for children with 

developmental and behavioral problems, including 

the autistic spectrum disorders, as well as those 

with complex medical conditions, such as spina 

bifida, cerebral palsy, and genetic disorders. 

• Inpatient – Dedicated hospitalists provide oversight 

and direct care for the inpatients at the Golisano 

Children’s Hospital. They also provide consultative 

care to other medical and surgical patients. A great 

deal of the education of residents and medical 

students is provided by these inpatient specialists. 

In addition, a separate attending, the Teaching 

Attending, provides hands-on and didactic teaching 

to complement the learning on the wards. 

• Pediatric surgery rotation – In 2009 our secondyear 

residents began taking a required onemonth 

rotation with the pediatric surgery team. 

This allows the pediatric residents to gain a 

better understanding of diagnosis, treatment 

and management of common pediatric surgical 

problems and allows them to teach the 

surgery team basic pediatric examination and 

communication skills. 

• Subspecialties – The curriculum continues to 

provide comprehensive training in the pediatric 

subspecialties. Clinical instruction is available in 

virtually all the major pediatric medical and surgical 

subspecialties. Residents have elective time that 

allows them to create additional experiences in 

focused areas of the subspecialties. In the third 

year, residents are able to spend a clinical rotation 

away from the medical center as an “away elective.” 

• Systems Based Care – A program of learning 

advocacy, established in 1995 as the Community 

Oriented Advocacy Training program, was one of 

the first such advocacy training programs nationally. 

The curriculum now includes experiences in 

systems based care and educates residents on 

a wide range of advocacy skills and community 

related topics. Using a case based approach, 

residents identify a system issue affecting a patient 

and research community resources. Throughout 

this experience, the residents develop advocacy 

skills and then present their experience at an 

educational conference. 

• Teaching Skills for Housestaff – This monthly seminar 

series is in its 13th year and is designed to meet the 

needs of residents as teachers. The series addresses 

topics such as: delivering effective lectures, teaching 

at the bedside, providing feedback, evaluating 

students and serving as a role model. 

• Evidence Based Medicine – The housestaff present 

and participate in a series of workshops designed to 

analyze recent literature and demonstrate possible 

effects on practice. These workshops are held twice 

each month and utilize a curriculum in evidence 

based medicine. 

• Residents and students have the opportunity 

to participate in international health activities 

including electives in Central America such as the 

Rural Health, Adolescent Mentoring and Medical 

Spanish elective in El Salvador and the STI/HIV 

Education elective in Panama. 

• Many of our residents participate in active research 

with faculty. The underlined authors of the 

manuscripts in the sections below identify our 

residents or students. 

PEDIATRIC CLERKSHIP 

Medical students rotating through our pediatric clerkship 

are assigned for three weeks to an “outpatient program” 

at either on-site (general pediatrics and subspecialty 

clinics) or in the community. They are also assigned 

for three weeks to one of two inpatient services. A 

teaching attending is assigned to them during their 

in-patient rotation. Her or his role is to work closely 

with the students, mostly providing bed-side teaching 

(communicating with patients and families, taking medical 

histories, performing physical examinations, evaluation 

laboratory findings, interpreting x-rays, etc.) 

The students actively participate in patient care, morning 

report, teaching rounds, evidence based medicine 

conferences, adolescent conferences and on-line cases. 

They attend 30 core lectures given by the faculty and are 

required to study CLIPP (Computer Learning in Pediatric 

Project; www.clippcases.org) cases. 

EDUCATION OUTCOMES 

Graduates of the Residency program go on to careers in 

both primary care practice and in academic medicine, in 

the subspecialties and in general pediatrics. In the past 

five years, 62% of our residents have pursued academic 

fellowship programs. These have included: Hematology/ 

Oncology, Endocrinology, Critical Care, Infectious 

Diseases, Gastroenterology, Pediatric Emergency 

Medicine, Neonatology, Allergy/Immunology and General 

Academic Pediatrics. In addition, 35% of our residents 

have joined primary care practices in the Syracuse area 

as well as various communities in New York State, North 

Carolina, California, Ohio, Louisiana, New Hampshire, 

Pennsylvania, and Washington. Another 2% have joined 

academic faculties directly upon completion of the 

residency. Nine percent have stayed on to become our 

chief residents. Of these, 100% entered fellowships upon 

completion of their chief year. 

In 2008, 89% of our residents passed the American Board 

of Pediatrics Certifying Examination on the first attempt 

with a mean score well above the national average. 

On the NBME subject exam in pediatrics, our medical 

students’ scores for the years 2006-2007 average above 

the 50 th percentile nationally.


EDUCATION PUBLICATIONS 

Book Chapters 

Koszalka T, Olson B. Transforming a Pediatrics Lecture 

Series to Online Instruction. Handbook of research on 

distributed medical informatics and e-health. Hershey, 

PA. Medical Information Science Ref, Aug 2008. 

PUBLICATIONS WITH RESIDENTS, FELLOWS, 

OR STUDENTS 

Anbar RD and Zoughbi GG. Relationship of headache 

associated stressors and hypnosis therapy outcome 

in children: a retrospective chart review. Am J of Clin 

Hypnosis. 2008; 50:335-341 

Bennett N - E-Medicine: “HIV Disease” http://www. 

emedicine.com/MED/topic24.htm (Oct 22, 2008) 

Bennett N, Domachowske D. Rocky Mountain Spotted 

Fever. Emedicine, 9/10/09 

Bennett, N – Emedicine 

Mononucleosis and Epstein-Barr Virus Infection (10/20/09) 

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/963894-overview 

Nocardiosis and Gonorrhea. 



Bern RA, van Woensel JBM, Bos AP, Koski A, Farnand 

A, Domachowske JB, Rosenberg HF, Martin TR, and 

Matute-Bello G. Mechanical ventilation enhances lung 

inflammation and caspase activity in a model of mouse 

pneumovirus infection. AJP Lung 2009; 296; L46-56. 

Dardas M, Abboud M, Salti I, et al. Thyroid cancer in 

Lebanese children and adolescents: a 15-year experience 

at a single institution. Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2009 Sep 

26(6):439-47 

de Waal Malefyt D, Pecha M, Domachowske J. Poster, 

“Bacterial Meningitis in Children with Mondini Dysplasia” 

Poster, PAS, 5/09, Baltimore, MD 

Henderson JF, Anbar RD. Care for Amish and Mennonite 

children with cystic fibrosis: a case series. BMC Pediatrics 

2009, 9:4. 

Kobayaa H, Souki RR, Trust S and Domachowske JB. 

Pastuerella multocida meningitis in newborns after 

incidental animal exposure. Pediatr Infect Dis J 2009; in 

press 

Mallick D, Thapa R. An 11-year-old boy with dark skin, 

swallowing difficulty and absence of tears. Indian Journal 

of Dermatology, 2009; 54(1) 

Mallick D, Thapa R. ‘Molar tooth’ sign in Joubert 

syndrome. Pediatr Radiol. 7/7/09. 

Maniscalco J, Dryer AL, Marks A, Yunghans M, Pierson 

SB, Sgarlat CM, Sveen AR, Blanch LE. Index of suspicion. 

Pediatr Rev. 2008 Sep;29(9):321-8. 

Moro M, Suryadevara M, Kiska D, Ridell S and Shaw 

J. Incidence of invasive community-onset (CO) 

Staphylococcus aureus infections in children in central 

New York - The Journal of Pediatrics. Accepted for 

publication. 2009. 

Moro R, Contello K, Holz W, Weiner L, Shaw J. 

“Subcutaneous (SCIG) Versus Intravenous (IVIG) 

Immunoglobulin Replacement Therapy in a Pediatric 

Population with Primary Immunodeficiencies (PID)” 

Poster, PAS, 5/09, Baltimore, MD. 

Moro MR, Bonville CA, Suryadevara, M, Cummings E, 

Faddoul D, Kobayaa H., Branigan P, Domachowske JB. 

Clinical features, adenovirus types, and local production 

of inflammatory mediators in adenovirus infections. 

Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. 28(5):376-380, May 

2009. 

Samkari A, Kiska D, Riddell et al. Dipylidium Caninum 

Mimicking Recurrent Enterobius Vermicularis (Pinworm) 

Infection. Clinical Pediatrics, In Press, 2008. 

Samkari A, Sveen A. Pityriasis Rosea. Consultant for 

Pediatrics, February 2008 

Samkari A, Sveen A. Localized Schleroderma. Consult for 

Pediatricians, June 2008:258-259. 

Samkari A. “Dipylidium caninum mimicking recurrent 

Enterobius vermicularis (pinworm) infection.” Poster 

presented at the Medical Society of the State New 

York (MSSNY) Resident and Fellow Research Poster 

Symposium. April 11, 2008. 

Sgarlat C and Sveen A. Case presentation on 

hyperimmunoglobulin E syndrome. Pediatr in ev. 

2008;29:322-7 

Sgarlat CM, Sveen AR. Case Presentation. Pediatrics in 

Review. Sept 2008. 324-327. 

Suryadevara M, Schurman S, Landas S, et al. BRIEF 

REPORT: Systemic Calciphylaxis. Pediatr Blood Cancer 

2008; 100:1-2. 

Tabarani CM, Bennett NJ, Kiska DL, Riddell SW, Botash AS 

and Domachowske JB. Empyema of pre-existing subdural 

hemorrhage caused by a rare Salmonella species after 

exposure to bearded dragons in a foster home. J Pediatr 


Thapa R, Biswas B, Mallick D. Classic Hemorrhagic Disease 

of the Newborn Presenting with Bilateral Vitreous 

Hemorrhage. To The Editor. J of Emerg Med. 2009. 

Thapa R, Ganguly D, Dhar S, Banerjee P. Short 

Communication: Pachyonychia congenital Type 1 

(Jadassohn-Lewandowky Type): Report of four cases. 

Indian Journal of Dermatology, 2009; 54(2). 

Thapa R. Scientific Letters to the Editor: Discordance 

for Congenital Toxoplasmosis in Twins. Indian Journal of 

Pediatrics, Vol 26, October, 2009.Thapa R. Letter: Bilateral 

Subconjunctival Haemorrhage in Childhood Enteric Fever. 

Singapore Med J 2009 50(10):1038. 

Thapa R, Ghosh A, Mallick D, Biswajit B. Letter: Lung 

Abscess Secondary to Non-Typhoidal Salmonellosis in an 

Immunocompetent Girl. Singapore Med J 2009 50(10):1033-5.


Thapa R, Ghosh A, Dhar S. Infantile giant congenital 

melanocytic nevus: report of three unusual cases. Int J 

of Derm, 2009, 48, 1209-1212. 

Thapa R. Letter to the Editor. Moebius Syndrome with 

Atrial Septal Defect. Singapore Med J 2009; 50(10):1. 

Thapa R, Mallick D, Biswas B, Ghosh A. Open and Closed 

Lip Schizencephaly in Seckel Syndrome: A Case Report. 

Journal of Child Neurology. 2009 

Thapa R, Bishwajit B, Debkrishna M et al. 

Childhood Plasmodium vivax Malaria With Severe 

Thrombocytopenia and Bleeding Manifestations. Pediatr 

Hematol Oncol, 2009. 

Thapa R, Gosh A, Banerjee T. Childhood Plasmodium 

falciparum malaria complicated by spenic abscess. 

Emergency Medicine Australasia (2009) 21, 237-239. 

Thapa R, Ghosh A, Dhar S. Letter to Editors: Progressive 

hemifacial atrophy (Parry-Romberg syndrome ) with 

band-like alopecia. Indian Journal of Pediatrics. 2009. 

Thapa R, Ghosh A, Mondol S et al. A 13-Year-old Boy With 

Extensive Bilateral Lung Infiltrates. J Pediatr Hematol 

Oncol. 2009. 

Thapa R, Mallick D, Biswas B. Perinatal malaria and 

tuberculosis co-infection: A case report. . Int J of 

Infectious Diseases (2009). 

Thapa R. Letter: Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis. 

Indian Journal of Pediatrics, Vol 26, Jan, 2009. 

Thapa R, Chakrabartty S. Atyipcal Kawasaki disease with 

remarkable paucity of signs and symptoms. Rheumatol 

Int,, April 2009. 

Thapa R, Mallick D, et al. Case Report: Childhood 

cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa: an unusual presentation. 

Rheumatol Int. June 2009. 

Thapa R, Pal P, Mukhopadhyay M. To the Editor: Beta 

Thalassemia Major and Hodgkin Lymphoma. Pediatr 

Hematol ONcol, 31:6, June 2009. 

Thapa R, Biswas B, et al. Pharyngeal-Cervical-Brachial 

Variant of Pediatric Guillain-Barre’ Syndrome With 

Antecedent Acute Hepatitis A Virus Infection. J of Child 

Neurol. July 2009: 24(7). 

Thapa R, Mallick D, Biswas B, Chakrabartty. Transient 

unilateral oculomotor palsy and severe headach in 

childhood Kawasaki disease. Rheumatol Int, Oct 12, 2009; 

1154-6. 

PRESENTATIONS AT NATIONAL MEETINGS 

Andrake J, Olsen BG, Peacock J, Harlan GA, Guralnick 

S, Blair RJ, Fahner J, Starr T, Perspectives on Curriculum 

Reform: Different Approaches to the Same Goal. 

Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association of 

Pediatric Program Directors,Baltimore, MDApril 28 – May 

2, 2009 

Andrake J, Sveen A.Building a Communication Skills 

Curriculum for the Pediatrics Clerkship. Presented at the 

Annual Meeting of COMSEP. Atlanta, GA; April 3-6, 2008 


WITH RESIDENTS, FELLOWS AND STUDENTS 

Bennett N (et al) Poster Presentation: “The Effects of 

Teaching a Novel Communication Skills Curriculum in 

Pediatrics on Medical Students’ Perceptions” at MSSNY 

(Medical Student Society of NY), Friday, May 1, 2009. 

Bem RA, van Woensel JB, Bos AP, Koski A, Domachowske 

JB, Rosenberg HF, Martin TR, and Matute-Bello G. 

Mechanical ventilation enhances lung inflammation and 

cellular apoptosis in a model of mouse pneumovirus 

infection. American Thoracic Society Toronto Canada 


Dawson E, Greenberg S, Mahar S, Olson B. Poster 

“The Predictive Value of Eosinophilia in Chronic 

Schistosomiasis and Strongyloidiasis: An Examination 

of the CDC Screening Guidelines for Newly Arriving 

Refugees” 

de Waal Malefyt S, Pecha M, Domachowske J. Poster, 

“Bacterial Meningitis in Children with Mondini Dysplasia” 

Poster, Baltimore, MD, PAS, 5/09 

El Feghaly R, McGann L, Domachowske J. et al – Poster, 

PAS, 5/09, Baltimore, MD. “A Decade of Pediatric 

Parainfluenza Virus Infections: Clinical Manifestations 

and Biomarkers of Disease Severity” et al – Poster, PAS, 

5/09, Baltimore, MD. 

El Feghaly R, McGann L, Domachowske J. et al – Poster, 

“A Decade of Pediatric Parainfluenza Virus Infections: 

Clinical Manifestations and Biomarkers of Disease 

Severity” et al – Poster, PAS, 5/09, Baltimore, MD. 

Moro R, Contello K, Holz W, Weiner L, Shaw J. 

“Subcutaneous (SCIG) Versus Intravenous (IVIG) 


Population with Primary Immunodeficiencies (PID)” 

Poster, PAS, 5/09, Baltimore, MD. 

Pekarsky S, Botash A. Poster “Pediatric Patient Assent 

and Medical Provider Compliance with New York State 

Guidelines for HIV Post-Exposure Prophylaxis for Sexual 

Assault” PAS 5/09, Baltimore, MD 

Samkari A. “Dipylidium Caninum Mimicking Recurrent 

Enterobius Vermicularis (pinworm) Infection.” Poster 

presented at the Medical Society of the State New 

York (MSSNY) Resident and Fellow Research Poster 

Symposium. April 11, 2008.


GRANTS AND CONTRACTS 

Botash AS: Child Abuse Medical Provider NYS Training 

Initiative: 2008-2010 New York State Department of 

Health, Rape Crisis Program Preventive Health and 

Health Services Block Grant from CDC, Rape Prevention 

Education. ~$160,000. 

Botash AS: Child Abuse Medical Provider Training and 

Network: 2008-09, NYS Office of Children and Family 

Services pending legislative approval, $90,000 . 

Botash AS: Child Abuse Medical Provider Training and 

Network, Children’s Miracle Network Grant, 2009. 

$30,000. 

Botash AS: Procedure Management Education (LEAPP). 

$8,400 

Botash AS: Friend In Deed Funding for Child Fatality 

Review Team: $2400 

Botash AS, Unger C, Ryan M.: Onondaga County Child 

Fatality Review Team: NYS OCFS 2009- 2010. $ 52,000 

Botash AS: Assistance for Abused Children. St. Agatha 

Foundation. $25,000 

Botash AS, Bifano E: Empire Clinical Reseach Investigator 

Program, Post Graduate Medical Education research in 

Neonatology, September 2008 – August 2010, $120,000. 

Dosa NP: Parent Partners in Health Education. New York 

State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council: 2006- 

2009: $135,000


PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 

Syracuse is fortunate to have a group of specialists in 

Pediatric Emergency Medicine. While these physicians 

have primary appointments in the Department of 

Emergency Medicine, most have joint appointments in 

the Department of Pediatrics. 

FACULTY 

Richard M. Cantor, MD FAAP/FACEP, Director of Pediatric 

Emergency Services/Medical Director, Central NY Poison 

Control Center, Associate Professor of Emergency 

Medicine and Pediatrics 

P. David Sadowitz, MD, Associate Professor, Emergency 


James D’Agostino, MD, FAAP, Assistant Professor, 

Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics 

Jennifer E. Mackey, MD, FAAP, Assistant Professor, 

Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics 

Lisa Marie Keough, MD, Assistant Professor, Emergency 


Alison McCrone MD, Assistant Professor, Emergency 



The Pediatric Emergency Department at University 

Hospital for the greater part of 25 years has provided 

24-hours a day, 7 days a week coverage for any and all 

pediatric emergencies. We service the entire Central 

New York region consisting of over 18 counties and over 

25 hospitals. We are the primary referral center for all 

pediatric emergencies, including major trauma, major 

medical emergencies, poisonings, and child abuse. All 

pediatric transports within our region are evaluated 

within our emergency department and disposition is 

arranged for daily. With the opening of the Golisano 

Children’s Hospital, the Pediatric Emergency Department 

continues to play an expanded role in the delivery of subspecialty 

Pediatric Emergency Medical Services. 

The last few years have demonstrated a marked 

growth in both patient volume and diversity in our 

academic efforts. The faculty maintains a strong clinical 

relationship with all practitioners within the region, 

including family physicians and pediatricians alike. We 

maintain a strong educational presence in the region as 

evidenced by the annual Pediatric Emergency Medicine 

Teaching Day, which has been in place for the greater 

part of 10 years. In addition, under our directorship, PALS, 

APLS, and PEPP courses are offered almost on a monthly 

basis. Target audiences include students, residents, 

paramedics, and private practitioners. Members of 

the Pediatric Emergency Medicine faculty, specifically 

Drs. Cantor, Sadowitz, and D’Agostino, are nationally 

recognized figures in our field and are often invited to 

present to national and international audiences. This 

past year, our division was responsible for a reference 

text, “Neonatal Emergencies”, edited by Drs. Cantor and 

Sadowitz, and published by McGraw Hill. 

Within the Upstate Medical University College of 

Medicine, the Pediatric Emergency Department offers 

many educational opportunities. We are developing 

an educational model within the MedSTAR Simulation 

Center, addressing the needs of medical students and 

residents. In addition, we offer a fourth year medical 

student elective in Pediatric Emergency Medicine. 

Lectures are given to residents within both the 

Departments of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics 

throughout the year. In addition, we maintain a strong 

affiliation with the family practice residency at St. 

Joseph’s Hospital, with their residents rotating through 

our Pediatric Emergency Department four days a week. 

Over the last five years, we have re-instituted our 

fellowship program in Pediatric Emergency Medicine, 

under the leadership of Dr. Richard Cantor. We accept 

one fellow per year, and at present will have three in 

place working within our division. These fellows are 

graduates of both pediatric residencies and emergency 

medicine residencies. The fellowship program in 

Pediatric Emergency Medicine at University Hospital is 

unique in the country in offering positions to graduates of 

emergency medicine residency programs. These are very 

competitive positions, and we are fortunate to have this 

offering on a local basis. 

PUBLICATIONS 

Sadowitz PD, Souid A-K. Cancer and cancer related 

complications in children. Pediatric Emergency Medicine, 

2008. Ed. Baren, Brennan, Brown and Rothrock. 

Sadowitz PD, Souid A-K. Idiopathic thrombocytopenic 

purpura and other platelet disorders. Pediatric 

Emergency Medicine, 2008 Ed. Baren, Brennan, Brown and 

Rothrock 

Sadowitz PD: Neonatal Hematologic Emergencies, in 

Neonatal Emergency Medicine, Cantor and Sadowitz, 

McGraw-Hill, 2009 

Sadowitz PD: Neonatal Infectious Emergencies, in 



Cantor RM: Neonatal Emergencies, in Pediatric 

Emergency Medicine, Baren J. Elsevier, 2008. 

Cantor RM: Aspirin and APAP Poisoning, in Pediatric 


Cantor RM: Classic Pediatric Poisonings, in Pediatric 


Cantor RM: Respiratory Distress in The Clinical Practice 

of Emergency Medicine, Wolfson A, Lippincott, Williams 

and Wilkins 2009 

Cantor RM: Upper Airway Emergencies, in Pediatric 

Emergency Medicine, 3rd Ed, McGraw-Hill 2009


Cantor RM: Neonatal Abdominal Emergencies, in 



Cantor RM: Neonatal Neurological Emergencies, in 



D’Agostino J. Malrotation and Midgut Volvulus. In: 

Baren JM, et al., eds. Pediatric Emergency Medicine. 

Philadelphia, Saunders; 2008, pp 630-633. 

Mackey JE Neonatal Respiratory Emergencies. in 


McGraw-Hill 2009 

PRESENTATIONS AT SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS 

Cantor RM. Pediatric Emergency Medicine Literature 

Review; Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make in Pediatric 

Patients. Presented at the American College of 

Emergency Physicians Scientific Assembly, Chicago, 

Illinois. 2008 

Cantor RM. Pediatric Emergency Medicine Literature 

Review; Chief Complaints in Inafants Less Than 28 

Days of Age; Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make in 

Pediatric Patients. Presented at the American College 

of Emergency Physicians Scientific Assembly, Boston, 

Massachusetts. 2009 

Cantor RM. Emergency Medicine Grand Rounds. 

Presented at NYU Bellevue Medical Center Department 

of Emergency Medicine, June, 2008 

Cantor RM. Keynote Speaker, St. Barnabus NJ Hospital 

Annual Emergency Medicine Teaching Day, 2008, 2009: 

Mistakes You Don’t Want To Make in Pediatric Emergency 

Patients, Short Hills, NJ 

Cantor RM. Keynote Speaker, Methodist Hospital Annual 

Pediatric Medicine Teaching Day, 2008, 2009: Lit Review, 

Toxicology, Mistakes, Miami, Florida 

Cantor RM. Speaker, NJ ACEP Annual Emergency 

Medicine Teaching Conference, 2008, 2009: Lit Review, 

Toxicology, Mistakes, Atlantic City, NJ 

Cantor RM. Invited Speaker, Stanford University Annual 

Emergency Medicine Teaching Coference, 2009: Lit 

Review, Toxicology, Mistakes, Maui, Hawaii 

Cantor RM. Visiting Professor, Department of Emergency 

Medicine, University of Maryland, August, 2009. 

Cantor RM. Visiting Professor, Department of Emergency 

Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern, November, 


HONORS, VISITING PROFESSORSHIPS, 

EDITORIAL DUTY 

Editorial Boards/Reviewer 

Cantor, R. Annals of Emergency Medicine. Pediatric 

Emergency Care, American Journal of Emergency 

Medicine, Micromedex Poisondex, Pediatric Emergency 

Medicine Abstracts, PRETx (Pediatric Research in 

Emergency Therapeutics). 

GRANT ACTIVITY 

Cantor RM. Development of a Child Life Specialist in the 

Pediatric Emergency Department (2005-8), Children’s 

Miracle Network, $40,000/year 

Sadowitz, PD. An Epidemiologic Study to Evaluate the 

Seasonality of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Associated 

Lower Respiratory Tract Infections or Apnea in Infants in 

the Emergency Department. $45,000 received to date 

9/1/06 – May 1, 2008 


Pediatric Emergency Department Visits, 2008: . . . . . . 21,242 

Pediatric Emergency Department Visits, 2009:. . . . . 21,338 

Percentage of patients admitted: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10% 

Ambulances received per day: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-10 

Private patient referrals per day: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-15


PEDIATRIC ENDOCRINOLOGY, DIABETES & METABOLISM 

FACULTY 

Roberto Izquierdo, MD, Professor of Medicine and 

Pediatrics; Section Head; Associate Medical Director, 

Joslin Diabetes Center Affiliate; Medical Director, Thyroid 

Cancer Center 

Lauren Lipeski, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics 

Irene N. Sills, MD, Professor of Pediatrics; Director, 

New York State Newborn Screening Program; Director, 

Pediatric Endocrine and Diabetes Fellowship 

Susan E. Stred, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics; 

Associate Medical Director, KNOT Program 

AFFILIATED CLINICAL STAFF 

Kathleen Bratt, PNP, CDE 

Sheri Hill, RN, Diabetes Educator 

Lynn Horowitch, PNP 

Joanne Kearns, RD, CDE 

Khuyet Le, PA 

Barbara Lindenmayer, PNP 

Andrea Gross, RN, Diabetes Educator 


The Section of Pediatric Endocrinology, Diabetes and 

Metabolism provides care for children and adolescents 

with the full spectrum of disorders of the endocrine 

system. Staff endocrinologists and nurse practitioners 

evaluate and treat children with diabetes mellitus, 

short stature, thyroid disease, Turner syndrome, 

hypopituitarism, disorders of puberty, congenital 

adrenal hyperplasia, metabolic bone disorders, and 

other hormonal disorders. Our Center is one of the 

original referral sites for New York State’s Newborn 

Screening Program for congenital hypothyroidism 

and 21-hydroxylase congenital adrenal hyperplasia. 

We were recognized as an Endocrine Specialty Center 

for Congenital Hypothyroidism, Congenital Adrenal 

Hyperplasia, and Diabetes by the New York State 

Department of Health in 2004. 

Diabetes mellitus is treated by a comprehensive group 

of professionals using the team model, under the 

direction of Dr. Izquierdo at the Joslin Diabetes Center 

at SUNY Upstate Medical University. The team includes 

nurse practitioners with a special interest in diabetes 

care, diabetes educators, including diabetes pump 

educators, dieticians, and an exercise physiologist. This 

multidisciplinary team provides care to children with 

type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. On a consultative 

basis, we have support from adult and pediatric 

psychologists. 

Dr. Izquierdo and Kathleen Bratt direct the School 

Telemedicine Project, supported by a New York State 

Diabetes Center of Excellence Grant. This program 

provides diabetes care via telemedicine to students with 

diabetes in schools in our northern regions of New York. 

We are able provide pediatric DXA scanning and 

consultations on patients at risk for osteoporosis. In 2008, 

Dr. Sills attained certification as a clinical Densitometrist 

by the International Society for Clinical Densitometry. 

Dr. Irene Sills is a member of the Harry Benjamin 

International Gender Dysphoria Association, Inc. and 

directs our program to treat children with gender 

dysphoria and adolescents with transsexualism. 

Dr. Stred supervises the endocrine portion of the KNOT 

(Kids Now Off Therapy) Program, the latter providing 

comprehensive care to cancer survivors. Although more 

than 70% of all children diagnosed with a malignancy 

during childhood now survive, 40-50% of those 

experience significant endocrine dysfunction as a result 

of their treatment. 


Dr. Izquierdo’s research interests lie in type 1 and 2 

diabetes mellitus, and thyroid nodular disease and 

cancer. He is the principal investigator for the Protégé 

Study, which is a multi-centered study that uses a 

monoclonal antibody to preserve beta-cell function in 

children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus. 

This improves glycemic control and prolongs the 

“honeymoon” phase of type 1 diabetes. He is also involve 

in the Diamyd clinical trial in which a GAD vaccine is 

administer to children early in the diagnoses of diabetes 

to preserve beta-cell function. Dr. Izquierdo continues as 

co-investigator of the TODAY study, a multicenter NIHsponsored 

trial to determine the best treatment options 

in children and adolescents with type 2 diabetes mellitus. 

Dr. Sills is interested in the natural history of type 1 

diabetes. She is our Center’s principal investigator for 

TrialNet, which aims at identifying individuals at high 

risk for development of type 1 diabetes. Identified high 

risk individuals are then eligible to participate in trials 

designed to delay or prevent the development of type 1 

diabetes mellitus. 

PUBLICATIONS 

Trief P.M., J. Sandberg, R.I. Izquierdo, P.C. Morin, S. 

Shea, R. Brittain, E.B. Feldhousen, R.S. Weinstock. 

Diabetes management assisted by telemedicine: patient 

perspectives. Telemedicine and e-Health 14(7):647-655, 


Izquierdo R, Shankar R, Kort K, Khurana K. Ultrasound- 

Guided Fine-Needle Aspiration in the Management of 

Thyroid Nodules in Children and Adolescents. Thyroid 19 

(7): 703-705, 2009 

Shea, S., R.S. Weinstock, J.A. Teresi, W. Palmas, J. Starren, 

J.J. Cimino, A.M. Lai, L. Field, P.C. Morin, R. Goland,


R.E. Izquierdo, S. Ebner, S. Silver, E. Petkova, J. Kong, J.P. 

Eimicke for the IDEATel Consortium. A randomized trial 

comparing telemedicine case management with usual 

care in older, ethnically diverse, medically underserved 

patients with diabetes mellitus: 5 year results of the 

IDEATel study. J Am Med Inform Assoc, 16: 446-456, 2009. 

Sandberg J, Trief PM, Izquierdo R, Goland R, Morin PC, 

Palmas W, Larson CD, Shea S, Weinstock RS. A qualitative 

study of the experiences and satisfaction of direct 

telemedicine providers in diabetes case management. 

Telemedicine and e-Health 2009: 15: 742-750. 

Izquierdo R, Morin PC, Bratt K, Moreau Z, Meyer S, Ploutz- 

Snyder R, Wade M, Weinstock RS. School Centered 

Telemedicine for Children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. J 

Pediatr 2009; 155:374-9. 

Shah SS, Faquin WC, Izquierdo R, Khurana KK. FNA 

of misclassified primary malignant neoplasms of the 

thyroid: Impact on clinical management. CytoJournal 

2009; vol 6, issue 1. 


Izquierdo R, Weinstock RS, Morin P, Meyer S, Bratt 

K, Moreau Z, Ploutz-Snyder R. School Centered 

Telemedicine Study for Children with Diabetes. 68 th 

American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions, June 

6-10, 2008, San Francisco, CA. 

Izquierdo R, Barham K, Kort K, Khurana K, Hsu J, Numann 

P, Cico L. Intraoperative Use of Nck Sonography in the 

Management of Recurrent Thyroid Cancer. Endocrine 

Society’s 90 th Annual Meeting, June 16, 2008, San 

Francisco, CA. 

INVITED WORKSHOPS, CME PRESENTATIONS 

Izquierdo, R. “Multiple Small Feedings of the Mind: New 

Directions in the Management of the Patient with Type 

1 Diabetes.” American College of Physicians NYACP 

Meeting. June 9, 2009. 

Izquierdo, R. “Studies in Thyroid Cancer”. Endocrinology, 

Diabetes & Metabolism Journal Club. February 1, 2008. 

Izquierdo, R. “Making Sense of Sensors”. School Nurse 

Teaching Day. September 13, 2008. 

Izquierdo, R. “New Directions in the Management of the 

Patient with Type 1 Diabetes”. Medicine Grand Rounds, 

SUNY Upstate Medical University. February 19, 2009. 

Izquierdo, R. “New Directions in the Management of the 

Patient with Type 1 Diabetes”. Pediatric Grand Rounds, 

SUNY Upstate Medical University. April 29, 2009. 

Izquierdo, R. School Nurse Diabetes Teaching Day: 

“Insulin Pump Therapy”. Upstate Golisano Children’s 

Hospital at Upstate University Hospital. October 24, 


Izquierdo, R. “Impact of Telemedicine on Medical 

Education”. Faculty Development Seminar. October 27, 


Lipeski, L. Vitamin D Deficiency. Onondaga Pediatric 

Society Meeting. February 24, 2009. 

Lipeski, L. Pediatric Obesity. Pediatric Grand Rounds. 

April 15, 2009. 

Lipeski, L. Thyroid function testing. Endocrine 

Conference. October 8, 2009. 

Sills, I. “Pediatric Endocrine Update” Annual Meeting of 

New York State Nurse Practitioners, 2008. 

Sills, I. “Gender Dysphoric Children and Transsexual 

Adolescents” Grand Rounds, Plattsburgh Hospital, 2008. 

Sills, I. “Gender Dysphoric Children and Transsexual 

Adolescents”. American Academy of Pediatrics Meeting 


Sills, I. “Transsexuality”. Psychiatry Grand Rounds 2009 


Sills, I. NIDDK: Diabetes TrialNet: Natural History 

Study of the Development of Type 1 Diabetes (Principal 

Investigator for our center). Funding accrual based. 

Izquierdo R. NIDDK: Trial for the Treatment of Type 2 

Diabetes in Children and Adolescents (co-investigator) 

Izquierdo R. A Phase 2/3, Randomized, Double-Blind, 

Multicenter, Multinational, 4-Arm, Controlled, Dose- 

Ranging Study to Evaluate Efficacy and Safety of 

Teplizumab (MGA031), a Humanized, FcR Non-Binding, 

Anti-CD3 Monoclonal Antibody, in Children and Adults 

with Recent-Onset Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. (Dr. 

Izquierdo, principal investigator for our center). Industrysponsored 

Trial (funding accrual based) 

Izquierdo R. NYS Department of Health School Centered 

Telemedicine Program for Children with Type 1 Diabetes 

Mellitus (Co-Investigator). 

Izquierdo R. Diamyd: A Phase III, 3- Arm, Randomized, 

Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Multicenter Study 

to Investigate the Impact of Diamyd on the Progression 

of Diabetes in Newly Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes 

Mellitus. Industry-sponsored Trial (funding accrual 

based) 


Children in the diabetes mellitus program: .. . . . . . . . . 1000 

Children with new onset diabetes seen in 2009: . . . . . . 100 

Children followed with congenital hypothyroidism: . . 100 

Children with diagnosed with congenital 

hypothyroidism in 2009: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 

Children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia 

who are actively followed:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 

Children with septo-optic dysplasia 

who are actively followed:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 

Endocrine component of KNOT Clinic: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80


GASTROENTEROLOGY & NUTRITION 

FACULTY 

Manoochehr Karjoo, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Section 

Chief 

Mirza Beg, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics 

Christopher Justinich, MD, Clinical Associate Professor 


Shannon Kesselring, MSN, FNP 


The Section of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition 

provides care for patients from birth to 21 years of age 

with all types of gastroenterological disorders. This 

includes neonates and infants with hyperbilirubinemia, 

and liver disease such as biliary atresia and all forms of 

hepatitis. We offer multi-modal therapy for children 

with a variety of functional intestinal disorders ranging 

from cyclic vomiting and chronic abdominal pain to 

constipation. 

Our division has a particular interest in the management 

of children with inflammatory bowel disease and 

the gastrointestinal manifestations of food allergy. 

Gastroesophageal reflux disease is an increasingly 

recognized entity in children from infancy through young 

adulthood. We offer a broad range of diagnostic and 

therapeutic approaches for such disorders. 

The section works closely and collaboratively with a 

number of other programs, including pediatric surgery, 

ENT, general pediatrics, pulmonary, and endocrinology. 

We are particularly expert in the gastroenterological 

issues impacting children with developmental delays. We 

coordinate procedures with our pediatric surgeons, such 

as gastrostomy tube placement, esophageal dilatation 

and endoscopies. 

The gastroenterologists undertake a full array of 

procedures including pH probe tests, Bravo pH 

monitoring, esophago-gastro-duodenoscopy with 

biopsy, esophageal dilatation, esophageal sclerotherapy 

and banding procedures for varices, rectal biopsy for 

evaluation of Hirshsprung’s disease, colonoscopy with 

biopsy and polypectomy, liver biopsy, breath hydrogen 

test for lactase and sucrase deficiency, esophageal 

and colon motility and esophageal impedance studies. 

Most procedures are done in the Pietrafesa Center for 

Children’s Surgery, while others are done in our clinic. 

Outpatient care is provided in the newly remodeled and 

expanded office located in the 725 Irving Avenue, Suite 

805, in Syracuse. For the past few years, a satellite clinic 

in Watertown, NY has been staffed by one of our parttime 

faculty, Dr. Justinich. With the recruitment of two 

new full-time gastroenterologists in 2010, our plan is to 

continue that service and add a satellite clinic in Utica, NY. 

The section continues to be very active in medical 

student and resident education. Many of our 

residency graduates have gone on to train in pediatric 

gastroenterology. 


The section currently is participating in a multi-center 

trial of treatment of eosinophilic esophagitis using an 

antagonist of IL5. 

We are also preparing to join a Phase 3, multi-center, 

double-blind randomized placebo controlled, parallelgroup, 

withdrawal study to evaluate the safety and 

efficacy of delayed release Rabeprazole in 1 to 11 month 

old pediatric subjects with symptomatic erosive 

gastroesophageal reflux disease. 


Outpatients seen in 2008: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,243 

Outpatients seen in 2009: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,300 

Endoscopies in 2008: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494 

Endoscopies in 2009: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544 

Colonoscopies in 2008:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 

Colonoscopies in 2009:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276 

Ph probe studies in 2008: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280 

Ph probe studies in 2009: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240 

Bravo Ph Analysis in 2008: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 

Bravo pH analysis in 2009: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47


GENERAL PEDIATRICS 

FACULTY 

John Andrake, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, 

Director, Pediatric Residency 

Joseph Bearman, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of 

Pediatrics 

Charles Bergstrom, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, 

Director, Undergraduate Medical Education 

Steven Blatt, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, 

Director, General Pediatrics, Associate Professor Syracuse 

University College of Law (courtesy appointment) 

Ann Botash, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Vice Chair, 

Educational Affairs 

Robert Cavanaugh, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Section 

Head, Adolescent Medicine 

Katherine Chang, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics 

John Friedman, MD, Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and 

Psychiatry 

Paul Fuller, MD, Professor of Pediatrics 

Robert Hingre, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics 

Elizabeth Jamme, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, 

Toby Kressel, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of 


Ellen McHugh, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of 


Victoria Meguid, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics 

Bradley Olson, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, 

Associate Director, Pediatric Residency 

Alicia Pekarsky, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics 

Ronald Saletsky, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry 

Ellen Schurman, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of 


Anne Sveen, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics 

Howard Weinberger, MD, Professor of Pediatrics 


Wendy Broton, RN, FNP, Nurse Practitioner 

Karen Dygert MS, RN, PNP, PMHNP, Nurse Practitioner 

Susan Mahar, RN, PNP-BC Nurse Practitioner 

Nancy Mitchell, RN, PNP, Nurse Practitioner 

Terri Morse, RN-BC, FNP, Nurse Practitioner 


The component programs of the Division of General 

Pediatrics encompass all of the inpatient and ambulatory 

clinical activities providing general pediatric and specialty 

program care to children and adolescents in a universitybased 

urban practice serving a diverse population. The 

Division has significant responsibilities for ambulatory 

and inpatient teaching of medical students and training of 

pediatric residents. 

Clinical activity occurs in the term newborn nursery 

at Crouse Hospital, the inpatient pediatric units of 

Golisano Children’s Hospital, and at University Pediatric 

and Adolescent Center located in University Health 

Care Center. A free-standing ambulatory care site of 

Upstate Medical University, Upstate Pediatrics, a busy 

three-pediatrician practice, participates in departmental 

teaching and research activities. Medical students rotate 

through the office during their clerkship and residents 

can choose the office as an elective rotation. The office is 

also a study site for vaccine research. 

The Division provides a wide array of services to children, 

adolescents and families, including well child and 

adolescent care, acute episodic and chronic disease 

care, specialized care of abused and foster children, 

and a growing refugee population from Eastern Europe, 

Russia and Africa. An adolescent consultation practice is 

an active program in the Division. Academic generalists 

often consult and provide second opinions to family 

physicians in the central New York region. Faculty 

and resident physicians have established practices at 

University Pediatric and Adolescent Center with the 

goal of providing a stable medical home and continuity 

for children and adolescents with 24-hour availability. 

Inpatient care is provided under the supervision of the 

academic generalist faculty. 

Faculty have clinical expertise and research interests 

in child abuse, foster care, refugee health, substance 

abuse, childhood obesity and nutrition, lead poisoning, 

adolescent eating disorders and reproductive health, 

dermatology and medical education. The Medical Legal 

Partnership provides a unique opportunity for patients, 

families, and the medical staff to easily access legal 

services within our offices. 

The Adolescent Medicine Program offers primary and 

specialty care to patients 11 to 21 years of age. This is a 

state-of-the-art program in which the psychosocial as 

well as the physical needs of the adolescent patient are 

uniquely addressed. Our physicians have been at the 

forefront of adolescent preventive services for many 

years. They are particularly well qualified to screen 

adolescents in order to identify high-risk activities and 

behaviors and to offer appropriate counseling. They are 

supported by a highly skilled “teen-friendly” nursing staff. 

The program welcomes referrals for second opinions or 

for consultations. Findings are promptly communicated


to referring physicians when applicable. A dietician who 

specializes in adolescent nutrition is available on site for 

consultation at the time of the visit. 

There is also a very close relationship with physicians 

in the Department of Psychiatry and a large referral 

network of other specialists at University Hospital and 

SUNY Upstate Medical University. 

Services include: 

• Behavioral evaluation and counseling 

• Comprehensive physicals and preventive exams 

• Contraceptive counseling 

• Gynecologic exams 

• Immunizations 

• Pregnancy testing and counseling 

• Risk-reduction assessment and counseling 

• Sports physicals as part of a comprehensive 

examination 

• Substance abuse evaluation and referral 

The CARE (Child Abuse Referral and Evaluation) team 

of professionals includes a pediatrician, pediatric 

nurse practitioner, nurse and social worker who work 

together to provide child abuse medical evaluations. 

Team members include Ann Botash, MD, Alicia Pekarsky, 

MD, Nancy Mitchell, RN, CPNP, Anne Galloway, RN, and 

Elizabeth Kinsey, CSW. 

With over 10 years of experience, the program offers 

comprehensive history and physical examinations, 

forensic evidence collection, photodocumentation and 

court-ready record documentation. Legal testimony 

and non-patient care case reviews are also available. 

Examinations are performed utilizing state-of–the-art 

colposcopic documentation of physical findings, and a 

variety of advanced patient coping techniques. 

Over 250 referrals per year come from several counties in 

Central and Upstate New York. Referral sources include 

child protective services, law enforcement agencies, rape 

crisis centers, teachers, parents and other physicians. 

These children are evaluated at 90 Presidential Plaza, 

University Pediatric and Adolescent Center as well as at a 

community off-site location, 509 West Onondaga Street, 

the McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Site. 

The McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Site’s main goals are 

to provide a safe, child and family friendly environment 

for child abuse victims and their non-offending family 

members and to reduce the trauma that abused children 

face during the investigative and treatment processes. 

The site’s focus is to support and enhance existing 

community agencies that work with child abuse. The 

staff at the McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Site is funded 

through a SUNY Research Foundation grant provided 

through CARE and other funding through a non-profit 

501-c donations. Children evaluated there have improved 

access to counseling services (Rape Crisis Center), law 

enforcement, and child protective investigators. (http:// 

www.mcmahonryan.org) 

The CARE team offers regular Child Abuse Licensing 

courses for physicians or other professionals needing 

certification for licensing in New York State. Further 

information can be found at: http://www.upstate.edu/ 

cme/licensing.shtml 

ENHANCE Services for Children in Foster Care has 

provided primary and comprehensive health care 

services to children in DSS custody since 1991. Consistent 

with the recommendations outlined in Fostering 

Health: Health Care for Children and Adolescents in 

Foster Care of the AAP Task Force on Health Care for 

Children in Foster Care, ENHANCE provides primary 

and comprehensive health care services, developmental 

testing and mental health services to the 500 children 

in DSS foster care. Medical care is provided by two 

pediatricians, Dr. Steven Blatt, Director and Dr. Victoria 

Meguid, Associate Director, two pediatric nurse 

practitioners, and two registered nurses. A nurse 

practitioner also performs developmental testing on 

young children in their home or day care setting. A child 

psychologist meets with older children and their foster 

parents to assess their need for mental health services. 

Annually, the 500 children in foster care are seen in more 

than 2400 ENHANCE visits. 

ENHANCE staff have also been active in policy issues. 

There are regular meetings with DSS administration, 

focusing on local policy and procedures. ENHANCE 

representatives participates on the New York State 

Permanent Judicial Commission on Justice for Children 

and the New York State, District II AAP Task Force on 

Health Care for Children in Foster Care. ENHANCE staff 

also meet with New York State foster care officials and 

have testified to legislative bodies. 

The Syracuse Medical-Legal Partnership (SMLP) is a 

Medical-Legal Partnership between the University 

Pediatric and Adolescent Center (UPAC) of University 

Hospital of SUNY Upstate Medical University and 

the Children’s Rights and Family Law Clinic (CRC) and 

Family Law and Social Policy Center (FLSPC) of Syracuse 

University College of Law. Through a triad approach, 

SMLP seeks to engage the disciplines of law and medicine 

to provide comprehensive advocacy to improve the 

overall health of low-income children and their families. 

SMLP helps improve health outcomes for low-income 

children and their families through collaborative 

advocacy and legal intervention. Cases handled through 

SMLP have included custody, adoption and child support; 

housing issues including landlord disputes, handicap 

access and utility disputes; education law including 

special education and unlawful exclusion from public 

schools; and other legal issues directly affecting child 

health. SMLP provides students, faculty and staff from 

both the Department of Pediatrics and the College 

or Law with opportunities to learn about Pediatrics 

and Legal Advocacy from experts in both disciplines. 

SMLP has been instrumental in educating state and 

national legislators about this new and growing national 

movement. 

The Pediatric International Health Clinic was started in


July 2005 in order to provide more specialized care to 

the more than 500 new immigrants arriving annually in 

Central New York. The care of such patients has become 

increasingly complex, requiring a degree of sophistication 

not allowed in a typical outpatient pediatric setting. 

Although they originate from all over the globe, this 

diverse refugee population most recently has come from 

the African continent. In addition to providing a much 

needed service to this medically diverse and fascinating 

population, this new service, directed by Dr. Bradley 

Olson, is a rich environment for housestaff education. 


Vaccines 

Faculty and staff at University Pediatric and Adolescent 

Center collaborate with the Division of Pediatric 

Infectious Disease on an ongoing basis with funded 

vaccine studies. Recent studies involve vaccines against 

meningococcus, pneumococcus, and influenzae. 

Child Sex Abuse Evaluation 

Dr. Ann Botash was one of the founders of the McMahon/ 

Ryan Child Advocacy Center in 2002 and serves as 

medical director to the board of this non-profit 

organization. Dr. Botash is the primary investigator for a 

grant through the New York State Office of Children and 

Family Services, to fund the Advocacy site and is primary 

investigator of the New York State Department of Health 

grant to support the Child Abuse Medical Provider 

Program. This program began as a model network of child 

abuse medical providers with the creation of a training 

manual and now provides continuing education to child 

abuse medical professionals throughout New York State. 

It is a resource for child abuse professionals nationally as 

well as statewide. 

Foster Care 

Drs. Steven Blatt and Victoria Meguid have collaborated 

with researchers from Cornell University on the 

relationships between prenatal drug and alcohol use and 

subsequent involvement in the child protection system. 

The same faculty are also working with colleagues at the 

University of Rochester to examine the effectiveness 

of foster care clinics at both institutions in meeting the 

needs of children in foster care. 

PUBLICATIONS 

Cavanaugh RM. Managing the Transitions of Early 

Adolescence. Adolescent Health Update, American 

Academy of Pediatrics 2008; 20(3): 1-8. 

Cavanaugh RM. Screening for Genitourinary 

Abnormalities in Adolescent Males. Pediatrics in Review 

2009 30: 431-438. 

Koszalka T, Olson B. Transforming a Pediatrics Lecture 

Series to Online Instruction. Handbook of research on 

distributed medical informatics and e-health. Hershey, 

PA. Medical Information Science Ref, Aug 2008. 


Blatt SD. Enhancing Services: Legal Aspects of Infant 

Attachment. CASA Conference: Healthy Beginnings: 

Creating Positive Attachments in Children. Painted Post, 

NY, April 3, 2008. 

Blatt SD. Healthy Children in Foster Care: An Attainable 

Goal. Children in Foster Care: Development, Health and 

Well-Being. Westchester, NY, April 11, 2008. 

Blatt SD. The Wonder Years: Children in Foster Care 

in the Courtroom. New York State Judicial Institute. 

Rye Brook, NY, (Presented at three different Judicial 

Institutes) June 24, July 8, August 26, 2008. 

Blatt SD. Plenary: Opportunities and Challenges 

in Interdisciplinary Collaborative Education. 

Interdisciplinary Collaborative Education, Partnerships 

Between Law Schools and Health Professions. Atlanta, 

GA. September 24, 2009. 

Dawson E, Greenberg S, Olson B. The Predictive 

Value of Eosinophilia in Chronic Schistosomiasis and 

Strongyloidiasis: An Examination of the CDC Screening 

Guidelines for Newly Arriving Refugees. 2009 Pediatric 

Academic Society. Baltimore, MD. April 28-May 2, 2009. 

Pekarsky AR, Cohen N, Singhi V and Botash, AS. Pediatric 

Patient Assent and Medical Provider Compliance with 

New York State Guidelines for HIV Post-exposure 

Prophylaxis for Sexual Assault. Poster presented at 

the Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting: May 3, 2009: 

Baltimore, Maryland. 



Blatt SD: Member, New York State Permanent Judicial 

Committee on Justice for Children 

Blatt SD: New York State Children’s Cabinet Advisory 

Board Member (Appointed by the Governor) 

Blatt SD: National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership, 

Assistant National Medical Director 

Blatt SD: National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership, 

Medical Advisory Board Member 

Blatt SD: Peace Action of Central New York: Peace Award 

November 16, 2008 

Botash AS: Ray E. Helfer Society Vice President, 2007-2009 

Botash AS: Ray E. Helfer Society President, 2009-2010 

Cavanaugh RM: Executive Committee, American 

Academy of Pediatrics Section on Adolescent Health 

Cavanaugh RM: Program Chair, American Academy of 

Pediatrics, Section on Adolescent Health 

Cavanaugh RM: Editorial Board, American Academy of 

Pediatrics Adolescent Health Update 

Friedman J: Island Peer Review Organization, Vice 

President 

Meguid V: National Committee-AAMC Group on Women 

in Medicine and Science.



Andrake JS, Olson B, Peacock J, et al. Perspectives on 

Curriculum Reform: Different Approaches to the Same 

Goal. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association 

of Pediatric Program Directors. Baltimore, MD, April 28- 

May 2, 2009. 

Andrake SJ, Sveen A. Building a Communication Skills 

Curriculum for the Pediatrics Clerkship. Presented at the 

Annual Meeting of COMSEP. Atlanta, GA. April 3-6, 2008 

Blatt SD, Galowitz P, Retkin R, Tames P. Hot Topics in 

Medical-Legal Partnerships. American Bar Association 

& National Legal Aid Defender Association Equal Justice 

Conference. Orlando, FL, May 14, 2009. 

Blatt SD, Lawry K, Leon J, Ryan A. Do MLP’s Need 

Institutional Review Board Approval? What? Why? How? 

Medical-Legal Partnership National Summit, Cleveland, 

OH, March 27, 2009. 

Blatt SD, Norwood M, Cumbie Reckess S, White 

McCormick H, Melendez S. Fostering the Next 

Generation of Professionals: Engaging Educational 

Institutions as Partners. Medical-Legal Partnerships. 

Medical-Legal Partnership National Summit, Cleveland, 

OH, March 26, 2009. 

Blatt SD, Melendez SM, Ramsey SH, Broton W, Krishna 

S, Gresens L. Unmet Legal Needs in a Clinic Population. 

Medical-Legal Partnership National Summit. Kansas City, 

Mo, March 12, 2008. 

Blatt SD, Morton S, Tichner J. Ethics at 40,000 Feet: Big 

Picture Ethical Dimensions of MLP Practice. Medical-Legal 

Partnership National Summit, Cleveland, OH, March 27, 


Blatt SD, Seagriff P, Heer T, Gambino J. Meeting the 

Medical and Dental Needs of Children in Foster Care. 

Children in Foster Care: Development, Health and Well- 

Being. Westchester, NY, April 11, 2008. 

Blatt SD, Tames P, Zolezzi-Wyndham V. Training and 

Education Working Group. Medical-Legal Partnership 

National Summit, Cleveland, OH, March 27, 2009. 

Blatt SD, Tichner J, Morton S. “It’s None of Your 

Business!” Doctors, Lawyers and Confidentiality. 


Mo, March 12, 2008. 

Botash AS. Sexually Transmitted Infections in Sexual 

abuse and Assault: A Bug’s Life in Perspective. PREP: 

CAP: An Intensive Review and Update in Child Abuse 

Pediatrics, Portland, Oregon, July 22-25 2009. 

Botash AS. Head to Toe and Other Body Parts: The Male 

Genital Examination. PREP: CAP: An Intensive Review and 

Update in Child Abuse Pediatrics, Portland, Oregon, July 

22-25 2009. 

Botash AS, DeJong A. Sexually Transmitted Infections 

in Children and Adolescents. PREP: CAP: An Intensive 

Review and Update in Child Abuse Pediatrics, Portland, 

Oregon, July 22-25 2009. 

Botash AS, Kaplan R, Levit C. Basic Medical Training 

Academy in Child Abuse (on the topics of Fractures, STI’s, 

and Child Sexual Abuse), National Children’s Alliance 

Funded Conference. Burlington, VT. October 20. 2008 

Brandfield J, Melendez S, Blatt SD. Training and 

Education: Tips on how to Develop and Present 

Educational Programs to Professionals in other 

Disciplines. Medical-Legal Partnerships: NY 

Professionals Working Together to Improve Health Care. 

Syracuse, NY. June 5, 2009. 

Retkin R, Blatt SD, White McCormick H, Palumbo CM, 

Aerni JM, Branchfield J. Bringing the Law Office into the 

Healthcare Setting: Creating a Medical-Legal Partnership. 

New York State Bar Association 2008 Partnership 

Conference. Albany, NY, September 24, 2008. 

Roswig BB, Tobin Tyler L, Tames P, Blatt SD. Lighting 

the Way: How Medical and Legal Professionals Use 

Community Projects to Bring Services to Clients 

and Greater Communication to Their Professional 

Partnerships. American Bar Association & National Legal 

Aid Defender Association Equal Justice Conference. 

Orlando, FL. May 15, 2009. 

Tames P, Blatt SD, Riseberg R. Training & Evaluation. 


Mo, March 12, 2008.



Blatt SD 

Syracuse Medical Legal Partnership for Children, The 

John Ben Snow Foundation, 7/09: $10,000 

Regional Lead Poisoning Resource Center, NY State 

Health Department in the amount of $200,000 per year 

for five years. 

Botash AS 

Rape Crisis Program (CHAMP), 2009, NYS DOH: $36,000 

Rape Crisis Program for CHAMP, 2008, NYS DOH: $75,000 

PI: 2009-2010, NYS Office of Children and Family Services 

CHAMP Initiative, through a grant from Senator Valesky’s 

office ($65,0000) and from Sen. Aubertine’s Office 

($30,000) 

PI: 2007- 2008, NYS Office of Children and Family Services 

Child Abuse Medical Provider Initiative: $500,000 

PI: Child Fatality Review Team, NYS OCFS, 2010-2009: 

$52,000 

PI: Child Fatality Review Team, NYS OCFS, 2009-2010: 

$52,000 

PI, with grant assistance from Catherine Unger and 

Martha Ryan for Child Fatality Review Team, 2007-2009, 

NYS OCFS: $ 88,224 

2009: Friend in Deed Foundation for Child Fatality Review 

Team: $2,400 

2009: St. Agatha’s Foundation for CARE program: $25,000 

2009: CHAMP medical education grant: $30,000 

2009: Golisano Children’s Hospital education grant for 

Procedure Management (LEAPP) project: $8400 

SELECTED CLINICAL DATA (DIVISION TOTALS) 

General Pediatrics, Adolescent, CARE, Enhance 

2008: . . . . . . . . . 23,632 

2009: . . . . . . . . . 23,766 

Upstate Pediatrics Outpatient 

2008: . . . . . . . . . 13,611 

2009: . . . . . . . . . 13,336 

Inpatient encounters (General Pediatrics and 

Upstate Pediatrics) 

2008: . . . . . . . . . 1,043 

2009: . . . . . . . . . 833 

Newborn inpatient encounters (General 

Pediatrics and Upstate Pediatrics) 

2009: . . . . . . . . . 1,172 

2009: . . . . . . . . . 1,397


GENETICS 

FACULTY 

Robert Roger Lebel, MD, FACMG, Chief, Section Medical 

Genetics, Professor of Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Ob/ 

Gyn & Pathology, Lecturer in Bioethics & Humanities 

Joan Pellegrino, MD, FAAP, FACMG, Associate Professor 

of Pediatrics 

Adjunct Faculty: 

Constance Stein, PhD, Director Cytogenetics Laboratory; 

Professor, Pathology 

Antony Shrimpton, PhD, Director, Molecular Diagnostic 

Laboratory; Associate Professor, Pathology 

AFFILIATED CLINICAL STAFF: 

Bonnie R. Braddock, MPH, CGC, Senior Certified Genetic 

Counselor 

Ryan T. Miller, MS, CGC, Certified Genetic Counselor 


The section of Medical Genetics provides high quality 

and comprehensive clinical genetics services, including 

screening, diagnosis, treatment, counseling and 

preventive services to the 11 counties defined as Health 

Services Area 3 (HSA3) and to several other surrounding 

counties. Medical Genetics provides genetic evaluation 

and genetic counseling services for a wide range of 

neonatal, pediatric and adult onset indications. The 

Medical Genetics staff of clinical geneticists and genetic 

counselors work in a team approach to providing 

services. The program includes general genetic 

evaluation clinics, Inherited Metabolic Disease Specialty 

Center (IMD), inpatient genetic evaluation consultations, 

cancer and general genetic counseling, and genetic 

counseling within various specialty clinics at Upstate, 

including in conjunction with the Multidisciplinary Breast 

Cancer Program, the cystic fibrosis newborn screening 

program and craniofacial clinic. Medical Genetics also 

provides outreach genetic evaluation services at satellite 

clinics in Watertown and Binghamton. 

Medical Genetics is staffed by clinical geneticists, Robert 

Roger Lebel, MD, FACMG, and Joan Pellegrino, MD, 

FAAP, FACMG, and two full time board certified genetic 

counselors, Bonnie R. Braddock, MPH, CGC, and Ryan 

T. Miller, MS, CGC. Dr. Lebel arrived as new section 

chief in July 2008, and has interacted extensively with 

the extended Pediatrics department as well as other 

sectors of the medical university. As such, he supervises 

the activities of the genetic counselors and administers 

the section. He has seen over 700 new patients since 

arriving, and has had the opportunity to make diagnoses 

of a number of very rare syndromes, and also to lead 

the group in proposing a syndrome “new” to the medical 

literature. The lengthy waiting list which had grown 

during the interim has been reduced to manageable 

length and the satellite clinics in Watertown and 

Binghamton were re-established after Dr. Lebel arrived. 

Dr. Joan Pellegrino manages the Inherited Metabolic 

Diseases Specialty Center (IMD), which has continued 

to grow. The center is staffed by a dedicated nurse 

practitioner, registered nurse, dietician, social worker, 

genetic counselor and geneticist. The IMD evaluates 

infants with abnormal newborn screens or suspected 

metabolic disorders and manages those individuals 

with a known inborn error of metabolism. In 2008, 144 

patients were seen and, in 2009, 179 patients have been 

seen. The Center has also had an increase in the number 

of abnormal newborn screening patients sent in for 

evaluation. In the year 2009 alone, 9 newborns with PKU 

were identified and treated. The IMD is actively involved 

with the other Metabolic centers in the state. 

Ryan T. Miller, MS, CGC, works closely with Dr. Pellegrino 

in the IMD. He also works closely with the Craniofacial 

Clinic and the Pediatric Pulmonary section providing 

genetic counseling input at their locations. 

Bonnie R. Braddock, MPH, CGC, provides genetic 

counseling for the inherited cancer risk services, which 

has continued to grow over the last several years. In 2008 

and 2009, a total of 386 patients were seen for cancer 

genetic counseling. 

Medical Genetics coordinates the monthly Genetics 

Professional Review Group meeting at Upstate. 

Attendees include a range of clinical- and research-based 

genetics professionals and students throughout various 

departments at Upstate. The goals of the meetings are to 

foster collaboration of cases and research opportunities 

and to provide in-house educational opportunities. 


The IMD participates with the Lysosomal Storage 

Registry sponsored by Genzyme and has IRB approval to 

participate in studies on Gaucher, Fabry, Pompe and MPS1 

diseases. Patients are enrolled into long term follow-up 

studies after being identified on newborn screen to have 

an increased risk for Krabbe disease. 

Dr. Lebel’s research interests include syndrome 

identification and ethical issues in genetics. Dr. Stein’s 

research interests include investigation of chromosomal 

fragile sites, cytogenetic and molecular characterization 

of malignant tumors, chromosome imprinting. Dr. 

Shrimpton has research interest in sequencing 

Neuroserpin in patients with autism.


PUBLICATIONS 

Vajpayee N, Stein CK, Poiesz B, Hutchison R. Case of 

the Quarter - February 2008: Extramedullary Blast 

Transformation of CML at Initial Presentation. www. 

socforheme.org/case-feb-08.htm. 2008. 

Narendra S, Tull J, Muscolino D, Stein CK, Zhang 

S. Detection of DDIT3(CHOP) Gene Break-Apart by 

Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization (FISH) in Formalin Fixed 

Paraffin Embedded Myxoid/Round Cell Liposarcoma. 

Abstract, presented at a meeting, 2008. 

Riccardi GF, Stein CK, de la Roza G, Damron TA. Newly 

described translocation, t(18;19)(q23;q13.3) in abdominal 

wall soft tissue tumor resembling Ewing sarcoma/ 

Peripheral Neuroectodermal Tumor. (accepted pending 

modification by Cancer Genetics and Cytogenetics). 

Lebel RR, Spranger JW. Chance favors the prepared 

mind: A brief moral biography of Gregor Johann Mendel 

(7/22/1822-1/6/1884). Proc Greenwood Genet Center 27:3- 

5, 2008. 

Lebel RR, Logrieco GP. First report of Majewski-type 

short limbed polydactyly. Proc Greenwood Genet 

Center 27:6-7, 2008. 

Stallworth LJ, Avery J, DuPont BR, Lebel RR. Partial 

trisomy 2p and partial monosomy 9p in a fetus with 

anencephaly, polydactyly, and other abnormalities. Proc 

Greenwood Genet Center 27:18-21, 2008. 

Lebel RR, Collins JS, Avery JM, Logrieco GP, Broome PJ. 

Perinatal autopsy: prenatal growth in trisomy 21. Proc 


Lebel RR, Jones JR, Pridgen C, Gregg AR, Avery JM, 

Broome PJ, Friez MJ. Monosomy X proven (confirming 

clinical suspicion) in a fetus from which cells failed to 

grow in tissue culture: novel application of “multiplex 

ligation-dependent probe amplification” (MLPA), Proc 


Lebel RR, Avery JM, Broome PJ, Gregg AR, Alan C, 

Mostafa M. Fetal peritonitis due to appendiceal rupture: 

a rare complication of hydrops. Fetal Pediatr Pathol 

27(3):121-125, 2008. 

Lebel RR. The Language of God (Collins). Proc 


Gopaluni S, Perzova R, Abbott L, Farah R, Shrimpton 

A, Hutchison R, Poiesz BJ. CD8+ Cutaneous T-cell 

lymphoma successfully treated with Bexarotene: a case 

report and review of the literature. American Journal of 

Hematology. 83(9):744-6, 2008. 

Mehra A, Tull J, Shrimpton AE, dela Rosa G, Valente A, 

Zhang S. Detection of FKHR (FOX01) gene break-apart 

by Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in formalin 

fixed paraffin embedded Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcomas. 

Diagnostic Molecular Pathology, 17(1): 14-20, 2008. 

Shrimpton AE, Levinsohn EM. HOXD10 and congenital 

vertical talus. Chapter 71 “Inborn errors of development” 

Second Edition. Ed Epstein CJ, Erickson RP, Wynshaw- 

Boris A. Oxford University Press NY, 2008, pp 682-688. 

Lebel RR, Avery JM, Broome PJ, Collins JS. Prenatal 

diagnostic accuracy in South Carolina, demonstrated by 

autopsy. Fetal Pediatr Pathol 28(6):253-261, 2009. 

Barker SD, Bale S, Buller A, Das S, Friedman K, Godwin AK, 

Grody W, Highsmith E, Kant J, Lyon E, Mao R, Monaghan 

KG, Payne DA, Pratt VM, Roa B, Schrijver I, Shrimpton AE*, 

Hoopes RR*, Knohl SJ, Hueber P, Scheinman SJ. OCRL1 

Mutations in Dent 2 Patients Suggest a Mechanism for 

Phenotypic Variability. Nephron Physiology 112:27-36, 2009. 

Shrimpton A, Kessler J, Bassuk AG. Variability of Epilepsy, 

Autism, Brachydactyly, and Other Clinical Features in 

Familial and Sporadic 2q37.3 Deletion. J Ped Neurol. 7:1-5, 


Shrimpton AE, Spector E, Telatar M, Weck K, Zehnbauer 

B, Booker J, Kalmanet LV, al. Development and 

characterization of reference materials for MTHFR, 

SERPINA1, RET, BRCA1, and BRCA2 genetic testing 

Accepted The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics. #JMD09- 

0078 accepted. 

Duffner PK, Caggana M, Orsini JJ, Wegner DA, Patterson 

MC, Crosley CJ, Kurtzberg J, Arnold, GL, Escolar ML, 

Adams DJ, Andriola MR, Aron AM, Ciafaloni E, Djukie A, 

Erbe RW, Galvin-Parton P, Helton LE, Kolodny EH, Kosofsky 

BE, Kronn DF, Kwon JM, Levy PA, Miller-Horn J, Naidich TP, 

Pellegrino JE, Provenzale JM, Rothman SJ, Wasserstein MP, 

Newborn Screening of Krabbe Disease: the New York State 

Model. Pediatr Neurol 40:245-252, 2009. 


Lebel R, Seaver L, Gregg A, Edwards J, Salley M, Avery 

J, Broome P, Stevenson R. Prenatal phenotypic variation 

in Ellis-van Creveld syndrome. Am J Hum Genet 

83:(Suppl):161, Abstract #692, 2008. 

Miller RT, Barkan HI, Lebel RR. MECP2 duplication found 

by microarray study in a man with developmental 

regression. Genet Med 11 (Suppl.):151, Abstract #216, 2009. 

Lebel RR, Miller, RT, Havernick NJ, Dosa NP, Braddock 

BR, Smith FC, Shprintzen RJ. Cardio-renal-epilepsydigital-oculo 

(CREDO) syndrome: a “new” syndrome of 

developmental-delays and multiple-malformations. Am 

J Hum Genet 85(Suppl):206, Abstract #2600, 2009. 

Arnold GL, Galvin-Parton PA, Erbe R, DeVincentis E, 

Kronn D, Mofidi S, Wasserstein M, Pellegrino JE, Levy PA, 

Adams DJ, Saavedra-Matiz CA, Nichols TJ. Genotype- 

Metabolite Correlations and Outcome in MCAD 

Deficiency Diagnosed by Newborn Screening in New 

York State. Abstract 137, Platform presentation, Society 

of Inherited Metabolis Diseases meeting, San Diego, CA, 

September 2009


INVITED WORKSHOPS AND CME 

PRESENTATIONS 

Braddock B. Invited Lecture, “Hereditary Risk for Colon 

Cancer”, Healthlink Program, March, 2008. 

Braddock B. Invited Lecture, “Genetic Counseling”, 

Genetics, Disability and the Law, March 23, 2008. 

Braddock B. Invited Lecture, “Genetic Counseling and 

Testing for Inherited Colon Cancer Syndromes”, VA 

Hospital Gastroenterology Dept, September, 2009. 

Braddock B. Invited Lecture, “Genetic Testing for 

Hereditary Risk to Cancer”, Hematology Oncology 

Associates of Central New York, October, 2008. 

Lebel R. Invited Lecture, Grand Rounds, Dept Pediatrics, 

SUNY Upstate Med Univ (9/17/08, 3/18/09, 11/18/09). 

Lebel R. Invited Lecture, Grand Rounds, Dept Int Med, 

SUNY Upstate Med Univ (8/28/08, 4/30/09) 

Lebel R. Invited Lecture, Grand Rounds, Dept Obstet/ 

Gynecol, SUNY Upstate Med Univ (10/10/08, 2/6/09, 11/13/09) 

Lebel R. Invited Lecture, Grand Rounds, Dept Pathology, 

SUNY Upstate Med Univ (11/19/08) 

Lebel R. Invited Lecture, Grand Rounds, Dept Bioethics & 

Humanities, SUNY Upstate Med Univ (12/12/08) 

Lebel R. Invited Lecture, Onondaga County Pediatrics 

Society (11/18/08) 

Lebel R. Invited Lecture, Central New York Medical 

Academy (2/12/09) 

Lebel R. Invited Lecture, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, 

Scientific Day (5/1/09) 

Lebel R. Invited Lecture, Central New York 

Cytogeneticists’ Seminar (9/12/09) 

Lebel R. Invited Lecture, Regional seminar for Lutheran 

Pastors (10/7/09, 12/2/09) 

Lebel R. Invited Lecture, Onondaga Community College 

Special Education Class (11/9/09) 

Lebel R. Invited Lecture, Cato-Meridian High School 

Biology Classes (11/30/09) 

Miller R. Invited Lecture, Grand Rounds, Pediatrics, 

Chromosomal Microarray: New Diagnostic Frontier 

(5/27/09) 

Pellegrino J. Invited Lecture, Annual Pediatric Teaching 

Day, Newborn Screening: It’s not just PKU anymore, 

OnCenter Syracuse NY 6/4/08. 

Pellegrino J. Invited Lecture, Brighton Hills Pediatric 

Group, Update on Newborn Screening. Syracuse NY 

10/9/09 

Pellegrino J. Invited Lecture, Children at Risk Nursing 

Conference, Update on Newborn Screening, Syracuse NY 

11/19/08 


New York State Department of Health Genetic Services 

Program grant, in the amount of $140,858 annually from 

January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2013. 

CNY Children’s Miracle Network Patient Supplies for 

Metabolic Clinic, $4660, awarded in 2006. 


2008 total number of patients 

seen by Medical Genetics: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 865 

2009 total number of patients 

seen by Medical Genetics: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,019


HEMATOLOGY & ONCOLOGY 

FACULTY 

Richard H. Sills, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Division 

Director 

Irene Cherrick, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics 

Gloria Kennedy, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics 

Trisha Tavares, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics 

Jody Sima, M.D., Assistant Professor of Pediatrics 

Karol Kerr, M.D., Assistant Professor of Pediatrics 

William Kerr, Ph.D., Murphy Family Professor of 

Children’s Oncology Research 


Diane Groth, R.N., C.P.N.P., Pediatric Nurse Practitioner 

Susan Shaw, M.S.N, P.N.P., A.N.P., Pediatric and Adult 

Nurse Practitioner 

Karen Leshko, L.M.S.W., Licensed Medical Social Worker 

Brittany Metcalf, C.C.L.S., Certified Childlife Specialist 

Ruth McKay, M.A., L.M.F.T., Licensed Family Medical 

Therapist 

Kristi Scully, M.S. Ed., Education Specialist 

AFFILIATED RESEARCH STAFF 

Michelle Cavallerano, C.C.R.P., Clinical Research 

Associate 

Gayle Froio, M.T., Clinical Research Associate 


The Division of Hematology/Oncology cares for infants, 

children and adolescents with the full spectrum of 

hematologic and malignant disorders. The clinical 

activity of the section is based in the Waters Center for 

Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders (CCCBD). Serving 

a 21 country area in New York and Northern Pennsylvania, 

we are the sole regional provider for the specialty. The 

division also provides the primary source of patients for 

the 11G Pediatric Hematology/ Oncology Inpatient unit in 

the new Golisano Children’s Hospital. 

The Center employs five full-time and one part-time 

physician. We currently have two nurse practitioners; 

Diane Groth provides a primary role in caring for children 

with bleeding disorders, as well as, children with 

malignancies. Susan Shaw provides care part-time to 

children and young adults who were previously treated 

for a malignancy but are now considered long-term 

survivors. William Kerr, Ph.D., provides the basic science 

research component to the division. 

At the present time, the division has 5.7 registered nurses, 

3.5 office personnel, a social worker, family therapist, 

educational specialist, two clinical research associates, a 

research technician and a post doctoral student. 

The division cares for over 50 newly diagnosed children 

with cancer annually and more than 70 children on active 

chemotherapy programs. The division also provides care 

to children with a wide variety of hematologic disorders 

on an ongoing basis as well as providing consultative 

services for regional primary care providers who need 

assistance caring for children with potential hematologic 

or oncologic diagnoses. 

Children’s Oncology Group Participation 

The division continues to function as a full member of 

the Children’s Oncology Group under the leadership of 

Dr. Irene Cherrick. All of COG’s research protocols are 

available to our patients and we have been very effective 

at entering the great majority of newly diagnosed patients 

onto research protocols. 

KNOT Center 

This is our program of long-term follow up for late 

effects which was one of the first of its kind in the nation. 

The program follows more than 500 patients. Susan 

Shaw, RN, PNP provides the primary clinical services 

under the supervision of Dr. Jody Sima. Dr. Sima’s prime 

research interest has been late effects, providing a 

research component to this clinical service. Dr. Sima has 

begun to better organize our databases on late effects 

and has been able to publish her initial studies looking 

at primary care providers and their understanding 

(or relative lack of understanding) of readily available 

resources concerning late effects of the malignancies and 

their treatment. 

Ms. Shaw has a national reputation for her work and is a 

frequently invited speaker. She is on the COG late effects 

committee. Patients usually enter the KNOT program 

when they are five years from diagnosis and at low risk 

for relapse. Specific protocols are followed to assure that 

the longer term effects of chemotherapy, radiation and 

surgery are recognized and managed appropriately. 

Neuro-Oncology 

This multidisciplinary neuro-oncology program is now 

directed by Dr. Gloria Kennedy with the assistance of 

Dr. Trisha Tavares. The program is held in the CCCBD on 

a monthly basis and is regularly attended by pediatric 

neurology, radiation oncology and an educational 

specialist. The visits focus not only on the medical care 

and management of long term complications but also 

focus on the psychosocial and educational needs of these 

children. It is a true multi-disciplinary program which 

makes it much simpler for patients and their families; 

they are able to see all their neuron-oncology providers 

at a single visit.


Hemophilia 

Diane Groth, RN, PNP and Dr. Kennedy coordinate the 

federally funded hemophilia program. More than fifty 

patients with hemophilia and more than 220 with other 

coagulopathies receive consistent, comprehensive care 

through this program. Camp High Hopes, co-founded and 

operated by Ms. Groth, provides a wonderful week-long 

camp experience for boys with hemophilia. It is open to 

boys from the entire upstate region and is unique for this 

area. 

New York State Designated 

Hemoglobinopathy Center 

This program is directed by Dr. Richard Sills. Its primary 

role is to provide the focus of care for children with 

hemoglobinopathies; most of these children are 

identified by the New York State Newborn Screening 

Program and referred to us directly as the regional 

center. Smaller numbers of children are referred 

when they move into the area. We currently care for 

approximately 100 children with sickle cell disease. 

We also provide service to children with other 

hemoglobinopathies such as thalassemia and hemoglobin 

C or E disorders. In addition we provide genetic 

counseling to families identified as having infants with 

hemoglobinopathy traits identified by newborn screening 

or referred by outside physicians. 

Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation 

The pediatric stem cell transplant program continues to 

develop and serve the needs of patients with a variety of 

solid tumors, particularly those with neuroblastoma and 

brain tumors. We are an approved autologous transplant 

center for COG studies. 

Educational Specialist and Neuropsychology 

Service 

This is an area of innovation in our division. Kristi Scully 

has taken over the role since Nan Songer’s death. This 

was a difficult time for the division, but Ms. Scully is 

doing a remarkable job. Ms. Scully’s role is to coordinate 

tutoring, school re-entry, assessing and guaranteeing 

adaptation of the educational system to the unique needs 

of our children, the monitoring of school performance 

and active participation in the educational planning for 

children with neurocognitive deficits. Close collaboration 

with the regional school districts and the use of school 

visits is integral to the success of this program. She also 

coordinates our “When Cancer Enters the Classroom” 

program for school nurses and teachers in our region to 

learn more about working with our children. Brian Rieger, 

PhD, a neuropsychologist in the Department of Physical 

Medicine and Rehabilitation, is a close collaborator with 

the service and supervises all of the neuropsychological 

testing. Participation of PhD students from the School 

of Education at Syracuse University has been funded by 

the CCCBD and has been an integral part of an innovative 

research program. 

Pediatric Palliative Care 

Dr. Irene Cherrick has very successfully expanded the 

palliative care program which is becoming a separate 

program as much of its activity has moved beyond 

pediatric hematology and oncology. It has been very 

successful. It fills a tremendous void by organizing and 

providing support for children who are still receiving 

some therapy to improve their quality of survival in 

spite of an inability to cure their disease. The traditional 

hospice program manages patients only after therapies, 

such as chemotherapy, are no longer being used. Dr. 

Cherrick’s program has expanded beyond the population 

of children with hematologic and oncologic diagnoses 

and now includes all children in our region whose 

insurance qualifies them for this support. 


Dr. William Kerr 

An important area of investigation for Dr. Kerr’s lab is the 

role that SHIP plays in stem cell biology, both pluripotent 

stem (PS) cells and hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). In 

2001 we identified a stem cell specific isoform of SHIP, 

s-SHIP, that is expressed by PS cells and HSC. s-SHIP 

associates with Grb2 and is constitutively recruited 

to the plasma membrane to receptor components 

like gp130. Thus, we propose that s-SHIP sets signaling 

thresholds for PS cell populations. We also found that 

SHIP expression is required to sustain their multi-lineage 

repopulating capacity. We have recently demonstrated 

that SHIP is required for the normal function of the BM 

niche that supports HSC. Future studies will define the 

cell types and signaling pathways that SHIP influences 

which are required for niche function. We have recently 

developed SHIP1 inhibitors that our research suggests 

might be used to mobilize HSC for transplant purposes 

and to improve blood cell recovery in myelosuppressed 

patients. Applications of SHIP1 inhibition that we will be 

examining in the near future. 

We find that SHIP is critical to maintaining a diverse 

repertoire of activating and inhibitory receptors in 

mature Natural Killer (NK) cells. The NK repertoire 

disruption that occurs in 

SHIP -/- mice has profound functional consequences 

and disables rejection of allogeneic bone marrow 

(BM) grafts. Surprisingly, SHIP-deficiency also appears 

to abrogate graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) - the 

major cause of treatment-related mortality in human 

allogeneic BM transplantation. This appears to be due 

to a dramatic expansion of a myeloid and T lymphoid 

immunoregulatory cells in SHIP -/- hosts that suppress 

allogeneic T cell responses that mediate GvHD or organ 

graft rejection. We have recently developed chemicals 

inhibitors of SHIP1 that might be used to increase both the 

efficacy and utility of allogeneic BM transplantation in 

cancer and genetic diseases. SHIP1/2 inhibitors might also 

find utility in prevention of solid organ rejection and in 

the treatment of malignancy - two possibilities we will be 

examining in the future.


Dr. Jody Sima 

Dr. Sima has effectively examined the current 

understanding of late effects of childhood cancer by 

primary care providers. As these children age out of 

pediatrics and begin to often be followed by primary 

care providers, it is essential to improve the ability of 

these providers to understand and recognize potential 

complications. 

Dr. Richard Sills 

Dr. Sills is trying to re-establish the planned regional 

consortium involving Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse for 

a research basis into children with sickle cell disease. 

PUBLICATIONS 

Collazo, M.C., Wood, D., Paraiso, K.H.T., Lund, E., 

Engelman, R.W., Le, C.T., Stauch, D., Kotsch, K. and Kerr, 

W.G. SHIP limits immunoregulatory capacity in the T cell 

compartment. Blood 113: 2934-44 (2009). [featured on 

cover] 

Hazen, A.L, Smith, M.J., Desponts, C., Winter, O., Moser, 

K., and Kerr, W.G. SHIP is required for a functional 

hematopoietic stem cell niche. Blood 113: 2924-33 (2009). 

HYD1-induced increase in reactive oxygen species leads to 

autophagy and necrotic cell death in multiple myeloma 

cells. Nair R.R., Emmons M.F., Cress A.E., Argilagos R.F., 

Lam K., Kerr W.G., Wang H.G., Dalton W.S., Hazlehurst L.A. 

Mol. Cancer Ther. 8:2441-51 (2009). 

Kanwar VS, Sills RH. Hereditary disorders of red cell 

permeability. Emedicine 2008. Available from URL: http:// 

emedicine.medscape.com/article/955921-overview 

Sills RH, Meck M. Hereditary elliptocytosis and related 

disorders. Emedicine 2008. Available from URL: http:// 


Cerone JB, Kanwar VS, Sills RH. Consumption 

coagulopathy. Emedicine 2009. Available from URL: http:// 


Kanwar VS, Sills RH. Lymphadenopathy. Emedicine, 2009. 

Available from URL: http://emedicine.medscape.com/ 

article/956340-overview 

Kanwar VS, Sills RH. Splenomegaly. Emedicine, 2009. 

Available from URL: http://emedicine.medscape.com/ 

article/958739-overview 

Shaw S.(2009). Endocrine Late Effects in Survivors of 

Pediatric Brain Tumors. Journal of Pediatric Oncology 

Nursing 26(5):295-302. 

Landier, W., Kinahan, K., Shaw, S., Bhatia, S.(2009). 

Screening for Late Effects in Brain Tumor Survivors. In S. 

Goldman and C. Turner (Eds.), Late Effects of Treatment 

for Brain Tumors (Chapter 26, pp.389-409). New York: 

Springer. 


COG – Irene Cherrick, PI 

Novartis Exjade Study – Richard Sills, PI 

NIH – William Kerr 

2002-2011 RO1 HL72523: Role of SHIP in NK Cell Biology (PI) 

2008-2012 R01HL085580: SHIP and Immunoregulatory Cell 

Function (PI) 

2007-2010 R21CA118632: Defining the Multiple Myeloma 

Kinome (PI) 

2007-2010 R21CA25398: The Kinomes of Non-Hodgkin 

Lymphoma (PI) 

EDITORIAL SERVICE 

Dr. Sills serves as a consulting editor of PREP 2001-present 

and continues to be a question writer for PREP. 


Outpatient visits: 2008: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,608 

2009: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,261 

Inpatient Visits: 2008: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,718 

2009: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,291


INFECTIOUS DISEASES 

FACULTY 

Leonard B. Weiner, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Pathology 

and Family Medicine, Director, Division of Infectious 

Disease and Immunology 

Joseph B. Domachowske, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, 

Microbiology and Immunology 

Jana Shaw, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics 

Jeffrey D. Snedeker, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of 


John A. Bradshaw, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of 


FELLOWS 

Nicholas Bennett MD, PhD, MB/BChir 

Manika Suryadevara, MD 


Kathie Contello, RN, MS, CPNP 

M. Christine Crandall, RN, MS, PNP 

Wendy Holz, RN, MS, PNP 


Cynthia Bonville, MS, Senior Research Support 

Technologist 

Lisa Susko RN, Study Coordinator 

Christy Tabarani, MD, Research Assistant 

Joy M. Tompkins, RN, MS, PNP, Administrator 


The Division of Infectious Diseases provides care for 

infants, children and adolescents with severe or unusual 

infections and immune deficiency syndromes, including 

HIV. Infectious disease specialists evaluate and treat 

children with recurrent infections, persistent or periodic 

fever syndromes, unusual or severe bacterial, viral, 

fungal and parasitic diseases, and innate or acquired 

immune deficiency syndromes. As a designated New York 

State Department of Health Pediatric AIDS Center of 

Excellence, we provide medical care for pediatric patients 

infected with, or exposed to human immunodeficiency 

virus. Our outpatient care is provided in the Pediatric 

and Adolescent Infectious Disease and Immunology 

Center in the pediatric subspecialty outpatient setting 

located in the Golisano Children’s Hospital. Patients 

referred by their primary care physicians for infectious 

disease immunologic diagnostic evaluations or who need 

intravenous antibiotics and immunoglobulin infusions 

are administered in this Center. Follow-up evaluations 

on recently hospitalized patients also take place in this 

setting. 

Hospitalized patients are evaluated upon the request 

of their primary care physician at University, Crouse 

and Saint Joseph’s Hospitals. Our infectious disease 

specialists work closely with the primary care 

pediatricians and family physicians, surgical specialist, 

intensivists, hospitalists, and neonatologists to direct the 

diagnostic and therapeutic evaluations of patients with 

infectious disease and/or immunologic problems. 

The activities of the Division of Infectious Disease include 

the only Pediatric Designated AIDS Center in the region. 

This program has also received a Center of Excellence 

designation and grant from the New York State 

Department of Health. 

The Pediatric Infectious Disease Division has an 

accredited fellowship program that accommodates one 

post graduate resident a year. The focus of this specialty 

education is on clinical care and research. 


Clinical Trials 

A major effort of the infectious disease physicians is the 

participation in multi-center, national and international 

clinical trials to evaluate the safety and efficacy of new 

pharmacologic agents and vaccines related to the care 

of children and adolescents. Specifically, Dr. Weiner 

currently supervises protocols to evaluate novel antiviral 

therapies and multiple clinical vaccine trials. 

Studies involving newer meningococcal, pneumococcal, 

influenza, DTAP/Hib/IPV and MMRV vaccines are currently 

underway. Vaccine trials usually take place at University 

Pediatric and Adolescent Center or Upstate Pediatrics. 

Dr. Domachowske’s clinical research interests focus on 

the epidemiology and clinical manifestations of lower 

respiratory tract viral infections. He has paralleled these 

interests with an extensive laboratory program involving 

the study of severe respiratory virus infection utilizing 

animal models. Severe viral bronchiolitis and pneumonia 

depend on both active viral replication, and on the 

host cell immune responses to that infection. Studies 

to elucidate these host responses and to determine 

the clinical effects of inhibiting these responses have 

revealed that combination therapy with antiviral 

compounds and specific immunomodulatory agents offer 

dramatic clinical benefits. Dr. Domachowske’s clinical 

and epidemiologic trials include four RSV-prevention 

protocols, two RSV/parainfluenza vaccine trials, and a 

large scale pediatric influenza vaccine trial. 

Dr. Shaw’s clinical research interests focus on 

epidemiology and severity of S. aureus infection 

among healthy children. Current research focuses on 

establishing the role of S. aureus virulence factors among 

seriously ill children and the importance of S. aureus 

colonization among children with cystic fibrosis.


Dr. Shaw has also been interested in a quality of life and 

clinical outcomes among immuncompromised patients 

receiving immunoglobulin replacement therapy. She has 

been mentoring and supervising medical students and 

fellows engaged in her research. 

PUBLICATIONS 

Samkari A, Kiska DL, Riddell SW, Wilson K, Weiner LB, 

and Domachowske JB. Dipylidium Caninum Mimicking 

Recurrent Enterobius Vermicularis (Pinworm) Infection. 

Clin Pediatr, 2008;47:397-99. 

Krilov, LR, Weiner LB, Yogev R, Fergie J, Katz 

BZ, Henrickson KJ, Welliver RC, The 2009 COID 

Recommendations for RSV Prophylaxis: Issues of 

Efficacy, Cost and Evidence-Based Medicine. Pediatrics, 

2009;124:1682-1684. 

Rosenberg HF and Domachowske JB. Respiratory viruses 

and eosinophils: exploring the connections Antiviral Res 

2009; 83:1-9. 

Tabarani C and Domachowske JB. Influenza vaccine in 

health care workers. Pediatr Annals 2009; 38:661-6. 

Arguedas A, Cespedes J, Botet FA, Blumer J, Yogev R, 

Gesser R, Wang J, West J, Snyder T, Wimmer W; Protocol 

036 Study Group. Safety and tolerability of ertapenem 

versus ceftriaxone in a double-blind study performed 

in children with complicated urinary tract infection, 

community-acquired pneumonia or skin and softtissue 

infection. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2009;33:163-7. 

(Domachowske) 

Percopo CM, Phipps S, Foster PS, Domachowske JB, and 

Rosenberg HF. Pulmonary eosinophils and their role in 

immunopathologic responses to formalin-inactivated 

pneumonia virus of mice. J Immunol 2009; 183:604-12. 

Kobayaa H, Souki RR, Trust S and Domachowske JB. 

Pastuerella multocida meningitis in newborns 

after incidental animal exposure. Pediatr Infect Dis J 

2009; 28:928-9. 

Bonville CA, Percopo CM, Dyer KD, Gao JL, Prussin 

C, Foster B, Rosenberg HF and Domachowske JB. 

Interferon-gamma coordinates CCL3-mediated 

neutrophil recruitment in vivo. BMC Immunology 

2009;10:14. 

Moro MR, Bonville CA, Suryadevara, M, Cummings 

E, Faddoul D, Branigan P, Domachowske JB. Clinical 

features, adenovirus types, and local production of 

inflammatory mediators in adenovirus infections. Pediatr 

Infect Dis J 2009; 28:376-80. 

Rosenberg HF, Dyer KD, and Domachowske JB. 

Eosinophils and their interactions with respiratory virus 

pathogens. Immunologic Res. 2009; 43:128-37. 

Bern RA, van Woensel JBM, Bos AP, Koski A, Farnand 

A, Domachowske JB, Rosenberg HF, Martin TR, and 

Matute-Bello G. Mechanical ventilation enhances lung 

inflammation and caspase activity in a model of mouse 

pneumovirus infection. AJP Lung 2009;296;L46-56. 

Rosenberg HF and Domachowske JB. Pneumonia virus of 

mice: Severe respiratory virus infection in a natural host. 

Immunol Lett. 2008; 118:6-12. 

Samkari A, Kiska DL, Riddell SW, Wilson KW, and 

Domachowske JB. Dipylidium canium infestation 

masquerading as treatment-resistant pinworms. Clin 

Pediatr. 2008;47:397-99. 

Eick A, Karron R, Shaw J, Thumar B, Reid R, Santosham 

M, O’Brien KL. The role of neutralizing antibodies in 

protection of American Indian infants against respiratory 

syncytial virus disease.Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2008 

Mar;27(3):207-12. 


Moro MR, Contello K, Holz W, Weiner LB, Shaw 

J. Subcutaneous (SCIG) versus Intravenous (IVIG) 


Population with Primary Immunodeficiencies (PID). 

Pediatric Academic Societies, Baltimore MD, May 2009. 

El Feghaly RE, McGann L, Bonville CA, Rosenberg HF, and 

Domachowske JB. 

A Decade of Pediatric Parainfluenza Virus Infections: 

Clinical Manifestations and Biomarkers of Disease 

Severity. Pediatric Academic Societies Baltimore MD May 


deWaal Malefyt SK, Pecha MM, and Domachowske JB. 

Bacterial meningitis in children with Mondini dysplasia. 

Pediatric Academic Societies Baltimore MD May 2009. 

Gilroy SA, Martin D, Stahl R, Domachowske JB, Weiner 

LB, Johnson H, Costello K, Dadey J, Gross S, Bode M, 

Fuller P, Agnew M, Smith F, Susman R, Barrington K, and 

Johnson L. RSV Infection in a neonatal ICU: Report of 

prevention strategies to control an outbreak. Society for 

Healthcare Epidemiology of America. San Diego CA 2009 

Gilroy SA, Martin D, Stahl R, Domachowske JB, Allen R, 

Johnson H, Costello K, Bode, M, Treatmen S, Sikora R, 

Hall E, Fuller P, LeRoy S, Steinman R Kosinsky M, Agnew M, 

Shaw J, Smith F, Susman R, Barrington K, Cook B, Johnson 

L, Watkins J, Richey D, Morrow C. Mumps exposure in 

a neonatal intensive care unit: Report of prevention 

strategies implemented to control an outbreak. Society 

for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. San Diego CA 

2009 

Bonville CA, Rosenberg HF, and Domachowske JB. 

Newborn inflammatory responses to severe viral 

bronchiolitis. Infectious Disease Society of America. 

Washington, DC October, 2008 

Bonville CA, Moro RM, and Domachowske JB. A decade 

of pediatric adenovirus infection in Upstate New York: 

Clinical features and adenovirus types. Infectious Disease 

Society of America. Washington, DC October, 2008 

Cummings E, Suryadevara M, Bonville CA, Bartholoma 

N, Riddell S, Kiska D, and Domachowske JB. Viral coinfection 

is common in RSV-infected hospitalized 

children. Infectious Disease Society of America. 

Washington, DC October, 2008


Moro RM and Domachowske JB. Tracking curbside 

questions posed to a pediatric infectious disease service 

2007 compared to 1990. Pediatric Academic Societies, 

Honolulu HI, May 2008. 

Moro MR, Bonville CA, Suryadevara M, Cummings E, 

Faddoul D, Kobayaa H, Branigan PJ and Domachowske 

JB. Adenovirus Infection Induces a Series of Pro- 

Inflammatory Mediators, but only Interleukin-1a and 

Interleukin-8 Correlate with Illness Severity. Pediatric 

Academic Societies, Honolulu HI, May 2008. 

Bem RA, van Woensel JB, Bos AP, Koski A, Domachowske 

JB, Rosenberg HF, Martin TR, and Matute-Bello G. 

Mechanical ventilation enhances lung inflammation and 

cellular apoptosis in a model of mouse pneumovirus 

infection. American Thoracic Society Toronto Canada 


Moro MR, Contello K, Holz W, Weiner LB, Shaw 

J. Subcutaneous (SCIG) versus Intravenous (IVIG) 


Population with Primary Immunodeficiencies (PID). 

Pediatric Academic Societies, Baltimore MD, May 2009. 

Gilroy SA, Martin D, Stahl R, Domachowske JB, Allen R, 

Johnson H, Costello K, Bode, M, Treatmen S, Sikora R, 

Hall E, Fuller P, LeRoy S, Steinman R Kosinsky M, Agnew 

M, Shaw J, et al. Mumps exposure in a neonatal intensive 

care unit: Report of prevention strategies implemented 

to control an outbreak. Society for Healthcare 

Epidemiology of America. San Diego CA 2009 

Suryadevara M, Moro MR, Rosenbaum P, Kiska D, Ridell 

S, Shaw J. Invasive community-acquired methicillinresistant 

Staphylococcus aureus infections in children in 

upstate New York. Pediatric Academic Societies, Honolulu 

HI, May 2008. 



Joseph Domachowske, MD 

Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award 


Editor, Clinical Microbiology Reviews 

2002-2007, 2007-2012 

Managing Editor, Pediatrics e-medicine 

Infectious Diseases Section www.emedicine.com 

1999-present 


Domachowske JB: Immunization Advocacy. American 

Academy of Pediatrics Vaccine Summitt. Canandaguia NY 

May 2009 

Domachowske JB: Global health: the Central America 

perspective. High school advocacy group, Young Life Feb 


Domachowske JB: Mucosal delivery of vaccines for 

respiratory tract infections. Albany Pediatric Society. Jan 


Domachowske JB: Vaccines: The accused. Pediatric 

Grand Rounds Syracuse, NY Jan 7, 2009 

Domachowske JB: Measles and mumps in 2008. Children 

at Risk Conference. Liverpool NY Nov 19 , 2008. 

Domachowske JB: Invasive fungal infections in children. 

Diagnosis and treatment. Resident education seminar. 

Syracuse, NY Nov 13, 2008 

Domachowske JB: Maintaining public confidence in 

vaccines. American Academy of Pediatrics Vaccine 

Summitt. New Palz NY Nov 8, 2008 

Domachowske JB: Immune deficiencies and 

immunoglobulin replacement. Family advocacy group. 

Nov 5 th 2008 Syracuse NY 

Domachowske JB: The quest for an RSV vaccine. Pediatric 

Grand Rounds Duke University November 4, 2009 

Domachowske JB: 2008 Professional Immunization 

Seminar: The Future is Now. Erie County Department of 

Health, Erie PA. September 2008 

Domachowske JB: 2008 Immunization Update. Nursing 

conference. Canastota, NY March 2008. 

Domachowske JB: Adolescent Immunization: A new 

focus on the next generation. Satellite symposium during 

the National Immunization Conference. Atlanta, GA 

March 2008. 

Domachowske JB: How protected are we? Outbreaks of 

vaccine preventable infections. Why? How? APIC Chapter 

Heart of New York’s Don’t gamble with infection control. 

Oneida, NY. March 2008. 

Domachowske JB: Travel advice for college students: 

vaccines, food, water, and malaria. Syracuse University 

Teaching Day, Syracuse, NY January 2008 

Weiner LB: Invited Speaker – Albany County Medical 

Society, Albany, NY, “Influenza Vaccine Update 2008”, May 


Weiner LB: Invited Participant – New York City, 

Meningococcal Vaccine Advisory Committee, August 6, 


Weiner LB: Invited Speaker – Monroe County Medical 

Society, Rochester, NY, “New Approaches to Pertussis 

Prevention”, August 14, 2008. 

Weiner LB: Invited Speaker – New York State Department 

of Health, Immunization Conference, Syracuse, NY, 

September 12, 2008. 

Weiner LB: Pediatric Grand Rounds, “Influenza 

Immunization – Today and in the Future”, SUNY Upstate 

Medical University, Syracuse, NY, December 10, 2008. 

Weiner LB: Invited Speaker – Sullivan County Medical 

Society, NYSDOH/MSSNY, “Immunization Update for 

Health Care Professionals-2009”, Rock Hill, NY, December 


Weiner LB: Invited Speaker – “Pediatric Respiratory Viral 

Infections”, Saratoga Springs, NY, February 4, 2009. 

Weiner LB: Invited Speaker – Ulster County Medical



Health Care Professionals-2009”, Woodstock, NY, April 7, 


Weiner LB: Invited Speaker – Medical Grand Rounds, Our 

Lady of Lourdes Memorial Hospital, “New Considerations 

for Adult Immunization”, Binghamton, NY, April 23, 2009. 

Weiner LB: Invited Speaker - Orange County Medical 


Health Care Professionals-2009”, Newburgh, NY, May 12, 


Weiner LB: Invited Speaker – Pediatric Associates, 

“Update – Rotavirus Vaccines”, Camillus, NY, May 20, 2009. 

Weiner LB: Invited Speaker – Immunization Summit 

2009, “Immunization Safety & Breaking Communication 

Barriers”, Albany, NY, June 30, 2009. 

Weiner LB: Invited Speaker – Northeast Pediatrics , 

“Update on Prevention of Rotavirus Disease”, Ithaca, NY, 

September 30, 2009. 

Weiner LB: Participant – Scientific Advisory Board 

Meeting, “Epidemiology of RSV Disease”, Washington, DC, 

October 1-2, 2009. 

Weiner LB: Invited Speaker – Broome County Pediatric 

Society, “Update on RSV & Influenza”, Binghamton, NY, 

October 21, 2009. 

Weiner LB: Invited Speaker – Arnot Ogden Hospital, 

NYSDOH/MSSNY, “A 2010 Clinician’s Guide to Influenza 

and Vaccination Protocols”, Ogdensburg, NY, October 27, 


Weiner LB: Invited Speaker – American Academy of 

Pediatrics/NYSDOH Vaccine Summit, “Emerging Vaccines 

in the Research Pipeline”, Mohonk, NY, November 6-8, 


Weiner LB: Invited Speaker – SUNY Upstate Medical 

University, Department of Medicine, NYSDOH/MSSNY, 

“A 2010 Clinician’s Guide to Influenza and Vaccination 

Protocols”, Syracuse, NY, November 23, 2009. 


Weiner LB 

2005-2009 Comparative Immunogenicity of 

Different Multivalent Component 

Pertussis Vaccine Formulations Based 

on a 5-component Acellular Pertussis in 

Infants and Toddlers, M5A10: Principal 

Investigator 

2006-2008 Phase III Study for the Immunogenicity 

and Consistency Evaluation of 3 Hib- 

MenCY-TT Vaccine Lots and Evaluation 

of Safety and Immunogenicity of GSK 

Biologicals’ Haemophilus Influenzae Type 

B and Neisseria Meningitidis Serogroups 

C & Y-tetanus T, Hib 009/010: Principal 

Investigator 

2006-2008 A phase III, single-blind, Randomized, 

Controlled, Multinational Study for the 

Evaluation of Safety of GSK Biologicals’ 

Haemophilus Influenzae Type B and 

Neisseria Meningitidis Serogroups 

C and Y-Tetanus Toxoid Conjugate 

Vaccine Combined, Hib 011/012: Principal 

Investigator 

2007-2008 Wyeth Pharmaceuticals: Trial 

Evaluating the Safety, Tolerability, 

and Immunogenicity of Three Lots of 

13-valent Pneumococcal Conjugate 

Vaccine in Healthy Infants, 6096A1-3005: 

Principal Investigator 

2007-2009 GlaxoSmithKline: A Phase II Randomized, 

Observer Blind, Multicenter Study of 

GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals’ Combined 

Measles-Mumps-Rubella-Varicella 

Vaccine (MMRV) Versus ProQuad, 

According to a One Dose Schedule, 

both Administered Subcutaneously 

at 12-14 months, MMRV-054: Principal 

Investigator 

2009-2010 Merck and Company: Safety, Tolerability 

and Immunogenicity of VARIVAX 

(2007 Commercial VZV Bulk Process) 

Administered Concomitantly with MMRII 

in Healthy Children 12-23 Months of Age, 

V210-057: Principal Investigator 

2008-2010 Novartis: A Phase I, Open Label, 

Randomized Multi-Center Study to 

Evaluate the Safety and Immunogenicity 

of ProQuad Vaccine When Administered 

Concomitantly with Novartis 

Meningococcal ACWY Conjugate Vaccine 

to Healthy Toddlers, Protocol # V59P21: 


2008-2010 Novartis: A Phase 3b, Open-Label, 

Randomized, Parallel-Group, 

MultiCenter Study to Evaluate the Safety 

of Novartis MenACWY Conjugate Vaccine 

when Administered with Routine Infant 

Vaccinations to Healthy Infants, V59P23: 


2008-2009 Tibotec: A Phase II, Open-Label Trial 

to Evaluate the Safety, Tolerability 

and Antiviral Activity of TMC125 in 

Antiretroviral Experienced HIV-1 Infected 

Children and Adolescents, TMC125- 

TiDP35-C213: Principal Investigator 

2006-2009 Sanofi Pasteur: An Immunogenicity, 

Safety, and Non-Interference Evaluation 

of Pediatric Vaccines Administered 

Concomitantly with Menactra ® 

(Meningococcal [Groups A, C, Y and 

W-135] Polysaccharide Diphtheria Toxoid 

Conjugate Vaccine) to Healthy Toddlers: 

MTA37: Principal Investigator


2006-2008 An Immunogenicity and Safety 

Evaluation of Two Doses of Menactra® 

(Meningococcal [Groups A,C,Y and 

W-135] Polysaccharide Diphtheria Toxoid 

Conjugate Vaccine) Given to Healthy 

Subjects at 9 and 12 Months of Age 

(MTA44): Principal Investigator 

2006-2008 Immunogenicity and Safety of 

Meningococcal (Serogroups A,C,Y, and 

W-135) Polysaccharide Diphtheria Toxoid 

Conjugate Vaccine (Menactra) in Children 

Aged 4 to 6 Years in the US when 

Administered Concomitantly with a Fifth 

Dose Diphtheria and Tetanus Toxoids and 

Acellular Pertussis Vaccine Adsorbed, 

MTA 43: Principal Investigator 

2004-2010 New York State, Department of Health, 

AIDS Institute – Center of Excellence, 

Pediatric HIV Care. 

A Double Blind, Placebo-Controlled, 

Virologic Efficacy Trial of Pleconaril 

(VP63843) in the Treatment of Neonates 

with Enteroviral Sepsis Syndrome, NIH/ 

NIAID/CASG 106 

A Phase III, Randomized, Placebo- 

Controlled, Blinded Investigation 

of Six Weeks Vs. Six Months Of Oral 

Valganciclovir Therapy In Infants 

With Symptomatic Congenital 

Cytomegalovirus Infection (NIH/NIAID/ 

CASG 112) Protocol Number: 06-0046: 


2008- A Phamacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic and 

Safety Evaluation of Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) 

for the Treatment of Children less 

than 24 Months of Age with Confirmed 

Influenza Infection (NIH/NIAID/CASG 114, 

Protocol# 06-0059): Principal Investigator 

2009- A Pharmacokinetic/Pharmacodynamic 

And Safety Evaluation Of Investigational 

Intravenous Peramivir In Children With 

Influenza Disease NIH/NIAID/CASG 117: 


Domachowske JB 

2009 GlaxoSmithKline 

Phase 3, observer-blind, randomized 

study to evaluate the immunogenicity 

and safety of FluLaval TF (GSK 

Biologicals) compared with Fluzone 

(Sanofi –Pasteur,Inc) administered 

intramuscularly in children 3 to 17 years 

of age in the US. Role: PI 

2009-2011 National Institutes of Health, NIAID. The 

Innate Immune Shield: Lactobacillus 

species promote resistance to the lethal 

sequelae of respiratory virus infection. 

Role: Collaborator 

2009- Medimmune Research Grant 

Respiratory events among premature 

infants (32-36 week GA): Outcomes and 

risk tracking study Role: PI 

2009- Medimmune Research Grant 

A Phase 1/2a, Randomized, Double-Blind, 

Placebo-Controlled Study to Evaluate 

the Safety, Tolerability, Immunogenicity, 

and Viral Shedding of MEDI-559, a Live 

Attenuated Intranasal Vaccine Against 

Respiratory Syncytial Virus in Healthy 1 to 


NEPHROLOGY 

FACULTY 

James Listman, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics 

Scott Schurman, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, 

Section Head 

Thomas Welch, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Chairman, 



Susan Sheffield, PNP, Nurse Practitioner and Coordinator 

Voiding Improvement Program 

Vickie Keeler, RN, BSN, MA 


Lisa W. Blystone, MS, Instructional Support Specialist 

JoAnne E. Race, MS, Instructional Support Specialist 


The Section of Nephrology provides inpatient 

consultation and acute dialysis care, including peritoneal 

dialysis, hemodialysis, and hemofiltration at the Upstate 

Golisano Children’s Hospital. Outpatient dialysis care, 

both peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis, is provided 

at the University Dialysis Center in Syracuse. Other 

outpatient services are provided at our primary site in 

Syracuse, 725 Irving Ave., Suite 401, and satellite facilities 

in Watertown (Dr. Listman), Utica (Dr. Schurman), and 

Binghamton (Dr. Welch). 

The section evaluates and treats infants, children, and 

adolescents with the full spectrum of disorders of the 

urinary tract. This activity includes bread and butter 

nephrology, disorders such as nephrotic syndrome, 

glomerulonephritis, and all stages of chronic renal 

insufficiency. However, the section’s activity has few 

limits. We have an established expertise in the diagnosis 

and treatment of children with hypertension, including 

24 hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. We 

care for patients with mineral metabolism disorders 

and metabolic bone disease, including inherited and 

acquired forms of rickets, osteogenesis imperfecta, and 

osteoporosis. Metabolic evaluations of children with 

urolithiasis are performed, stressing dietary measures 

that can minimize risk of recurrence. 

The section provides coordinated care to infants and 

children with simple and complex urologic abnormalities, 

including prenatal visits. Patients with congenital or 

other hydronephrosis and vesicoureteral reflux are 

evaluated and followed. When necessary, urologic 

intervention is accessed. 

In addition, the section has attempted to address the 

growing number of children with voiding dysfunction, 

particularly children with associated daytime urinary 

urgency/incontinence and recurrent urinary tract 

infections. This effort, the “Voiding Improvement 

Program” (VIP) is coordinated by our pediatric nurse 

practitioner and nephrology nurse specialist, Susan 

Sheffield and Vickie Keeler. A multimodal approach to 

treatment is employed, including dietary, behavioral 

modification, and medication therapy. 


Role of Local Complement Synthesis in the 

Kidney 

Dr. Welch’s laboratory has continued its study of 

novel roles for the human complement system in 

progressive renal disease. The role of activation and 

deposition of serum complement in the glomerulus 

as a major mediator of glomerulonephritis has long 

been established. We were the first laboratory to 

demonstrate that the human kidney itself could be a 

source of a number of complement components and 

that activation of these components in the peritubular 

interstitium was a major mediator of progressive renal 

damage. 

Over the past few years, we have developed a murine 

model of chronic immune complex glomerulonephritis 

and have used animals lacking various complement 

components as a mechanism for dissecting the specific 

role of complement in this process. We have further 

demonstrated that expression of the third component 

of complement, C3, is differentially regulated in the 

kidney and the liver. This has opened the possibility 

of specifically targeting renal complement expression 

without interfering with the important role of the 

complement cascade in the systemic immune response. 

We are now using the technique of gene expression 

analysis through microarray in order to examine 

differences in gene expression profiles between wild 

type animals and those lacking specific complement 

components. This is permitting us to understand 

the downstream molecular mechanisms by which 

peritubular complement activation induces renal 

damage. 

Finally, we have very recently been investigating ways in 

which progressive interstitial scarring can be attenuated. 

We have now shown in our murine model that 

angiotensin converting enzymes (ACE) inhibitors have a 

very important effect in attenuating interstitial injury in 

this model. Examining this effect in various complement 

deficient animals suggests preliminarily that this effect is 

mediated by a non-complement-dependent mechanism. 

Further examination of microarray data will allow us to 

explore more deeply the interplay between the many 

inflammatory cascades participating in renal damage. 

The ultimate goal of this would be to identify important 

pathways to target pharmacologically.


Development of Novel Inhibitors of 

Inflammation 

The major goal of Dr. Listman’s laboratory is to define 

small molecules that will specifically inhibit transcritpion 

of the IL-1b gene. IL-1b is a potent cytokine with diverse 

roles in inflammation including induction of the acute 

phase response, activation of the cellular components 

of acquired immunity, and promotion of chronic 

inflammation. Thus, inhibiting IL-1b expression (and 

other similarly regulated cytokines like TNFa) has major 

therapeutic potential for the treatment of a variety of 

disease states including sepsis, arthritis, autoimmune 

diseases and transplant rejection among others. 

To accomplish our goal, the laboratory is investigating the 

structural/functional interactions of several transcription 

factors that regulate the IL-1b gene. These include Spi-1 

and C/EBPb, which are endogenous regulators of the 

IL-1b promoter, and the exogenous regulator Immediate- 

Early 2 (IE2) protein of Cytomegalovirus (CMV). The IE2 

protein provides a powerful tool for our task because 

it is a potent regulator of numerous host genes besides 

IL-1b, including TNFa, IL-8 and IL-2. Our laboratory 

is investigating the structural interactions that allow 

IE2 to participate with Spi-1 and C/EBPb to induce IL-1b 

expression. By narrowing down the peptide or, better 

yet, amino acid interactions between these molecules 

we hope to devise mimetic peptides would lack the 

major functional components of the parent molecule, 

but retain ability to bind to ligand, thus, interfering 

with the normal productive interactions that permit 

gene transcription. This goal is achieved by utilizing a 

combination of functional and biochemical techniques 

including recombinant DNA technology, gene reporter 

assays, and NMR spectroscopy, among others. 

Thus far, we identified a 14-residue fragment of the IE2 

molecule can function in a dominant negative manner to 

inhibit IL-1b promoter activity in heterologous systems. 

We are currently performing confirmatory analyses in 

CMV infected monocytic cell lines and in LPS activated 

monocytes to determine the effectiveness of this 

technology. 

PUBLICATIONS 

Listman JA, Race JE, Walker-Kopp N, Unlu S, Auron PE. 

Molecular Immunology 45(9), 2667, 2008. 

Listman JA, Schurman SJ. Vasculitis. In: Kiessling, 

S. G., Goebel, J., and Somers, M. J. G. (eds). Pediatric 

Nephrology in the ICU, Springer, 2008. 

Welch TR, Blystone LW. Immune complex 

glomerulonephritis following bone marrow 

transplantation in C3 deficient mice. PLoS ONE, Oct 

6;3(10):e3334, 2008. 

Schurman SJ, Welch TR. Treatment of severe 

gentamicin overdose in a child with hemodialysis. 

Pediatr Nephrol, 26:211-213, 2009. 

Welch TR, Berman D, Clement K. Wilderness first aid: Is 

there an industry standard? Wilderness Environ Med, 

20:113-117, 2009. 

Welch TR, Blystone, LW. Renal disease associated with 

inherited disorders of the complement system. Pediatr 

Nephrol, 24:1439-1444, 2009. 


Welch TR, Miner B, Page N, Nimeh J. Implementation 

of ‘Patient Safety Rounds’ in Pediatric Inpatient Units, 

Pediatric Academic Socieities Annual Meeting, Baltimore, 

MD, 2009. 

Welch TR, Blystone L, Gentile K, Middleton F. ACE 

Inhibition Attenuates Interstitial Injury in a Murine Model 

of Chronic Immune Complex Glomerulonephritis. 

Pediatric Academic Socieities Annual Meeting, Baltimore, 

MD, 2009. 



Welch TR: Associate editor, the Journal of Pediatrics 

Welch TR: Visiting Professor, Columbia University, 

Department of Pediatrics, New York, NY, September, 



Welch TR. Manuscript Preparation for Peer Reviewed 

Publication workshop, Southern Society for Pediatric 

Research Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, February, 2008. 

Welch TR. Manuscript Preparation for Peer Reviewed 

Publication workshop, Southern Society for Pediatric 

Research Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, February, 


Welch TR. Ethical Issues in Manuscript Preparation 

and Publishing – A Round-Table Discussion. Pediatric 

Academic Socieities Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD, 2009. 

Welch TR. What are These Mysterious Things Called 

RVU’s? Pediatric Academic Socieities Annual Meeting, 

Baltimore, MD, 2009. 


Outpatient visits, 2008:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,704 

Outpatient visits, 2009:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,653 

Inpatient visits, 2008:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 648 

Inpatient visits, 2009:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564 

Inpatient dialysis procedures, 2008:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 

Inpatient dialysis procedures, 2009:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 

Kidney transplants, 2008-2009:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9


NEURODEVELOPMENTAL PEDIATRICS 

FACULTY 

Nienke Dosa, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Pediatrics 

Gregory Liptak, MD, MPH, Upstate Foundation Professor 

of Development, Division Director 

Louis Pellegrino, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics 

Carol Grant, PhD, Clinical Assistant Professor 

Henry Roane, PhD, Associate Professor, Psychiatry and 

Behavioral Sciences, Pediatrics 

Terry Hargrave, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Psychiatry 

and Behavioral Sciences, Pediatrics 


Susan Delaney, FNP 

Mary MacBlane, RNC, PNP 


The Center for Development, Behavior and Genetics 

provides evaluation, treatment, and management services 

for children and adolescents with developmental delays 

and disabilities. Outpatient clinical services are located 

in the Physician Office Building, Suite 112. These include 

interdisciplinary programs in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 

Child Development, Clinical Genetics, Inherited 

Metabolic Diseases (accredited by New York State), 

Physical Disabilities, and Spina Bifida. Dr. Nienke Dosa 

focuses on the care of children with physical disabilities, 

Dr. Louis Pellegrino focuses on children with cognitive 

challenges, while Dr. Liptak provides care for children 

with cognitive disorders and physical disabilities. Genetic 

services are also provided under the umbrella of this 

program, and are described separately in the “Genetics” 

section. 

Dr. Dosa directs the Physical Disabilities Program for 

children with cerebral palsy and those who other 

physical disabilities. She also directs the Spina Bifida 

Clinic. Dr. Pellegrino directs the Autism Spectrum 

Program and the Child Development Program, which 

includes children with developmental delays from other 

causes. 

In addition, the Center is staffed by two nurse 

practitioners, Mary MacBlane, RNC, PNP, and Susan 

Delaney, FNP; they provides care for patients with 

metabolic disorders (MM) and developmental disabilities 

(both). The Center also has professionals in pediatric 

nursing, nutrition, occupational therapy, and social 

work. Pediatric specialists in orthopaedics, psychiatry, 

neurosurgery, and urology provide on-site consultation. 

Most recently, the team has been joined by Drs. 

Henry Roane and Terry Hargrave, faculty with joint 

appointments in Pediatrics and Psychiatry. 

PROGRAMS 

The Child Development Program offers diagnostic, 

management and counseling services to the families 

of children with a variety of neurodevelopmental 

concerns, including the autistic spectrum disorders, 

cognitive and learning disabilities, speech and language 

disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, motor 

coordination disorders, and Down syndrome. Children 

from birth through the teenage years are served through 

the program. Diagnostic evaluations are provided 

by Drs. Liptak and Lou Pellegrino, both of whom are 

certified in general pediatrics and neurodevelopmental 

pediatrics. Special, standardized testing is employed in 

the assessment of children on the autistic spectrum. The 

physicians, with the support of Mary MacBlane and Susan 

Delaney, also provide ongoing support and management 

of children with a variety of neurodevelopmental 

disorders, including targeted medication management 

when appropriate. Amy Beale, a social worker at Upstate 

Medical University’s Psychiatry Department, provide 

behavioral assessment, counseling services and support 

for the development of social-adaptive skills, targeting 

children less than 6 years of age. 

The Physical Disability Program provides specialty care to 

children who are multiply disabled by conditions such as 

cerebral palsy, vision impairment/blindness, and genetic 

disorders. The focus is on habilitation. Some children 

may be referred for a single visit, such as spasticity 

evaluation and management, including injections with 

botulinum toxin (Botox), while other children may 

receive ongoing care for complex medical problems. 

The program offers a multidisciplinary approach and 

addresses both medical and behavioral/developmental 

issues. It helps to establish a diagnosis and to develop 

a care plan. The Physical Disability Program offers an 

interdisciplinary approach and collaboration with other 

pediatric specialists and surgeons. The program is staffed 

by Dr. Dosa who is board-certified in pediatrics and in 

neurodevelopmental disabilities, and professionals in 

occupational therapy, physical therapy, nutrition, and 

specialty nursing. 

The Spina Bifida Center of Central New York provides 

comprehensive specialty care to children and 

adolescents with spina bifida. The center is staffed by 

Dr. Dosa who is board-certified in pediatrics and in 

neurodevelopmental disabilities, and professionals in 

physiatry, occupational therapy, physical therapy, social 

work, nutrition, and specialty nursing. Our focus is on 

wellness and the prevention of secondary conditions. 

The Spina Bifida program schedules screening studies 

as needed and coordinate care with surgical subspecialists 

in neurosurgery, orthopaedics and urology. 

It also collaborates with specialists in wound care and 

facilitates the ordering of adaptive equipment. It offers a 

multidisciplinary approach and address both medical and 

behavioral/developmental issues. In collaboration with


faculty from SUNY Cortland, Dr. Dosa has developed a 

Group Visit Model for individuals with spina bifida. 

In collaboration with faculty in adapted physical 

education from SUNY Cortland, Dr. Dosa has developed 

a Group Visit Model for individuals with spina bifida, 

cerebral palsy, and other motor disabilities. Group 

Visits focus on adapted sports and physical activity for 

the entire family. Group Visits take place at a state-ofthe-art 

gym and pool facility at the Institute for Human 

Performance on the SUNY Upstate campus. 


Dr. Dosa’s work is focused on improving communitybased 

health services for children and adolescents with 

disabilities and complex medical conditions, especially 

as they transition from adolescence to adulthood. She 

heads the New York State Institute for Health Transition 

Training (www.HealthyTransitionsNY.org) and coordinates 

the Parent Partners in Health Education home visit 

program for residents in pediatrics, psychiatry and 

family medicine. She is collaborating with the Family 

Medicine Department on a funded grant entitled, “Center 

for Excellence in Primary Care,” whose purpose is to 

increase the knowledge of primary care providers in 

areas of developmental pediatrics. She is part of a multiinstitutional 

study, funded by the NIH, to evaluate the 

safety and efficacy of oral Baclofen in children who have 

cerebral palsy. 

Dr. Liptak is interested in researching the health services 

received by children who have special needs. He 

completed a project that examined the use of group 

visits in children with vision impairments to evaluate its 

feasibility as a model of care. He currently is analyzing 

data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 

to evaluate the transitions of adolescents who have 

spina bifida as well as those who have autism. He is 

working on the clinical trial of Baclofen with Dr. Dosa, and 

serves as an epidemiological consultant to NASPGHAN 

(North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology 

Hepatology and Nutrition). 

PUBLICATIONS 

Original Scientific Articles 

Liptak GS, Benzoni LB, Mruzek DW, Nolan KW, Thingvoll 

MA, Wade CM, Fryer GE. Disparities in diagnosis and 

utilization of health services for children with autism: 

Data from the National Survey of Children’s Health. 

Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. 2008 

Jun;29(3):152-60. 

Dosa NP, Foley JT, Eckrich M, Woodall-Ruff D, Liptak GS. 

Obesity across the lifespan among persons with spina 

bifida. Disabil Rehabil. 2008 Nov 26:1-7. 

Reviews 

Liptak GS. Health and well being of adults with cerebral 

palsy. Current Opinion in Neurology. 2008;21:136–142. 

Pierce K, Glatt SJ, Liptak GS, McIntyre LL. The power 

and promise of identifying autism early: insights from 

the search for clinical and biological markers. Ann Clin 

Psychiatry. 2009 Jul-Sep;21(3):132-47. 

Vandenplas Y, Rudolph CD, Di Lorenzo C, Hassall 

E, Liptak GS, Mazur M, Sondheimer J, Staiano A, 

Thomson M, Veereman-Wauters G, Wenzl TG. Pediatric 

Gastroesophageal Reflux Clinical Practice Guidelines: 

Joint Recommendations of the North American Society 

for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition 

(NASPGHAN) and the European Society for Pediatric 

Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (ESPGHAN). 

Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, 

2009;49:498–547. 

Dosa NP, Mukherjee S, Tovar-Spinoza Z. Spina Bifida and 

Neural Tube Defects. BMJ Point of Care, November 2009. 

Reviews with American Academy of Pediatrics 

Council on Children with Disabilities (Dr. Liptak) 

Murphy NA, Carbone PS; American Academy of Pediatrics 

Council on Children With Disabilities. Promoting the 

participation of children with disabilities in sports, 

recreation, and physical activities. Pediatrics. 2008 

May;121(5):1057-61. 

Desch LW, Gaebler-Spira D; Council on Children With 

Disabilities. Prescribing assistive-technology systems: 

focus on children with impaired communication. 

Pediatrics. 2008 Jun;121(6):1271-80. 

Council on Children With Disabilities. From the American 

Academy of Pediatrics: Policy statements--Supplemental 

Security Income (SSI) for children and youth with 

disabilities. Pediatrics. 2009 Dec;124(6):1702-8. 

Books and Book Chapters 

Dosa NP, Liptak GS. School Related Issues for Children 

with Special Needs. In: McInerny TK, Adam HM, Campbell 

D, Kamat DK, Kelleher KJ, Eds. American Academy of 

Pediatrics Textbook of Pediatric Care. Elk Grove Village, 

IL. American Academy of Pediatrics; 2009, pp. 588-592 . 

Liptak GS. Diaper rash. In: McInerny TK, Adam HM, 

Campbell D, Kamat DK, Kelleher KJ, Eds. American 

Academy of Pediatrics Textbook of Pediatric Care. Elk 

Grove Village, IL. American Academy of Pediatrics; 2009, 

pp. 2010-2016. 

Liptak GS. Spina bifida. In: McInerny TK, Adam HM, 


Academy of Pediatrics Textbook of Pediatric Care . Elk 


pp2537-2545. 

Liptak GS. Cerebral palsy. In: McInerny TK, Adam HM, 


Academy of Pediatrics Textbook of Pediatric Care . Elk 


pp 1903-1910. 

Liptak GS. Chromosomal abnormalities. In Beers MH. 

Ed. The Merck Manual of Medical Information: Second 

Home Edition. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck Research


Laboratories, 2009, http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec19/ 

ch294/ch294a.html. 

Osterlund CA, Dosa NP, Arnott-Smith CA. Mother knows 

best: What role do patients with chronic conditions 

and parents play in the management of their medical 

information? In The Informatics of Diabetes: A Research 

Agenda for the Socially and Institutionally Sensitive 

Use of Information Technology to Improve Healthcare, 

Barbara M. Hayes and William Aspray, editors. MIT Press, 


Other 

Educational DVDs 

Dosa NP, Judd-Litera K, Nellis J, LaMacchia S, LaValley 

R. Special Needs Advocacy Partners: (a) Preparing Your 

Child For Surgery (b) What We Can Do To Make Your 

Hospital Stay Better. Instructional DVD, published 

August 2009 in collaboration with Child Life Service at 

Golisano Childrens Hospital at SUNY Upstate Medical 

University with grant support from the New York State 

Developmental Disabilities Planning Council. 

Cleary D and Dosa NP. Collaboration for Orientation and 

Mobility at the Elementary School Level. Instructional 

DVD, published May 2009 in collaboration with Syracuse 

City School District and Syracuse University School of 

Education. Distributed state-wide to teachers for visually 

impaired children with grant support from the New York 

State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council. 

Cleary D, Dosa NP, Foley JT, Lieberman L. Liptak GS, 

MacBlane M, Welch T. (A SUNY Upstate-SUNY Cortland- 

SUNY Brockport collaboration) Sport Opportunities 

and Activities for Children with Visual Impairments. 

Instructional DVD, published October 2008 and on the 

internet at http://www.campabilitiesbrockport.org/Camp- 

Video.html. DVD distributed state-wide to adaptive 

physical education instructors with grant support from 

Children’s Miracle Network. 

Liptak GS. Medical home optimizes care for children with 

cerebral palsy. AAP News 2009(September):15. 

Liptak GS. Reviewer and Contributor to Shelov SP. Ed. 

Caring for Your Baby And Young Child: Birth To Age 5. 

American Academy of Pediatrics, Bantam Books. 2009. 


Liptak GS, Foley JT, Dosa NP, Cleary D, Welch TR, 

Columna L. A group visit model program for children 

who are blind/visually impaired. Poster presented at the 

Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind 

and Visually Impaired (AER) International Meeting July 22- 

27, 2008, Chicago. 

Liptak GS, Worley G. The year’s top ten articles on 

developmental disabilities. Instructional Course 

presented at the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy 

and Developmental Medicine annual meeting, Atlanta, 

GA, September 19, 2008. 

Liptak GS. Complications of botulinum toxin. Invited 

Presidential Guest Speaker. Presented at the American 

Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine 

annual meeting, Atlanta, GA, September 20, 2008. 

Liptak GS, Murphy N. Controversies and Challenges 

for Children and Youth with Disabilities: The Ashley 

Treatment: A Cry for Help. Presented at the American 

Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and 

Exposition. Boston, MA, October 11, 2008. 

Liptak GS, Foley JT, Dosa NP, Cleary D, Welch TR, 

Columna L. Group Visits Model: A Collaborative 

Perspective in Adapted Physical Education. Research 

Consortium presentation at the 2009 AAHPERD National 

Convention in Tampa, Florida; April 1, 2009. 

Dosa NP, Osterlund C, Tamburo J, Morley C, Beatty P, 

Epling J, Liptak GS. Curriculum and Interactive Tools 

to Facilitate Health Care Transition of Youth with 

Developmental Disabilities. Poster presented at the Spina 

Bifida World Congress, Orlando, Florida, March 16-19, 


MacBlane ME, Garver K, Hodge J, Mahunik A, Davis T, 

Columna L, Foley J, Dosa NP, Liptak GS. A Group Visit 

Model Program for Children with Spina Bifida. Poster 

presented at the Spina Bifida World Congress, Orlando, 

Florida, March 16-19, 2009. 

Liptak GS, Kennedy JA, Dosa NP. Youth with Spina Bifida 

and Transitions: Using the WHO ICF Model in a Nationally 

Representative Sample. Poster presented at the Spina 

Bifida World Congress, Orlando, Florida, March 16-19, 

2009. Platform presentation at the American Academy 

of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine annual 

meeting, Scottsdale, Arizona, September 24, 2009. 

Liptak GS. Disease Management and 10 Simple Rules for 

the 21st Century Health Care System. Presented at the 

Spina Bifida World Congress, Orlando, Florida, March 16, 


Liptak GS. Health care and spina bifida: the canary in the 

coal mine. Keynote address. Presented at the Spina Bifida 

World Congress, Orlando, Florida, March 18, 2009. 

Liptak GS, Kennedy JA, Dosa NP. Youth with Autism and 

Transitions: Using the WHO ICF Model in a Nationally 

Representative Sample. Platform presentation at the 

American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental 

Medicine annual meeting, Scottsdale, Arizona, September 


Liptak GS, Worley G. The year’s top ten articles on 

developmental disabilities. Instructional Course 

presented at the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy 

and Developmental Medicine annual meeting, Scottsdale, 

AZ, September 24, 2009. 

Liptak GS, O’Donnell M. To screen or not to screen for 

autism. Plenary presentation at the American Academy 

of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine annual 

meeting, Scottsdale, AZ, September 25, 2009. 

Liptak GS, Myers SM. Beyond Developmental Screening: 

Office Management of the Child with a Developmental 

Disability in the Primary Care Medical Home. Presented 

at the National Conference and Exhibition, American


Academy of Pediatrics, Washington, DC, October 17 and 


Dosa NP, Slaski P, James L. HealthyTransitionsNY.org 

curriculum and toolkit, Instructional Course, American 

Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, 

Phoenix Arizona, September 24, 2009. 

Dosa NP, Webb T, Walters C,Worley G, Nolan K, 

Armstrong J, Boerger P, Hulse C, Dias M, Olson A, Liptak 

GS. Assessment of Spina Bifida Care for Adolescents: 

A Quality Improvement Tool for Spina Bifida Centers. 

Spina Bifida World Congress, abstracts with programs, 

Orlando, Florida, March 16-19, 2009. 

Dosa NP, Transition and Adult Health Care, plenary panel, 

Spina Bifida World Congress, Orlando, Florida, March 17, 


Morley C, Dosa NP, Jain S, Kelly B, Jurczyck I, Reiss J, 

Winslow M, Boyd D, Tamburo J, Transition Planning 

and Management Continuity of Care for Youth with 

Developmental Disabilities. Panel discussion, 35th 

Annual Predoctoral Education Conference, Society of 

Teachers of Family Medicine, Savannah, Ga, January 23, 



Pellegrino L. Sensory Integration Dysfunction. 2009 

Menichello Teaching Day, Wilson Hospital, Johnson City, 

New York (Regional Conference), May 2009 

Dosa NP and Columna L. Promoting Physical Activity for 

Children with Vision Impairment/Blindness. Onondaga- 

Cortland-Madison BOCES annual conference for 

Teachers for the Visually Impaired. Syracuse, NY. April 2, 


Pellegrino L, Liptak GS, McIntyre LL, Magyar CI. 

Understanding Individuals With Asperger’s Syndrome 

or High Functioning Autism in New York. Syracuse, NY, 

December 10, 2008. Sponsored by Lorman Education 

Services. 

Dosa NP and Columna L. Promoting Physical Activity for 

Children with Vision Impairment/Blindness. Onondaga- 

Cortland-Madison BOCES annual conference for 

Teachers for the Visually Impaired. Syracuse, NY. April 2, 


Dosa NP and Epling J. Making Health Transitions Caring 

for Young Adults with Disabilities. 37th Annual Family 

Medicine Refresher Course. SUNY Upstate Department 

of Family Medicine, Syracuse, NY, March 29, 2008. 

Pellegrino L. Autism Spectrum Disorders: What We Think 

We Know. 2008 Menichello Teaching Day, Wilson Hospital, 

Johnson City, New York (Regional Conference), May 2008 

GRANTS 

NICHD/NIH Contract No. HHSN267200603421C. (Janice 

Brunstrum, MD, PI [St. Louis University]) 9/1/2009 - 

8/31/2010. Baclofen for spasticity [Clinical trial]. ($36,000 

plus enrollment). 

Competency in Transition for Physicians in Training, New 

York-Mid Atlantic Consortium for Genetic and Newborn 

Screening Services Grant. Robert Ostrander MD, Kim 

Garver MSW, Nienke Dosa MD, MPH 32,000 (2010). 

Fit Families Group Visits: Physical Activity and Medical 

Services for Hispanic and Caucasian Children with 

Spina Bifida and their Families, Christopher and Dana 

Reeve Foundation Quality of Life Award, Co-Principal 

Investigator with Luis Columna, PhD Department of 

Adapted Physical Education, SUNY Cortland, $6000 

(2009). 

Center for Excellence in Primary Care (HRSA AAU Grant 

Award Number 2 D54HP05462-04-00). September 

2008-August 2011. ($858,000) 0.10 FTE. 

Parent Partners in Health Education. (Principal 

Investigator, 0.1 FTE) New York State Developmental 

Disabilities Planning Council: 2006-2009: $135,000. 

New York State Institute for Health Transition Training 

for Youth with developmental Disabilities, (Principal 

Investigator, 0.2 FTE) New York State Developmental 

Disabilities Planning Council: 2006-2010: $580,000. 

Group Visits for Children with Spina Bifida. American 

Legion Auxiliary (in collaboration with SUNY Cortland 

Adapted Physical Education Department), 2008: $2,500. 

Usability Testing of Healthy Transitions Network 

software via Model High School Transition Programs. 

Maternal Child Health Bureau/New York State 

Department of Health: Integrated Community Systems 

Grant (Principal Investigator). June 2008-April 2009. 

$15,700. 

State-wide distribution of instructional DVD to adaptive 

physical education teachers: “Sport Opportunities and 

Activities for Children with Visual Impairments.” Central 

New York Golisano/Children’s Miracle Network Project 

Grant (Dosa NP, in collaboration with John Foley PhD, 

Deborah Cleary TVI, Lauren Lieberman PhD, Terry Welch 

PhD, Mary MacBlane PNP, and Gregory Liptak MD, MPH): 

February 2008 $4,000 

Trajectory of Transition for Adolescents and Young 

Adults with Spina Bifida, a multi-center longitudinal study 

of medical and social outcomes among youths with spina 

bifida. (In collaboration with Kimberlee Garver CSW, 

Mary MacBlane PNP, and Judy Hodge RN), Spina Bifida 

Association of America, local co- investigator, 2007-2010 

($1,500). 

A Six-Month, Multi-Center, Open-Label Study to Assess 

the Safety and Efficacy of Oral Glycopyrrolate Liquid for 

the Treatment of Pathologic (Chronic Moderate to Severe) 

Drooling in Pediatric Patients 3 to 16 Years of Age with 

Cerebral Palsy or other Neurologic Conditions, Protocol 

No. Sc-06-01: IND #61,716, Sciele Pharmaceuticals.


(Principal Investigator, SUNY Upstate Medical University) 

June 2007-February 2008. (per enrollment). 

New York State Department of Health Youth Advisory 

Council Collaboration: Usability Testing for Healthy 

Transitions Network software. Maternal Child Health 

Bureau/New York State Department of Health: Integrated 

Community Systems Grant (Principal Investigator). 

August 2007-April 2008. $9,600. 

NICHD/NIH Contract No. HHSN267200603421C. (Janice 

Brunstrum, MD, PI [St. Louis University]) 9/1/2009 - 

8/31/2010. Baclofen for spasticity [Clinical trial]. ($36,000 

plus enrollment). 


Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics 

Outpatient Visits 2008: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,356 

Outpatient Visits 2009: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,474 

Inpatient Visits 2008: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 

Inpatient Visits 2009: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

Physical Disabilities (excluding spina bifida) 

Outpatient Visits 2008: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 

Outpatient Visits 2009: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263 

Inpatient Visits 2008: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Inpatient Visits 2009: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 

Spina Bifida Program 

Outpatient Visits 2008: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254 

Outpatient Visits 2009: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 

Inpatient Visits 2008: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 

Inpatient Visits 2009: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15


NEUROLOGY 

Child neurology services are provided through the 

Section of Child Neurology of the Department of 

Neurology. These faculty have joint appointments in the 

Department of Pediatrics. 

FACULTY 

Carl J. Crosley, MD, Professor of Neurology and 

Pediatrics, Director 

Nancy Havernick, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of 

Neurology and Psychiatry 

Melissa Ko, MD, Assistant Professor of Neurology 

Malavalli Seetharam, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of 

Neurology 


Leigh B. Wilson, MSN, PNP, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner 

Mary MacBlane, MS, RN, PNP 


The Section of Child Neurology provides diagnosis, 

treatment, and management for children and 

adolescents with neurodevelopmental and neurologic 

disorders. The outpatient offices are located in the 

University Health Care Center, 90 Presidential Plaza, 

Syracuse, NY 13202. Extensive services are in particular 

available for children with epilepsy, headaches, cerebral 

palsy, muscular dystrophy, neurofibromatosis. The 

neurodevelopmental conditions of developmental delay, 

attention deficit disorder and autism also receive full 

attention. 

Children with epilepsy are reviewed as appropriate with 

the additional input and services of the epilepsy team of 

the Department of Neurology and have the full services 

of the Department of Clinical Neurophysiology available 

to them including, electroencephalography, long-term 

video electroencephalographic monitoring, ambulatory 

electroencephalograms, and epilepsy surgery. 

Children with muscular dystrophies are eligible for 

care under the auspices of the Muscular Dystrophy 

Association weekly clinic centrally located in Syracuse 

with continuing care available in Utica and Watertown 

New York. 

In collaboration with Dr. Gloria Kennedy children with 

brain tumors and other tumors of the central nervous 

system are cared for at the monthly Pediatric Brain 

Tumor Clinic at University Hospital. 

Dr. Crosley is Medical Director at Enable in Syracuse 

where children with developmental disabilities 

including cerebral palsy and pervasive developmental 

disorders are provided the locally unique mix of 

ongoing multidisciplinary therapies including physical 

occupational and speech therapy as well as on site 

aquatherapy, and individual and group behavioral 

therapies. 


The section is currently participating in sponsored 

clinical trials investigating the efficacy and safety of 

two anti-epileptic drugs in infants and toddlers and in a 

sponsored clinical trial studying the efficacy and safety of 

a particular triptan in adolescents with migraine. 

PUBLICATIONS 

Ko MW, Tamhankar MA, Volpe NJ, Porter D, McGrath C, 

Galetta SL: Acute promyelocytic leukemic involvement 

of the optic nerves following mitoxantrone treatment for 

multiple sclerosis. J Neurol Sci, 273(1-2):144-7, 2008. 

Ko MW, Dalmau J, Galetta SL: Neuro-ophthalmologic 

manifestations of paraneoplastic syndromes. J 

Neuroophthalmol, 28(1):58-68, 2008. 

Duffner PK, Caggana M, Orsini JJ, Wenger DA, Patterson 

MC, Crosley CJ, et al: Newborn screening for Krabbe 

disease: the New York State model. Pediatr Neurol 

40(4):245-52, 2009. 

Ko MW, Turkeltaub PE, Lee EB, Gonatas NK, Volpe NJ, 

Moster ML, Galetta SL: Primary diffuse leptomeningeal 

gliomatosis mimicking a chronic inflammatory meningitis. 

J Neurol Sci, 278(1-2):127-31, 2009.


PULMONOLOGY 

FACULTY 

Ran D. Anbar, MD, Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine, 

Division Director 

Robert V. Hingre, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics 

Lawrence E. Kurlandsky, MD, Assistant Professor of 


Kevin G. Ragosta, DO, Associate Professor of Pediatrics 

Zafer N. Soultan, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics 


Susan Delaney, NP, Nurse Practitioner, High Technology 

Program 

Mary Foster, NP, Nurse Practitioner, Cystic Fibrosis 

Center Coordinator 

Margaret O’Shea, NP, Nurse Practitioner, Hypnosis 

Program 


The Division of Pulmonology provides care for children 

and adolescents with lung and airway diseases. Major 

clinical activities of the Division include care of patients 

with asthma, allergies, cystic fibrosis, bronchopulmonary 

dysplasia, sleep disorders, and children who require 

assistance from technology, such as patients with 

tracheostomies, some of whom are ventilator 

dependent. 

The Asthma Program includes the Pulmonary Function 

On-Site Testing Program, through which respiratory 

therapists from the Division of Pediatric Pulmonology 

travel to the offices of primary care providers and to 

school-based health clinics in Central New York. These 

therapists perform pulmonary function testing for 

patients who have been diagnosed with or are suspected 

of having asthma. Interpretation of this testing is 

provided by a Pediatric Pulmonologist from our Division, 

and results are faxed or mailed to the primary care 

providers within a few days. This Program has helped 

improve the care of patients with asthma who are 

followed by primary care providers exclusively. 

In the Golidano Children’s Hospital, the Division provides 

state-of-the-art pulmonary function testing including, 

spirometry, lung volume measurements, measurement 

of diffusion capacity, and oscillometry. Exercise 

pulmonary function testing is provided in coordination 

with the Division of Cardiology. 

The Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation accredited CF Care 

Center for pediatric patients is directed by Dr. Anbar. 

The Center staff includes two nurse practitioners, three 

respiratory therapists, three research coordinators, a 

social worker, and a dietician. The Center evaluates all 

patients referred for possible CF through the State of 

New York Newborn Screening Program. The Division 

transitions its patients between the ages of 18 to 21 to 

an adult CF program administered through the SUNY 

Upstate University Department of Medicine Division of 

Pulmonology. 

An active flexible bronchoscopy service is under 

the direction of Dr. Soultan. Patients utilizing the 

bronchoscopy service include those who are technology 

dependent, and patients with airway illnesses of unclear 

etiology, e.g., patients with stridor, or recurrent lower 

respiratory infections, including some of our patients 

with cystic fibrosis. 

The Allergy Program is under the supervision of Dr. 

Kurlandsky. Through this Program patients who 

have been referred for evaluation of asthma our 

Center, can undergo skin scratch testing and other 

allergy evaluations, as indicated. Administration of 

immunotherapy, if necessary, is coordinated with the 

patients’ primary care provider. 

The Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Program is under the 

supervision of Dr. Hingre. This Program provides followup 

care to all high risk newborns who are discharged 

from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and helps 

coordinate their care between different sub-specialty 

services and their primary care providers. 

The High Technology Program is under the supervision 

of Dr. Ragosta. This Program provides long-term care 

and coordination of services for patients who require 

ventilator support, including both in the in-patient and 

out-patient settings. 

The Pediatric Sleep Program is under the supervision 

of Dr. Soultan. Through this program, patients who 

have been referred for evaluation of sleep disorders 

to our Center undergo a comprehensive medical and 

psychological evaluation. Sleep studies are performed, 

when indicated, in collaboration with Community 

General Hospital in Syracuse. 

The Hypnotherapy Program is under the supervision 

of Dr. Anbar. Common reasons for referral for 

hypnotherapy include patients with chest pain, habit 

cough, shortness of breath without a clear etiology, vocal 

cord dysfunction, anxiety, chronic pain, enuresis, habits, 

headaches, and irritable bowel syndrome. 

Outpatient care in Syracuse by the Division of 

Pulmonology is provided at the Pediatric multi-specialties 

Center at University Hospital. The Division also supplies 

care at an almost weekly satellite clinic in Binghamton 

General Hospital and a monthly satellite clinic at Good 

Samaritan Hospital in Watertown.


CURRENT RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS 

Members of our division are conducting studies involving 

asthma, cystic fibrosis, and hypnosis. 

Dr. Anbar is principle investigator in a number of 

epidemiological studies involving pediatric patients 

with asthma, which include evaluation of drug effects, 

environmental pollutants, and family dynamics in these 

patients. 

Doctors Anbar, Kurlandsky, and Soultan have been 

involved in the 16 studies of patients with cystic fibrosis 

including multi-center therapeutic trials, as well as 

observational studies. Because of our CF Center’s high 

rate of enrollment in a number of multi-center trials, 

Dr. Anbar has been asked to be an author of publications 

regarding TOBI for patients with CF with early lung 

disease, DHA formula fortification for infants with 

CF, growth hormone for patients with CF, and use of 

nebulized denufosol for patients with CF. 

Dr. Anbar is a national authority regarding use of 

hypnotherapy with children, and has authored several 

publications regarding hypnosis. Current research 

includes studying the content of patient self-analysis 

expressed during hypnosis, as compared to when 

patients describe their thoughts without use of hypnosis. 

PUBLICATIONS 

Fiese B, Winter M, Anbar R, Howell K, Poltrock S. Family 

climate of routine asthma care: Associating perceived 

burden and mother-child interaction patterns to child 

well-being. Family Process. 2008; 47:63-79. 

Anbar RD. Subconscious guided therapy with hypnosis. 

Am J Clin Hypnosis. 2008; 50:323-334. 

Anbar RD, Zoughbi GG. Relationship of headacheassociated 

stressors and hypnosis therapy outcome 

in children: a retrospective chart review. Am J Clin 

Hypnosis. 2008; 50:335-341. 

Garber E, Desai M, Zhou J, Alba L, Angst D, Cabana M, 

Saiman L, CF Infection Control Study Consortium. 

Barriers to adherence to cystic fibrosis infection control 

guidelines. Pediatr Pulmonary. 2008; 43:900-907. 

Soultan ZN, Foster MM, Newman NB, Anbar RD. Sweat 

chloride testing in infants identified as heterozygote 

carriers by newborn screening. J Pediatr. 2008; 153:857- 

859. 

Raz A, Raikhel E, Anbar RD. Placebos in medicine: 

knowledge, beliefs, and patterns of use. McGill J Med. 

2008; 11:206-211. 

Hingre RV, Souid AK, and Reiners CR. Newborn 

Evaluation. Essential Evidence Plus. Ebell M, Editor-in- 

Chief. 2008. Hoboken NJ: John Wiley & Sons. 

Anbar RD. Pseudo-asthma revisited (letter). Pediatrics. 

2008; 121:221. 

Anbar RD. Perspectives of a physician parent. In: Center 

for Spiritual Care at University Hospital (ed), A Second 

Set of Hands. Syracuse, NY: SUNY Upstate Medical 

University, 2008; 18-25. 

Anbar RD. Lung transplantation and survival in children 

with cystic fibrosis (letter). N Engl J Med. 2008; 358:1754. 

Anbar RD. Treatment of psychological complications 

of prematurity with self-hypnosis: a case report. Clin 

Pediatr. 2009; 48: 106-108. 

Henderson JF, Anbar RD. Care for Amish and Mennonite 

children with cystic fibrosis: a case series. BMC 

Pediatrics. 2009; 9:4. 

Anbar RD. Childhood habit cough treated with 

consultation by telephone: a case report. Cough. 2009; 

5:2. 

Irland JM, Anbar RD, Kohen DP. Hypnoanalgesia: No 

clamps and needles required. American Society of 

Clinical Hypnosis Newsletter. Spring, 2009; 11. 

Rosenbaum PF, Crawford JA, Anagnost SE, Wang CJ, Hunt 

A, Anbar RD, Hargrave TM, Hall EG, Liu CC, Abraham JL. 

Indoor airborne fungi and wheeze in the first year of life 

among a cohort of infants at risk for asthma. J Expo Sci 

Environ Epidemiol. 2009; Jun 17. 

Bartlett JR, Friedman KJ, Ling SC, Pace RG, Bell SC, 

Bourke B, Castaldo G, Castellani C, Cipolli M, Colombo 

C, Colombo JL, Debray D, Fernandez A, Lacaille F, 

Macek M, Rowland M, Salvatore F, Taylor CJ, Wainwright 

C, Wilschanski M, Zemkova D, Hannah WB, Phillips 

MJ, Corey M, Zielenski J, Dorfman R, Wand Y, Zou F, 

Silverman LM, Drumm ML, Wright FA, Lange EM, Durie 

PR, Knowles MR; Gene Modifier Study Group. Genetic 

modifiers of liver disease in cystic fibrosis. JAMA. 2009; 

302:1076-1083. 

Treggiari MM, Rosenfeld M, Mayer-Hamblett N, Retsch- 

Bogart G, Gibson RL, Williams J, Emerson J, Kronmal RA, 

Ramsey BW; EPIC Study Group. Early anti-pseudomonal 

acquisition in young patients with cystic fibrosis: rationale 

and design of the EPIC clinical trial and observational 

study. Contemp Clin Trials. 2009; 30:256-268. 

Fiese BH, Winter MA, Wamboldt FS, Anbar RD, Wamboldt 

MZ. Do family mealtime interactions mediate the 

association between asthma symptoms and separation 

anxiety. J Clin Pediatr Psychology. 2009; Sept 14. 

Anbar RD. Favorite stories, magic rocks, and a crystal 

ball: Personalizing metaphors in hypnotic work with 

children. American Society of Clinical Hypnosis 

Newsletter. Summer, 2009; 4. 

Irland JM, Anbar RD, Kohen DP. A note of dissent: 

authors’ response. American Society of Clinical Hypnosis 

Newsletter. Summer, 2009; 11. 

Soultan ZN, Anbar RD. An infant with obstructed 

breathing. In: Antonio Culebras (ed.), Case Studies 

in Sleep Medicine: Common & Uncommon Causes. 

Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2009. 

Anbar RD. Adding hypnosis to the therapeutic toolbox of 

pediatric respiratory care. Pediatr Asthma All Immunol. 

2009; 22.



Stalvey MS, Geller DE, Anbar RD, Konstan MW, Jacobs 

JR, Bakker B. Growth hormone (GH) therapy in 

prepubertal children with cystic fibrosis (CF): Glucose 

tolerance safety monitoring of a multicenter randomized 

controlled trial (RCT). Endocrine Society Annual 

Meeting, June, 2008. 

Geller DE, Anbar RD, Konstan MW, Stalvey MS, Jacobs JR, 

and Bakker B. Growth hormone effects on pulmonary 

function in prepubertal children with cystic fibrosis (CF) 

(abstract). Pediatr Pulmonary. 2008; Supplement 31, 368. 

Moss RB, Anbar RD, Wilmott RW, Barnes M, Schaberg 

AE, Durham RA, Accurso FJ. Phase 3 study of denufosol 

tetrasodium for the treatment of cystic fibrosis 

(abstract). Am J Resp Crit Care Med. May, 2009. 

Soultan ZN, Nketiah EO, Finocchiaro SA, Trust SA, Anbar 

RD. Pulmonary function on-site testing helps avoid 

unnecessary treatment in children with exercise induced 

respiratory symptoms (abstract). Am J Resp Crit Care 

Med. May, 2009. 

Kurlandsky LE, Anbar RD, Soultan ZN. 

Carboxyhemoglobin level has a positive correlation with 

FEV1 in patients with cystic fibrosis (abstract). Pediatr 

Pulmonary. 2009; Supplement 32, 255. 

Anbar RD, Soultan Z, Kulandsky L, Sullivan M. Overnight 

use of high frequency chest wall oscillation: preliminary 

observations (abstract). Pediatr Pulmonary. 2009; 

Supplement 32, 364. 

Hatch TP, Sullivan ML, Anbar RD, Soultan ZN, Kurlandsky 

LE, Sexton JF. Adherence of prescribed use of high 

frequency chest wall oscillation (abstract). Pediatr 

Pulmonary. 2009; Supplement 32, 392. 

HONORS, VISITING PROFESSORSHIPS 

Anbar RD. Visiting professor at Case Western Reserve 

University Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. 

Grand Rounds on, “Hypnosis for Childhood Respiratory 

Disorders”, and presentation on, “Update on Newborn 

Screening for Cystic Fibrosis”, Cleveland, OH, February, 


Anbar RD. Visiting professor at West Virginia University 

Charleston Division Department of Pediatrics. Grand 

Rounds on, “Hypnosis for Childhood Respiratory 

Disorders”, and presentation on, “Quality Improvement 

for Cystic Fibrosis Centers”, Charleston, WV, February, 


Anbar RD. Elected Treasurer of American Society of 

Clinical Hypnosis, 2008. 

Anbar RD. American Society of Clinical Hypnosis 

Presidential Award, March, 2008. 

Anbar RD. Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Distinguished 

Service Award, September, 2008. 

Ragosta KG: Visiting professor at West Virginia School 

of Osteopathic Medicine. Topic: “Topics in Pulmonary 

System”, Homestead, WV, October, 2008. 

Anbar RD. Elected Fellow, American Society of Clinical 

Hypnosis, March, 2009. 

Anbar RD. University Hospital Upstate Star for 

“Innovation and Discovery”, May, 2009. 

Hingre RV. Appointed adjunct faculty for Syracuse 

University in the Special Education department to guest 

lecture at undergraduate and graduate seminars on 

topics related to preterm infants, survival and disabilities, 


Ragosta KG: Visiting professor at West Virginia School 

of Osteopathic Medicine. Topic: “Topics in Pulmonary 

System”, Homestead, WV, October, 2009. 

Anbar RD. Elected President of American Society of 

Clinical Hypnosis, 2009. 


Anbar RD. SUNY Upstate Medical University Child 

Psychiatry presentation on, “Hypnosis for Pediatric 

Psychiatric Disorders”, Syracuse, NY, 2008. 

Anbar RD, Soultan ZN. SUNY Upstate Medical University 

Department of Pediatrics Grand Rounds on, “The Dark 

Side of Newborn Screening for Cystic Fibrosis: Infants 

with Borderline Sweat Tests Should be Evaluated Fully”, 

Syracuse, NY, February, 2008. 


Individualized Consultation Workshop, Chicago, IL, March, 



Intermediate Workshop presentation on, “Hypnosis for 

Children of all Ages”, Chicago, IL, March, 2008. 

Kurlandsky LE. SUNY Upstate Medical University 

Department of Pediatrics Grand Rounds on, “Respiratory 

Effects of Gastroesophageal Reflux”, Syracuse, NY, April, 



Introductory Workshop presentation on, “Medical 

Applications of Hypnosis”, Seattle, WA, April, 2008. 



Children and Adolescents”, Seattle, WA, April, 2008. 



Chronic Disease”, Seattle, WA, April, 2008. 

Anbar RD. Basic Hypnosis Workshop presentation on, 

“Integrating Hypnosis into the Care of Children with 

Chronic Disease”, Syracuse, NY, May, 2008. 

Hingre, RV. SUNY Upstate Medical University Pediatric 

Teaching Day presentation on, “Primary Care of Preemies 

for the Community Pediatrician”, Syracuse, NY, June, 


Anbar RD. Basic American Society of Clinical Hypnosis 

Workshop presentation on, “Induction and Realerting 

Demonstrations”, Norfolk, VA, June, 2008.



Workshop presentation on, “Case Examples of Hypnosis 

with Children and Adolescents”, Norfolk, VA, June, 2008. 

Anbar RD. Advanced American Society of Clinical 

Hypnosis Workshop presentation on, “Medical 

Applications of Hypnosis: Video Examples and 

Discussion”, Norfolk, VA, June, 2008. 


Hypnosis Workshop presentation on, “Automatic Word 

Processing”, Norfolk, VA, June, 2008. 


Hypnosis Workshop presentation on, “The Psychology of 

Symptoms”, Norfolk, VA, June, 2008. 


Hypnosis Workshop presentation on, “Use of Hypnosis in 

Pediatrics”, Norfolk, VA, June, 2008. 

Anbar RD. Syracuse University presentation to Pediatric 

Psychology class on “Introduction to Pediatric Hypnosis”, 

Syracuse, NY, June, 2008. 

Anbar RD. Intermediate American Society of Clinical 

Hypnosis Workshop presentation on, “Communication 

with the Subconscious”, Lombard, IL, September, 2008. 


Hypnosis Workshop presentation on, “Hypnosis in 

Pediatrics: An Experiential Approach”, Lombard, IL, 

September, 2008. 


Hypnosis Workshop presentation on, “Communication 

with the Subconscious”, Lombard, IL, September, 2008. 


Workshop presentation on, “Hypnosis Induction 

Techniques”, Albuquerque, NM, December, 2008. 


Workshop presentation on, “Hypnosis with Children and 

Adolescents”, Albuquerque, NM, December, 2008. 


Workshop presentation on, “Hypnosis for Chronic 

Disease”, Albuquerque, NM, December, 2008. 


Hypnosis Workshop presentation on, “Hypnosis for 

Chronic Disease”, Albuquerque, NM, December, 2008. 

Anbar RD. Morristown Memorial Hospital Department 

of Pediatrics Grand Rounds on, “Hypnosis for Childhood 

Respiratory Disorders”, Morristown, NJ, December, 2008. 

Anbar RD. Overlook Hospital Department of Pediatrics 

Grand Rounds on, “Hypnosis for Childhood Respiratory 

Disorders”, Morristown, NJ, December, 2008. 

Anbar RD. SUNY Upstate Medical University Pediatric 

Grand Rounds on, “Interactive Education through a Video 

Presentation: A 10-year-old with Shortness of Breath”, 

Parts I and II, Syracuse, NY, January, 2009. 

Anbar RD. SUNY Upstate Medical University Child 

Psychiatry presentation on, “Hypnosis in Pediatrics”, 

Syracuse, NY, January, 2009. 

Anbar RD. American Society of Clinical Hypnosis annual 

meeting workshop presentation on, “Teaching Hypnosis 

to Meet the ASCH Standards of Training”, Boston, MA, 

March, 2009. 


annual meeting workshop presentation on, “Writing and 

Publishing your Hypnosis Articles”, Boston, MA, March, 


Anbar RD. American Society of Clinical Hypnosis annual 

meeting basic workshop presentation on, “Hypnosis in 

Pediatrics”, Boston, MA, March, 2009. 

Anbar RD. Onondaga Pediatric Society presentation on, 

“Hypnosis in Pediatrics”, Syracuse, NY, April, 2009. 

Anbar RD. Syracuse University presentation to Pediatric 

Psychology class on “Introduction to Pediatric Hypnosis”, 

Syracuse, NY, April, 2009. 

Anbar RD. Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics 

Development Network presentation on, “Being a 

Successful Site”, Denver, CO, April, 2009. 

Hingre RV. SUNY Upstate Medical University 

Department of Pediatric Grand Rounds presentation on, 

“Group B Strep in 2009: More Questions than Answers”, 

Syracuse, NY, May, 2009. 

Hingre RV. Central New York Nurse Practitioner Teaching 

Day presentation on, “Primary Care of Preemies: Special 

Issues and Concerns”, Syracuse, NY, May, 2009. 

Anbar RD. Faculty member in an American Society of 

Clinical Hypnosis Individualized Consultation workshop, 

Philadelphia, PA, July, 2009. 

Anbar RD. Upstate University Health Link presentation 

on, “Hypnosis for medical care: myths and truths”, 

Syracuse, NY, August, 2009. 

Anbar RD. CF Foundation presentation on, “Hypnosis for 

People with Cystic Fibrosis”, Minneapolis, MN, October, 


Anbar RD. American Academy of Pediatrics presentation 

on, “Basic Pediatric Hypnosis”, Washington, DC, October, 


Anbar RD. SUNY at Buffalo Counseling Service 

presentation on, “Hypnosis and the college student”, 

Buffalo, NY, November, 2009. 

Hingre RV. SUNY Upstate Medical University 

Department of Pediatrics Grand Rounds presentation 

on, “Universal Serologic Screening for Herpes Simplex 

During Pregnancy: Opening Pandora’s Box”, Syracuse, NY, 

December, 2009.



Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Care Center Grant, $184,655 

total in 2008 and 2009 

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Clinical Research Facilitation 

Award, $156,600 in 2008 and 2009 


Outpatient visits: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,357 

Inpatient encounters: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,059 

Outreach encounters: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,191 

Bronchoscopies:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 

Hypnotherapy encounters: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,350 

Cystic Fibrosis Patients: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 

New York State Cystic Fibrosis Newborn Screening 

Program evaluations:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 

Pulmonary Function On-Site Program Tests: . . . . . . . . 470 

Pulmonary Function Tests at University Hospital:. . . 6,216


RHEUMATOLOGY 

FACULTY 

William P. Hannan, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, 

Director, Pediatric Arthritis Center 

Paul E. Phillips, MD, Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics 


The Division of Pediatric Rheumatology provides 

comprehensive evaluation and treatment of children, 

adolescents and young adults with juvenile rheumatoid 

arthritis (JRA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 

juvenile dermatomyositis, and other related disorders. 

Other children seen in the Pediatric Arthritis Center 

include those referred for evaluation of acute and 

chronic joint pain, limp, fevers of unknown origin, and 

post-infectious causes of joint pain and arthritis. 

All patients referred to the Pediatric Arthritis Center are 

seen and evaluated by a pediatric rheumatologist. There 

is a nurse dedicated to the Pediatric Arthritis Center who 

is available for teaching families and children. Other 

ancillary services available to assist in the care of referred 

children include pediatric physical and occupational 

therapists, social workers, and child life specialists. 

Approximately 200 children with chronic rheumatologic 

disease are followed in the Pediatric Arthritis Center. 


Phillips, P.E. Editorial Board, Clinical and Experimental 

Rheumatology. 

CLINICAL DATA 

Total Pediatric Arthritis Center visits, 2008: . . . . . . . . 636 

New patient referrals, 2008: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 

Total Pediatric Arthritis Center visits, 2009: . . . . . . . . . 726 

New patient referrals, 2009: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164


PEDIATRIC SURGICAL SPECIALTIES 

It is impossible to operate a tertiary pediatric program without substantial surgical support. Syracuse is fortunate to 

have a group of pediatric surgeons and surgical subspecialists that are technically superb and extraordinarily collegial 

with their pediatric medical colleagues. While these surgeons have primary appointments in a surgical department, 

most have joint appointments in the department of pediatrics. 

PEDIATIC ANESTHESIOLOGY 

FACULTY 

Full-Time: 

Bettina Smallman, M.D., Associate Professor of 

Anesthesiology and Pediatrics, Director of Pediatric 

Anesthesiology 

Richard Beers, M.D., Professor of Anesthesiology 

Debnath Chatterjee, M.D., Assistant Professor of 

Anesthesiology and Pediatrics 

Elizabeth Demers-Lavelle, M.D., Assistant Professor of 


Mirna Abdallah, M.D., Clinical Instructor of 


Vipin Bansal, M.D., Clinical Instructor of Anesthesiology 

Jadwiga Bednarczyk, M.D., Clinical Instructor of 


Part-Time: 

Tracy Buckingham, M.D., Assistant Professor of 


Robert Calimlim, M.D., Associate Professor of 


Dorothy Hwang, M.D., Assistant Professor of 


Fenghua Li, M.D., Clinical Instructor of Anesthesiology 

David Romano, M.D., Assistant Professor of 


Xiuli Zhang, M.D., Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology 


The Division of Pediatric Anesthesia in the Department 

of Anesthesiology at SUNY Upstate Medical University 

Hospital continued to experience significant growth in 

2008-2009. More than 4,800 children were anesthetized 

each year in the Pietrafesa Center for Children’s Surgery 

(CCS), spanning the full spectrum of pediatric surgical 

specialties, as well as procedures conducted outside the 

operating room environment (CT, MRI, Interventional 

Radiology, Radiation Therapy and Nuclear Medicine). 

The pediatric medical specialties, such as pulmonology 

and gastroenterology, have increased their procedural 

volume, and the pediatric oncologists have continued 

to utilize pediatric anesthesiology services frequently 

for their interventional procedures. As one of the 

few referral centers in Central New York for children 

undergoing MRIs and CTs, we have been able to 

streamline the process, making it safe and efficient to 

accommodate an ever-increasing demand. 

Two new faculty were hired during this period. Dr. Vipin 

Bansal joined the faculty in 2008 after completing a 

pediatric fellowship at The Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Elizabeth 

Demers-Lavelle joined the faculty in 2008 after a 

pediatric fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic. 

The Pediatric Anesthesia Division continued to 

show a strong commitment to the education of our 

anesthesiology residents and medical students. In 

addition to active participation in patient care, residents 

rotating in pediatric anesthesiology undergo a series 

of didactic lectures and journal clubs. Our team also 

teaches basic pediatric airway skills to Pediatric and 

Emergency Medicine residents and fellows who rotate 

through the CCS. 

The highlight of 2009 was the opening of Upstate 

Golisano Children’s Hospital. While the philosophy of 

care “Patients First” was a maxim for many years, the 

development of a Center of Excellence enabled an 

intensified focus on collaborative communication on 

patient and family centered care. 

PUBLICATIONS 

Beers RA. Office Based Anesthesia Practice: Which 

patients? In Twersky R, Rosenberg A, eds. Post Graduate 

Assembly in Anesthesiology; New York State Society of 

Anesthesiologists. 2008 

Smallman B. Timing All When Propofol is Used to Limit 

Emergence Delirium. Anesthesiology News, October 


Smallman B, Ball R. A Novel Technique of Retrograde 

Nasal Intubation for the Pierre-Robin Sequence Infant 

with a Known Difficult Airway. Pediatric Anesthesia, 

19(9):919-921. Sept 2009. 

Beers RA. Patient Safety in Office Based Anesthesia. 

In Twersky R, Rosenberg A, eds. Post Graduate 

Assembly in Anesthesiology. New York State Society of 

Anesthesiologists, 2009. 

Beers RA. Implementing Infection Prevention Guidelines 

into Anesthesia Practice. In Twersky R, Rosenberg A, eds. 

Post Graduate Assembly in Anesthesiology. New York 

State Society of Anesthesiologists, 2009


Green ES, Beers RA, Stackhouse RA. Preventing Health 

Care Associated Transmission of Bloodborne Pathogens 

Secondary to Unsafe Injection Practices. American 

society of Anesthesiologists Newsletter 73:28-31, 2009. 

Green ES, Beers RA,. Prevention of Healthcare Associated 

Transmission of Blood Borne Pathogens by the 

Application of Safe Injection Practices. American Society 

of Anesthesiologists Safety Module, 2009 

PRESENTATIONS 

Bansal V, Rosen K. Lesser Evil in Multiple Metabolic 

Diseases. Problem Based Learning Discussion, Society of 

Pediatric Anesthesiology (SPA), San Diego, CA, Spring 2008 

Beers R. Office Based Anesthesia Practice: Which 

Patients? Presented at the Post Graduate Assembly in 

Anesthesiology, New York, NY, December, 2008 

Beers R. Preventing Health Care Acquired Infections: 

Implementing the CDC Guidelines into Anesthesiology 

Practice. Presentation in conjunction with the New 

York State Department of Health at the Post Graduate 

Assembly in Anesthesiology, New York, NY December, 


Beers R. Anesthetic Management of Children Undergoing 

Scoliosis Surgery. Presented at Winthrop Hospital, 

Mineola, NY, May, 2008 

Beers R. Political Mindfulness for the New York State 

Anesthesiologist. Presented at the 2 nd Annual New York 

State Conference for Residents and Fellows, Syracuse, 

NY, May 2008 

Koshel M, Chatterjee D. Anesthetic Challenges in a Three 

Year Old Male with Mitochondrial Cytopathy. 2 nd Annual 

NYSSA Conference for Anesthesiology Residents and 

Fellows, Syracuse, NY, May, 2008 

Parikh J, Caswell J, Mortelliti A, Chatterjee D, Smallman 

B. Anesthetic Management of a Child with Junctional 

Epidermolysis Bullosa Presenting with Stridor. 2 nd Annual 


Fellows. Syracuse, NY, May 4, 2008 

Aron J, Tham SW, Caswell J, Giorgi S, Hwang D, Sills R, 

Prust L, Smallman B. Intrathecal Fentanyl for Combined 

Lumbar Puncture and Bone Marrow Aspiration in a 

Pediatric Patient with Mediastinal Mass. 2 nd Annual NYSSA 

Conference for Anesthesiology Residents and Fellows, 

Syracuse, NY, May 4, 2008 

Li F, Su Z, Barry WH. Effect of Endothelin-1 on [Ca2+]I In 

Rabbit Myocytes During Metabolic Inhibition. IARS, March 


Smallman B. Regional Anesthesia in Children Focus 

session. Postgraduate Assembly in NYSSA, New York, NY, 

December 2008 

Smallman B. Pediatric Pain Management – A 

Pharmaceutical Approach. Focus Session. Postgraduate 

Assembly in NYSSA, New York, NY, December 2008 

Trusilo M, Smallman B, Puthumana N, Romano D. Spinal 

Anesthesia in a Two Week Old Full Term Neonate 

Presenting with Hypotonia and Failure to Thrive with 

Suspected Congenital Myopathy for Vastus Muscle 

Biopsy. 2 nd Annual NYSSA Conference for Anesthesiology, 

Syracuse, NY, May 4, 2008 

Smallman B, Puthumana N, Romano D. Spinal Anesthesia 

in a Two Week Old Full Term Neonate Presenting with 

Hyptonia and Failure to Thrive with Suspected Congenital 

Myopathy for Vastus Muscle Biopsy. 62 nd Annual Post 

Graduate Assembly, New York, NY December, 2008 

Aron J, Smallman B. Goal Oriented Preoperative Anxiety 

Prevention – The Balloon and Mask Technique. 2 nd Annual 


Fellows. Syracuse, NY, May 4, 2008 

Smallman B, Caswell J. Intrathecal Fentanyl in a Child 

with a Mediastinal Mass Undergoing a Spinal Tap. 2 nd 

Annual NYSSA Conference for Anesthesiology Residents 

and Fellows. Syracuse, NY, May 4, 2008 

Smallman B. Pediatric Regional Anesthesia. Post Graduate 

Assembly, New York, NY 2008 

Bansal V, Oliver J, Romano D. Difficult Pediatric Airway: 

Laceration with Glidescope. 63 rd Annual Post Graduate 

Assembly, New York, NY, December, 2009 

Beers R. Undiagnosed Myopathy in a Toddler: Inhalation 

or Intravenous Anesthesia? Problem-Based Learning 

Discussion presented at the Post Graduate Assembly in 

Anesthesiology, New York, NY, December 2009 

Beers R. Implementing Infection Prevention Guidelines 

in Anesthesia Practice. Focus Session Presentation at the 

Post Graduate Assembly in Anesthesiology, New York, NY 

December, 2009 

Beers R. Patient Safety in Office Based Anesthesia. Focus 

Session Presentation at the Post Graduate Assembly in 

Anesthesiology, New York, NY, December, 2009 

Smallman B, Ball R. A Novel Technique of Retrograde 

Nasal Intubation for the Pierre-Robin Sequence Infant 

with a Known Difficult Airway. Society for Pediatric 

Anesthesia, Jacksonville, Florida, March 19-22, 2009 

Smallman B, Yamout I, Sweeney D, Lemmens HJ. Effect 

of Propofol on Sevoflurane Induced Agitation in Young 

Children – A Novel Approach. Society for Pediatric 

Anesthesia Jacksonville, Florida, March 19-22, 2009


PEDIATRIC CARDIOVASCULAR-THORACIC SURGERY 

FACULTY 

George Alfieris, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical 

Surgery and Pediatrics 

Francisco Gensini, MD, Assistant Professor of Clinical 

Surgery 


For a city of its size, Syracuse is very fortunate to have 

a high quality, nationally known program in congenital 

cardiac surgery. Part of the reason this program has been 

successful is the innovative arrangement Dr. Alfieris has 

developed with the University of Rochester, by which 

his time is shared between both institutions. This has 

enabled both programs to benefit from skilled surgery 

and has allowed Dr. Alfieris to undertake a higher volume 

of cases than he would in either center alone. 

PEDIATRIC GENERAL SURGERY 

FACULTY 

Michael Ratner, MD, Professor of Clinical Surgery and 

Pediatrics, Director, Division of Pediatric Surgery 


Surgeons in the division provide care to children both at 

University Hospital and at Crouse Hospital. This includes 

the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Crouse Hospital. 

The group cares for the full range of surgical problems 

of infancy and childhood, including complex congenital 

anomalies. University Hospital’s busy pediatric oncology 

program particularly benefits from the support of the 

general surgery service. 

The full-time surgery faculty is supplemented by 

additional part-time contract pediatric surgeons. This 

year, we have concluded a joint venture in pediatric 

surgery services with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and 

have recently recruited two new surgeons to join us on a 

full-time basis in 2010. 

PEDIATRIC NEUROSURGERY 

FACULTY 

Zulma Tovar-Spinoza MD –Assistant Professor of 

Neurosurgery, Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery 

Satish Krishnamurthy MD, Mch- Associate Professor of 

Neurosurgery 

Walter Hall MD- Professor of Neurosurgery 

Jim Holsapple, MD- Associate Professor of Neurosurgery 

– No longer in our practice- 

Other Department Neurosurgeons, although not subspecialized 

in Pediatrics, have the essential training and 

provide supplementary care as needed. 


The Pediatric Neurosurgery division provides care for 

children with structural disorders of the brain and spinal 

cord. Our patients are from the regional community, with 

some referrals from other states and some international 

referrals. We enjoy collaborating with expert pediatric 

neurologists, neuroradiologists, neonatologists and 

intensivists in the community. We participate regularly 

with the Upstate Epilepsy Center, Spina Bifida Program 

, Cranio-facial Center, the Center for Development, 

Behavior and Genetics and the Physical Medicine and 

Rehabilitation Program. 

During the last year the Department of Neurosurgery 

recruited Dr. Zulma Tovar- Spinoza to lead the Division of 

Pediatric Neurosurgery. Dr Tovar Spinoza is a fellowship 

trained pediatric neurosurgeon with international 

expertise in the field of pediatric neurosurgery and 

epilepsy surgery. Under her direction, the division is 

consolidating services with the other disciplines of 

pediatric care. Two new multidisciplinary services 

are being established: the spasticity center and the 

Pediatric Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. The Division 

has incorporated the spina bifida patients for pre-natal 

and post-natal care with the cooperation of the Prenatal 

center and the Spina bifida clinic. Preventive and


educational campaigns are being designed in conjunction 

with the Trauma center and pediatric department, i.e 

the use of helmets to avoid brain trauma. The division is 

strongly involved with the planning and funding for the 

Cancer Center. Research clinical activities are currently 

focused on positional plagiocephaly, decompressive 

craniectomies and tethered cord. 

Dr. Satish Krishnamurthy has recently returned to 

the Department of Neurosurgery. Dr. Krishnamurthy 

has recognized national and international expertise in 

pediatric and minimally invasive neurosurgery. His very 

well known interest in hydrocephalus and device less 

solutions for this condition are meritorious of several 

grants and publications. He is a frequent speaker in 

national and international conferences on this topic. His 

current interest is to develop a Comprehensive Program 

for Hydrocephalus at SUNY Upstate. 

Dr.Walter Hall joined our Department in 2007. He is a 

nationally respected expert in: infectious diseases of the 

nervous system and in the use of intraoperative MRI to 

guide the resection of childhood brain tumors. He brings 

his subspecialty expertise to the management of our 

pediatric patients. 

Community education regarding the services the Division 

provides has been an important goal. The division has 

been working on providing local community updates on 

TV and newspapers about our services and noteworthy 

cases. Constant feedback has been established with 

the pediatric services in regional hospitals at Syracuse, 

Rochester, Albany and Boston in order to facilitate the 

care to our patients. 

In the national and international arena, the division was 

recently linked to the American Association for Pediatric 

Neurosurgery, the International Society for Pediatric 

Neurosurgery. These links represent the opportunity 

to be involved in national and international research 

projects like the Chiari Consortium, the Hydrocephalus 

International Study and the Pediatric Craniocervical 

Society. 

Conditions Treated: 

• Brain and Spine tumors 

• Chiari malformation 

• Congenital and developmental malformations of 

the nervous system 

• Epilepsy 

• Hydrocephalus 

• Nervous system vascular lesions 

• Pediatric brain trauma 

• Spasticity 

Clinical Services Provided: 

• Surgical treatment of congenital and developmental 

lesions of the nervous system [Spina bifida, Chiari 

Malformation, Cranio cervical spine abnormalities, 

tethered cord] 

• Surgical treatment of brain and spine tumors [Open 

surgery and endoscopic] 

• Surgical treatment of craniosynostosis [skull 

reconstructive surgery] 

• Surgical treatment of epilepsy [invasive monitoring 

and resection of the brain area producing epilepsy] 

• Surgical treatment of hydrocephalus [shunts and 

endoscopic third ventriculostomies -without shunt] 

• Surgical treatment of spasticity [Baclofen Pumps, 

Dorsal Rhizotomies] 

• Surgical treatment of vascular lesions of the 

nervous system [aneurysms, arterio-venous 

malformations, Moyamoya disease] 

PUBLICATIONS 

Tovar-Spinoza ZS, Ochi A, Rutka JT, et al: The role of 

magnetoencephalography in epilepsy surgery. Neurosurg 

Focus, 25(3):E16, 2008. 

Yamazaki M, Chan D, Tovar-Spinoza Z, Go C, et al: 

Interictal epileptogenic fast oscillations on neonatal and 

infantile EEGs in hemimegalencephaly. Epilepsy Res, 83(2- 

3):198-206, 2009.


PEDIATRIC OPHTHALMOLOGY 

FACULTY 

Leon-Paul Noël, MD, Professor of Clinical 

Ophthalmology and Pediatrics 

Walter W. Merriam, MD, Associate Professor of 

Ophthalmology 

Stephen W. Merriam, MD, Assistant Professor of 

Ophthalmology 

Marc J. Safran, MD, Assistant Professor of 

Ophthalmology 


The pediatric ophthalmology service is involved in the 

gamut of infant and child ocular disorders, ranging from 

simple errors of refraction to significant anomalies. 

Dr. Noël also works closely with Dr. Botash and the 

critical care medicine division in the evaluation and 

documentation of ocular manifestations of child abuse. 

The service also has a growing experience with the use of 

intraocular lens placement in infants. 

PUBLICATIONS 

Nagao K, Noel LP, Noel ME, Walton DS: The spontaneous 

resolution of primary congenital glaucoma. J Pediatr 

Ophthalmol Strabismus. 46(3):139-43, 2009. 

PEDIATRIC ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY 

FACULTY 

Stephen Albanese, MD, Professor of Orthopedic Surgery 

and Pediatrics, Department Chairman 

Timothy Damron, MD, Professor of Orthopedic Surgery 

Danielle Katz, MD, Associate Professor of Orthopedic 

Surgery 

Kathryn Palomino, MD, Assistant Professor of Orthopedic 

Surgery 

Brian Harley, MD, Associate Professor of Orthopedic 

Surgery 


Upstate Medical University’s pediatric orthopedic 

group is one of upstate New York’s largest resources 

for children’s orthopedic care. In addition to the 

management of traumatic injuries for children in the 

immediate Syracuse area, the group provides advanced 

care for complex disorders such as scoliosis and vertebral 

anomalies for an extensive referral area. 

Several other orthopedic surgeons within the 

Department of Orthopedic Surgery also play a major 

role in the care of children. Prominent among these are 

Dr. Timothy Damron and Dr. Brian Harley. Dr. Damron 

is trained in children’s orthopedic oncology and is an 

expert in the management of skeletal malignancies. He 

works closely with the pediatric hematology oncology 

service. Dr. Harley completed a pediatric and congenital 

upper extremity fellowship. His expertise includes 

hand surgery as well as microsurgery and trauma 

reconstruction. 

PUBLICATIONS 

Damron TA, Horton JA, Pritchard MR, et al: 

Histomorphometric evidence of growth plate recovery 

potential after fractionated radiotherapy: an in vivo 

model. Radiat Res. 170(3):284-91, 2008. 

Zhang M, Pritchard MR, Middleton FA, Horton JA, 

Damron TA: Microarray analysis of perichondral and 

reserve growth plate zones identifies differential gene 

expressions and signal pathways. Bone. 43(3):511-20, 2008. 

Lisle JW, Choi JY, Horton JA, Allen MJ, Damron TA: 

Metastatic osteosarcoma gene expression differs in vitro 

and in vivo. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 466(9):2071-80, 2008. 

Joyner DE, Aboulafia AJ, Damron TA, Randall RL: Fas 

death pathway in sarcomas correlates with epidermal 

growth factor transcription. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 

466(9):2092-8, 2008. 

Margulies BS, Damron TA, Allen MJ: The differential 

effects of the radioprotectant drugs amifostine and 

sodium selenite treatment in combination with radiation 

therapy on constituent bone cells, Ewing’s sarcoma of 

bone tumor cells, and rhabdomyosarcoma tumor cells in 

vitro. J Orthop Res. 26(11):1512-9, 2008. 

Damron TA, Leerapun T, Hugate RR, et al: Does the 

second-generation intercalary humeral spacer improve 

on the first? 466(6):1309-17, 2008. 

Mann KA, Lee J, Arrington SA, Damron TA, Allen MJ: 

Predicting distal femur bone strength in a murine model 

of tumor osteolysis. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 466(6):1271-8, 


Evans AR, Bottros J, Grant W, Chen BY, Damron TA: 

Mirels’ rating for humerus lesions is both reproducible 

and valid. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 466(6):1279-84, 2008.


Clabeaux J, Hojnowski L, Valente A, Damron TA: Case 

report: parachordoma of soft tissues of the arm. Clin 

Orthop Relat Res. 466(5):1251-6, 2008. 

Sherman GM, Spath C, Harley BJ, Weiner MM, Werner 

FW, Palmer AK: Core decompression of the distal radius 

for the treatment of Kienbock’s disease: a biomechanical 

study. J Hand Surg Am. 33(9):1478-81, 2008. 

Wong DA, Herndon JH, Canale ST, Brooks RL, Hunt TR, 

Epps HR, Fountain SS, Albanese SA, et al: Medical errors 

in orthopaedics. Results of an AAOS member survey. J 

Bone Joint Surg Am. 91(3):547-57, 2009. 

Joyner DE, Trang SH, Aboulafia AJ, Damron TA, Randall 

RL: FAP-associated desmoid invasiveness correlates with 

in vitro resistance to doxorubicin. Fam Cancer. 8(4):569- 


Damron TA, Zhang M, Pritchard MR, Middleton FA, et al: 

Microarray cluster analysis of irradiated growth plate 

zones following laser microdissection. Int J Radiat Oncol 

Biol Phys. 74(3):949-56, 2009. 

Damron TA, Morris C, Rougraff B, Tamurian R: Diagnosis 

and treatment of joint-related tumors that mimic sportsrelated 

injuries. Instr Course Lect. 58:833-47, 2009. 

Joyner DE, Trang SH, Damron TA, Aboulafia AJ, et al: 

Desmoid cell motility is induced in vitro by rhEGF. J 

Orthop Res. 27(9):1258-62, 2009. 

Sherman RA, Damron TA: Penetration of a metallic 

femoral head through the acetabular shell. J 

Arthroplasty. 24(7):1143.e7-10, 2009 

PEDIATRIC OTOLARYNGOLOGY 

FACULTY 

Anthony Mortelliti, MD, Assistant Professor of 

Otolaryngology and Pediatrics 

Robert Shprintzen, PhD, Professor of Otolaryngology and 


Sherard Tatum, MD, Associate Professor of 

Otolaryngology 


The Department of Otolaryngology provides state-of-the 

art management for children with ear, nose, and throat 

disorders, as well as severe craniofacial anomalies and 

airway problems. The department is particularly known 

for its work with children affected by velocardiofacial 

syndrome, providing a multidisciplinary approach to 

evaluation and treatment through the VCF Center. This 

program also directs a highly visible research program in 

this disorder. 

PUBLICATIONS 

Tatum SA, Losquadro WD: Advances in craniofacial 

surgery. Arch Facial Plast Surg, 10(6):376-80, 2008. 

Gothelf D, Frisch A, Michaelovsky E, Weizman A, 

Shprintzen RJ: Velo-Cardio-Facial Syndrome. J Ment 

Health Res Intellect Disabil, 2(2):149-167, 2009. 

Sriharan A, Abdeen Z, Bojrab D, David S, Elnasser Z, 

Patterson T, Shprintzen R, et al: Academic medicine as 

a bridge to peace: building Arab and Israeli cooperation. 

Acad Med, 84(11):1488-9, 2009. 

Nelson J, Tatum S: Pediatric Rhabdomyosarcoma in 

an Oronasal Fistula in a Repaired Cleft Palate: A Case 

Report. Cleft Palate Craniofac J, 5:1, 2009. 

Portnoy JE, Tatum S: Retrograde nasal intubation via the 

cleft in Pierre-Robin Sequence neonates: a case series. 

Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol, 73(12):1828-32, 2009. 

Smallman B, Ball R, Tatum S: A novel technique of 

retrograde nasal intubation for the Pierre Robin Sequence 

infant with a known difficult airway. Paediatr Anaesth, 

19(9):919-21, 2009. 

Shprintzen RJ, Marrinan E: Velopharyngeal insufficiency: 

diagnosis and management. Curr Opin Otolaryngol Head 

Neck Surg, 17(4):302-7, 2009. 

Losquadro WD, Tatum SA, Allen MJ, Mann KA: 

Polytactide-co-glycolide fiber-reinforced calcium 

phosphate bone cement. Arch Facial Plast Surg, 11(2):104- 

9, 2009.


AFFILIATED FACULTY 

The clinical and educational missions of the Department of Pediatrics are enhanced by several specialty groups in 

affiliated institutions or private practice. These pediatricians have academic appointments in the department and are 

fully integrated into our activities. 

PEDIATRIC CARDIOLOGY 

FACULTY 

Nader H. Atallah, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics 

Craig J. Byrum, MD, Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine 

Daniel A. Kveselis, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics 

Frank C. Smith, MD, Professor of Pediatrics 

Ellen Weinstein, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics 


The Division of Pediatric Cardiology provides the full 

spectrum of non-invasive and interventional diagnostic 

and therapeutic services. This activity occurs in the 

neonatal intensive care unit at Crouse Hospital as well 

as in the inpatient and critical care units at University 

Hospital. A number of satellite clinics are staffed by 

these faculty as well. 

NEONATALOGY: ST. JOSEPH’S HOSPITAL 

FACULTY 

Larry Consenstein, MD, Clinical Associate Professor of 


James Pergolizzi, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of 


Jonathan Chai, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of 


Michele Chai, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of 



These physicians staff the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at 

St. Joseph’s Hospital as well as providing normal newborn 

coverage for other hospitals and pediatric practices. 

One of the three one-month neonatology rotations 

in our pediatric residency is served at St. Joseph’s 

Hospital under the supervision of faculty members of 

neonatology. 

NEONATOLOGY: CROUSE HOSPITAL 

FACULTY 

Steven Gross, MD, Clinical Professor of Pediatrics 

Ellen Bifano, MD, Clinical Professor of Pediatrics 

Michelle Bode, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of 


Boura’a Bou Aram, M.D, Clinical Assistant Professor of 


Thomas Curran, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of 


Bonnie Marr, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics 

Beverly Roy, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics 


These neonatologists staff the 60 bed neonatal intensive 

care unit at Crouse Hospital. In addition to the clinical 

activity in this busy unit, two of the one-month 

neonatology rotations of our pediatric residents are 

spent in this NICU.


FACULTY RECOGNITION 

Many department faculty have received national recognition. 

AMERICAN PEDIATRIC SOCIETY 

The following faculty are members of the American 

Pediatric Society, recognizing their national reputation as 

academic pediatricians: 

Ann Botash, MD 

Robert Kanter, MD 

Gregory Liptak, MD 

Irene Sills, MD 

Leonard Weiner, MD 

Thomas Welch, MD 

SOCIETY FOR PEDIATRIC RESEARCH 

The Society for Pediatric Research is an elective society 

which recognizes nationally prominent accomplishments 

in research by pediatricians. Upstate faculty members 

include: 

Ann Botash, MD 

Joseph Domachowske, MD 

James Listman, MD 

Scott Schurman, MD 

Thomas Welch, MD 

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS, 

SECTION ON ENDOCRINOLOGY 

Irene Sills, MD - Executive Committee 

AMERICAN BOARD OF PEDIATRICS 

Gregory Liptak, MD – Chair, Neurodevelopmental 

Disabilities Sub-Board 

THE HELFER SOCIETY 

Ann Botash, MD – President 

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CLINICAL 

HYPNOSIS 

Ran Anbar, MD - President 

SIGMA XI SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH SOCIETY 

BEST DOCTORS IN AMERICA 

Best Doctors is a national program which recognizes 

physicians in the United States who are considered by 

their peers to be outstanding clinicians. Nearly a quarter 

of the physicians in Onondaga County recognized by 

Best Doctors are members of our pediatric full-time or 

volunteer faculty. 

Stephen Albanese 

Ran Anbar 

John Andrake 

Mirza Beg 

Steven Blatt 

Ann Botash 

Robert Cavanaugh 

Irene Cherrick 

Carl Crosley 

Timothy Damron 

Joseph Domachowske 

Wanda Fremont 

William Hannan 

Gregory Liptak 

Victoria Meguid 

Paul Phillips 

Michael Ratner 

Scott Schurman 

Irene Sills 

Richard Sills 

Zafer Soultan 

Ann Sveen 

Leonard Weiner 

Thomas Welch 

Denise Woodall-Ruff 

The following outpatient centers were also included in 

the Best Doctors list: 

Pediatric and Adolescent Center 

William Kerr, PhD - Member

10-0491 Rev. 5/2010

Department of Pediatrics Biannual Report 2008-2009

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