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Former Department Chairman Philip R. Dodge, M.D., widely viewed as a founder of the specialty of pediatric neurology, died August 30.  Philip R. Dodge, M.D., a founder of the specialty of pediatric neurology, died peacefully August 30, 2009. Dr. Dodge came to Washington University and St. Louis Children’s Hospital as Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics in 1967, a post he held until 1986. He received his M.D. from Rochester as well as his residency training in internal medicine. He trained in neurology and neuropathology at Boston City Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, where he began his clinical practice and his scholarly work on bacterial meningitis. While in St. Louis he was a revered teacher, spectacular clinician, and consummate scholar and mentor. He trained and mentored most of the academic pediatric neurology leaders in the U.S. during the past four decades. His “Dodge Rounds” with medical students and residents continued into 2009. He will be profoundly missed.
U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll  St. Louis Children’s Hospital has been recognized as one of the nation’s top children’s hospitals for the seventh consecutive year as rated by US News & World Report in the 2009 edition of “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals.” St. Louis Children’s Hospital ranked in all 10 specialties in the 2009 edition of the report. This distinction earns the hospital a place on the publication’s elite “Honor Roll” with just nine other pediatric hospitals in the country. The U.S. News specialty rankings include cancer, diabetes and endocrine disorders, digestive disorders, heart and heart surgery, kidney disorders, neonatal care, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, respiratory disorders, and urology. This listing is the most extensive ever conducted by the magazine across pediatric hospitals. The complete rankings can be viewed on the U.S. News web site or in the August issue available on newsstands starting July 21, 2009.
2009 International Conference on Molecular Neurodegeneration  More than 20 world-wide leading scientists spoke at this meeting, including Dr. Aaron Ciechanover, a 2004 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry for his discovery of the ubiquitin system, and Dr. Steven Heinemann, a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, making this conference one of the highest level scientific conferences ever held in China in the area of neurodegeneration. Senior scholars and scientists from around the world and China also held a round-table meeting to discuss future directions and possible collaborations in neurodegeneration research.
This event was co-chaired by the School of Medicine's own Dr. Guojun Bu, Professor of Pediatrcis, Cell Biology and Physiology. Dr. Bu's research lab has more information on his studies. See the conference website here.
Research Retreat 2009 The Department of Pediatrics Research Retreat was held on April 3, 2009, at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. This annual event offers a chance for Pediatric faculty, fellows, postdocs and students to engage in discussions of each other’s work, as well as showcasing the scholarship of fellows, junior faculty, and senior investigators. 
The keynote address was given by Se-Jin Lee, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Lee’s account of his work with myostatin, a protein that regulates muscle mass, was stimulating, rigorous, and entertaining “This year’s retreat was an unqualified success on so many fronts,” said Alan L. Schwartz, Ph.D., M.D., Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics. “The presentations were high-quality and high-impact, the areas of inquiry were broad and deep, and the audience was clearly engaged. The keynote presentation by Professor Lee was masterful.” 
The all-day retreat included two scientific sessions featuring research being performed in the Department. Represented were four pediatric clinical fellows, including Megan Cooper, M.D., Ph.D., whose work on memory-like properties of natural killer cells was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; and Jeff Bednarski, M.D., Ph.D., who is studying the relationship between DNA damage signals and development in lymphocytes. Among faculty presenters, George Van Hare, M.D., Director of the David Goldring Division of Pediatric Cardiology, spoke about his work with the electrophysiology of reentrant tachycardia. The schedule was rounded out with a kick-off talk by Jim Kemp, M.D., on pediatric sleep disorders, and a wine reception and poster session exhibiting the research of many senior fellows and junior investigators in the Department.
Inder receives clinical scientist award from Doris Duke Foundation  By Beth Miller Dec. 12, 2008 -- Terrie E. Inder, M.D., Ph.D., has received a 2008 Distinguished Clinical Scientist Award from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Inder is a pediatrician and researcher at the Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis Children's Hospital. The $1.5 million award recognizes outstanding leadership in clinical research and allows leading physician-scientists to meld biomedical research and clinical applications that improve human health. Inder was one of six award recipients. "Terrie Inder is an outstanding clinical investigator who bridges the gaps between basic neurobiology, translational medicine and health outcomes for our smallest and most vulnerable patients," said Alan L. Schwartz, Ph.D., M.D., the Harriet B. Spoehrer Professor and head of Pediatrics. Inder, who specializes in newborn medicine, neurology and radiology at the School of Medicine, uses imaging studies on brains of premature, at-risk infants to help predict developmental outcomes, in particular the risk of severe cognitive delays, psychomotor delays, cerebral palsy or hearing or visual impairments. Using sophisticated analysis of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, Inder can determine abnormalities in the brains of preterm infants born at 30 weeks gestation or less and assist in guiding families as to the risk for future disability. The outcomes of the MRI scans can also inform the physicians about the impact of treatment in the neonatal intensive care unit on brain development. Inder, also co-directs a large multidisciplinary team that provides clinical care, teaching and research to improve the outcomes for infants born at risk for disability. The team combines multi-disciplinary research initiatives in pediatrics, neurology, radiology, obstetrics and psychology based on studies at the bedside of newborn infants in the neonatal and pediatric intensive care units at St. Louis Children's Hospital. These studies include brain monitoring with electroencephalography for silent seizures which are very common in sick babies, early treatment with caffeine in preterm infants to prevent cerebral palsy, treatment of high-risk pregnancies with pomegranate juice and studying natural stem-cell regeneration in the immature brain. All infants are followed into childhood to monitor their progress. Inder earned a medical degree and a doctorate from the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. She completed a residency in pediatrics at Dunedin Hospital, a newborn medicine fellowship at Christchurch Hospital/Otago Medical School and a residency in child neurology at Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard Medical School. She joined the faculty at the School of Medicine in 2005. Washington University School of Medicine's 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked third in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.
#5 St. Louis Children's Hospital
 Having performed the most pediatric lung transplants in the U.S., St. Louis Children's Hospital is now giving extra attention to kids with another lung problem -- asthma. "Some families receive a 'coach' they can call 24/7 for help," says chief medical officer F. Sessions Cole, MD. One study showed that the program cut trips to the ER in half. In fact, St. Louis has 2,000 studies on conditions like SIDS (it hands out its patented swaddling sacks to prevent newborns from rolling over during sleep) and hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (a disorder that causes blood vessels to develop abnormally). Beyond the overall best hospital report, Parents magazine conducted individual studies of six specialty areas. Among those, SLCH again ranked in the top five in four specialties, and the top 10 in a fifth:
| Newborn medicine | #3 | | Orthopedics | #3 | | Pulmonary medicine | #4 | | Emergency medicine | #4 | | Cardiac services | #6 |
Former Department Chairman Philip R. Dodge, M.D., widely viewed as a founder of the specialty of pediatric neurology, died August 30. Philip R. Dodge, M.D., a founder of the specialty of pediatric neurology, died peacefully August 30, 2009. Dr. Dodge came to Washington University and St. Louis Children’s Hospital as Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics in 1967, a post he held until 1986. He received his M.D. from Rochester as well as his residency training in internal medicine. He trained in neurology and neuropathology at Boston City Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, where he began his clinical practice and his scholarly work on bacterial meningitis. While in St. Louis he was a revered teacher, spectacular clinician, and consummate scholar and mentor. He trained and mentored most of the academic pediatric neurology leaders in the U.S. during the past four decades. His “Dodge Rounds” with medical students and residents continued into 2009. He will be profoundly missed.
U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll St. Louis Children’s Hospital has been recognized as one of the nation’s top children’s hospitals for the seventh consecutive year as rated by US News & World Report in the 2009 edition of “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals.” St. Louis Children’s Hospital ranked in all 10 specialties in the 2009 edition of the report. This distinction earns the hospital a place on the publication’s elite “Honor Roll” with just nine other pediatric hospitals in the country. The U.S. News specialty rankings include cancer, diabetes and endocrine disorders, digestive disorders, heart and heart surgery, kidney disorders, neonatal care, neurology and neurosurgery, orthopedics, respiratory disorders, and urology. This listing is the most extensive ever conducted by the magazine across pediatric hospitals. The complete rankings can be viewed on the U.S. News web site or in the August issue available on newsstands starting July 21, 2009.
2009 International Conference on Molecular Neurodegeneration More than 20 world-wide leading scientists spoke at this meeting, including Dr. Aaron Ciechanover, a 2004 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry for his discovery of the ubiquitin system, and Dr. Steven Heinemann, a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, making this conference one of the highest level scientific conferences ever held in China in the area of neurodegeneration. Senior scholars and scientists from around the world and China also held a round-table meeting to discuss future directions and possible collaborations in neurodegeneration research. This event was co-chaired by the School of Medicine's own Dr. Guojun Bu, Professor of Pediatrcis, Cell Biology and Physiology. Dr. Bu's research lab has more information on his studies. See the conference website here.
Research Retreat 2009 The Department of Pediatrics Research Retreat was held on April 3, 2009, at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park. This annual event offers a chance for Pediatric faculty, fellows, postdocs and students to engage in discussions of each other’s work, as well as showcasing the scholarship of fellows, junior faculty, and senior investigators.
The keynote address was given by Se-Jin Lee, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Lee’s account of his work with myostatin, a protein that regulates muscle mass, was stimulating, rigorous, and entertaining “This year’s retreat was an unqualified success on so many fronts,” said Alan L. Schwartz, Ph.D., M.D., Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics. “The presentations were high-quality and high-impact, the areas of inquiry were broad and deep, and the audience was clearly engaged. The keynote presentation by Professor Lee was masterful.”
The all-day retreat included two scientific sessions featuring research being performed in the Department. Represented were four pediatric clinical fellows, including Megan Cooper, M.D., Ph.D., whose work on memory-like properties of natural killer cells was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; and Jeff Bednarski, M.D., Ph.D., who is studying the relationship between DNA damage signals and development in lymphocytes. Among faculty presenters, George Van Hare, M.D., Director of the David Goldring Division of Pediatric Cardiology, spoke about his work with the electrophysiology of reentrant tachycardia. The schedule was rounded out with a kick-off talk by Jim Kemp, M.D., on pediatric sleep disorders, and a wine reception and poster session exhibiting the research of many senior fellows and junior investigators in the Department.
Inder receives clinical scientist award from Doris Duke Foundation By Beth Miller Dec. 12, 2008 -- Terrie E. Inder, M.D., Ph.D., has received a 2008 Distinguished Clinical Scientist Award from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Inder is a pediatrician and researcher at the Washington University School of Medicine and St. Louis Children's Hospital. The $1.5 million award recognizes outstanding leadership in clinical research and allows leading physician-scientists to meld biomedical research and clinical applications that improve human health. Inder was one of six award recipients. "Terrie Inder is an outstanding clinical investigator who bridges the gaps between basic neurobiology, translational medicine and health outcomes for our smallest and most vulnerable patients," said Alan L. Schwartz, Ph.D., M.D., the Harriet B. Spoehrer Professor and head of Pediatrics. Inder, who specializes in newborn medicine, neurology and radiology at the School of Medicine, uses imaging studies on brains of premature, at-risk infants to help predict developmental outcomes, in particular the risk of severe cognitive delays, psychomotor delays, cerebral palsy or hearing or visual impairments. Using sophisticated analysis of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, Inder can determine abnormalities in the brains of preterm infants born at 30 weeks gestation or less and assist in guiding families as to the risk for future disability. The outcomes of the MRI scans can also inform the physicians about the impact of treatment in the neonatal intensive care unit on brain development. Inder, also co-directs a large multidisciplinary team that provides clinical care, teaching and research to improve the outcomes for infants born at risk for disability. The team combines multi-disciplinary research initiatives in pediatrics, neurology, radiology, obstetrics and psychology based on studies at the bedside of newborn infants in the neonatal and pediatric intensive care units at St. Louis Children's Hospital. These studies include brain monitoring with electroencephalography for silent seizures which are very common in sick babies, early treatment with caffeine in preterm infants to prevent cerebral palsy, treatment of high-risk pregnancies with pomegranate juice and studying natural stem-cell regeneration in the immature brain. All infants are followed into childhood to monitor their progress. Inder earned a medical degree and a doctorate from the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. She completed a residency in pediatrics at Dunedin Hospital, a newborn medicine fellowship at Christchurch Hospital/Otago Medical School and a residency in child neurology at Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard Medical School. She joined the faculty at the School of Medicine in 2005. Washington University School of Medicine's 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked third in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.
#5 St. Louis Children's Hospital
Having performed the most pediatric lung transplants in the U.S., St. Louis Children's Hospital is now giving extra attention to kids with another lung problem -- asthma. "Some families receive a 'coach' they can call 24/7 for help," says chief medical officer F. Sessions Cole, MD. One study showed that the program cut trips to the ER in half. In fact, St. Louis has 2,000 studies on conditions like SIDS (it hands out its patented swaddling sacks to prevent newborns from rolling over during sleep) and hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (a disorder that causes blood vessels to develop abnormally). Beyond the overall best hospital report, Parents magazine conducted individual studies of six specialty areas. Among those, SLCH again ranked in the top five in four specialties, and the top 10 in a fifth:
| Newborn medicine | #3 | | Orthopedics | #3 | | Pulmonary medicine | #4 | | Emergency medicine | #4 | | Cardiac services | #6 |
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