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Our Impact

The Division of General and Community Pediatrics was re-established in 2022 with a commitment to advance the health and well-being of children across backgrounds and levels of medical complexity.

We aim to advance the health of children and adolescents through translational science, driving evidence-based research to inform clinical practice, community programs, and policies while addressing health disparities.

2024 Impact

  • By the Numbers

    By the Numbers

    Faculty and Staff icon

    Faculty

    • 7 faculty
    Fellowships icon

    Clinical

    • 1 clinical site
    • 4,774 outpatient encounters
    Doctors in Training icon

    Education

    • 30+ residents
    Clinical Studies Icon

    Research

    • 8 active awards
    • $468,078 total
      funding from grants (FY25)
    • 2 active clinical trials
    • 17 publications
    • 1,603 citations
       
  • Honors and Awards

    Honors and Awards

    John Hutton, M.D.

    • Mission Innovation Award. "Hank the Heart." Cincinnati Children's Innovation Ventures and the Cincinnati Children's Research Foundation
    • Independent Press Award (Children's Nonfiction). "Billie the Brain." Independent Press Award

    Michael Lee, M.D.

    • Texas Super Doctor. Texas Monthly Magazine, 2024

    Sara Messiah, Ph.D., M.P.H.

    • 2024 Outstanding Educator Award. School of Health Professions, UTSW
    • 2024 Mentor-Mentee Award. UT Health Science Center, Houston, TX
  • Top Conference Locations

    Top Conference Locations

    John Hutton, MD

    • Keynote, Welcome Back Week, Fort Worth Independent School District. Preschool & librarians, Fort Worth, TX. "Unleash Your Inner Superhero: Stories and Synapses: The neurobiology of reading during early childhood and 'novel' approaches to screening and guidance."
    • Early Literacy Summit. American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Early Childhood. Virtual. "Stories and Synapses: The neurobiology of emergent literacy during early childhood and 'novel' approaches to screening and guidance."
    • Lead presenter. National Head Start Conference, Portland, OR. "Stories, Screens and Synapses: The neurobiology of shared reading and digital media use during early childhood and 'novel' approaches to screening and guidance."

    Nancy Kelly, MD, MPH

    • Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) Annual Meeting 2024, Toronto, Canada. "Advocacy in Adversarial Times: Lessons Learned from the Florida and Texas Collaboratives to Address Legislative Challenges." Peer-reviewed invited workshop.
    • Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) Annual Meeting 2024, Toronto, Canada. "Community-Engaged Learning: Getting the Most Mileage for your Milestones." Peer-reviewed invited workshop.

    Angela Mihalic, MD

    • 2024 GSA-CiM-OSR National Meeting, San Francisco, California. "Discovering the Layers of Professionalism Concerns in Medical Students." Peer-reviewed invited workshop.
    • 2024 GSA-CiM-OSR National Meeting, San Francisco, California. "Navigating the Maze of Escalating Complexities of the Residency Application Process - A Case Workshop." Peer-reviewed invited workshop.
  • Top Peer-Reviewed Publications and Book Chapters

    Top Peer-Reviewed Publications and Book Chapters

    • Hutton JS, Piotrowski JT, Bagot K, Blumberg F, Canli T, Chein J, Christakis DA, Grafman J, Griffin JA, Hummer T, Kuss DJ, Lerner M, Marcovitch S, Paulus MP, Perlman G, Romeo R, Thomason ME, Turel O, Weinstein A, West G, Pietra PH, Potenza MN. Digital Media and Developing Brains: Concerns and Opportunities. Curr Addict Rep. 2024;11(2):287-298. PMID: 38606363.
    • Hutton JS, Dudley J, DeWitt T, Horowitz-Kraus T. Neural Signature of Rhyming Ability During Story Listening in Preschool-Age Children. Brain Connect. 2024 Jun;14(5):294-303. PMID: 38756082.
    • Klass P, Mendelsohn AL, Hutton JS, Dunlap M, Anderson AT, High PC, Navsaria D; COUNCIL ON EARLY CHILDHOOD. Literacy Promotion: An Essential Component of Primary Care Pediatric Practice: Technical Report. Pediatrics. 2024 Dec 1;154(6):e2024069091. PMID: 39342415.
    • Messiah SE, Xie L, Kapti EG, Chandrasekhar A, Srikanth N, Hill K, Williams S, Reid A, Mathew MS, Barlow SE. Prevalence of the Metabolic Syndrome by Household Food Insecurity Status in the United States Adolescent Population, 2001-2020: A Cross-Sectional Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2024 Feb;119(2):354-361. doi: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.11.014. Epub 2023 Nov 30. PMID: 38042411.
    • Allicock MA, King R, Francis J, Mathew MS, Polavarapu D, Wheelington A, Misserian M, Cartwright BR, Adewunmi A, Chandrasekhar A, Qureshi FG, Barlow SE, Messiah SE. Lifestyle Intervention and Support Preferences to Maximize Health Outcomes in Adolescent Bariatric Surgery Patients. J Clin Transl Sci. 2024 Sep 19;8(1):e127. PMID: 39351499.
    • Misserian M**, Wheelington A, King R, Francis J, Mathew MS, Allicock MA, Cartwright BR, Adewunmi A, Chandrasekhar A, Polavarapu D, Qureshi FG, Barlow SE, Messiah SE. Adaption of the Diabetes Prevention Program to Support Adolescents Completing Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. J Transl Med. 2024;22(1):197. PMID: 38395836 PMCID: PMC10893696.
    • Hallman TG, Qureshi U, Soltani H, Gutowski KS, Arcelona C, Donaldson R, Mihalic AP, Gosain AK. Predictors of Plastic Surgery Applicant Success: An Analysis of the Texas STAR Database. J Craniofac Surg. 2024 Jun 1;35(4):1084-1088. PMID: 38709027.
    • Benjamin WJ, Lenze NR, Bohm LA, Thorne MC, Kupfer RA, Sepdham D, Mihalic AP, Abraham R. Evaluating the Impact of the Novel Geographic Preferences Section on Interview Rate and Residency Match Outcomes. J Gen Intern Med. 2024 Feb;39(3):359-365. PMID: 37528251.
    • Benjamin WJ, Lenze NR, Bohm LA, Thorne MC, Abraham R, Sepdham D, Mihalic AP, Kupfer RA. Impact of Applicants' Characteristics and Geographic Connections to Residency Programs on Preference Signaling Outcomes in the Match. Acad Med. 2024 Apr 1;99(4):437-444. PMID: 37976398.

Community Engagement

Authentic community partnerships are a valued component of the UT Southwestern mission. Working with schools and other community organizations allows UT Southwestern pediatrics residents to gain an appreciation of the many strengths and some of the challenges of the communities in which their patients live.

three students holding trays of food

Since 2016, UTSW has partnered with John J. Pershing Elementary School, a Blue-Ribbon school in Dallas Independent School District. The majority of children at this school (93%) come from low-income households. The Team KidPower (KiPOW!) Program provides second grade students with a nutrition curriculum that is presented by pediatrics residents. The residents also serve as health mentors, modeling healthy eating during lunch and promoting physical activity during recess. This partnership has been supported by three American Academy of Pediatrics Resident CATCH Grants and two Clinical and Translational Community Engagement Grants. This program provides a bi-directional learning opportunity in that students not only learn from residents, but residents learn from the students.

three people sitting at a table

Starting in 2013, UTSW has partnered with Garland Independent School District's New Horizons Program, a drop-out prevention program for pregnant and parenting teens. This collaboration was supported by an American Academy of Pediatrics/Community Pediatrics Training Initiative Grant. Residents deliver original interactive presentations on pertinent health topics to teens in the program. In addition, residents participate in New Horizons' annual open house, discussing issues such as the importance of seasonal vaccinations with teen parents. This program also provides bi-directional learning. Residents also learn to present health information that can be easily understood by teen parents and gain some insight into some of the challenges faced by teen parents.

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