The Academy has hired Janna Patterson, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP, to lead its global health and life support initiatives.
Dr. Patterson comes to the Academy from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation where she is a senior program officer with the Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health team. She manages a portfolio of grants on maternal and newborn health ranging from the prevention and treatment of sepsis to care of the preterm infant, including kangaroo mother care.
“Dr. Patterson brings extraordinary leadership to our global efforts,” said AAP CEO/Executive Vice President Karen Remley, M.D., M.B.A., M.P.H., FAAP. “The Academy has programs and initiatives reaching children and pediatricians around the world. Dr. Patterson has the skills and experience that will grow our programs and strengthen our impact.”
Dr. Patterson received a bachelor’s degree in African development from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a doctor of medicine and master’s degree in public health from the University of Alabama-Birmingham, with graduate medical studies at the University of Washington/Seattle Children’s Hospital. She has been a practicing neonatologist and researcher on faculty at the University of Washington, and spent several years working in Tanzania including as a programme officer at the Tanzania Public Health Association.
As senior vice president of Global Child Health and Life Support, Dr. Patterson will be responsible for advancing AAP efforts to improve global pediatric care and critical educational products and programs such as Advanced Pediatric Life Support, Neonatal Resuscitation Program, Helping Babies Breathe, and Survive and Thrive. She will begin her new role at the Academy in March.
“I look forward to joining the Academy to support and strengthen the critically important programs that have saved thousands of infants and children worldwide,” Dr. Patterson said. “The expertise of our members and our hardworking staff are tremendous assets that will ensure our current work remains strong and will be a firm foundation on which we can build new endeavors. Leveraging rich partnerships, digital tools and the science of adult learning, we can build on what we know to maximize our impact on the health of children.”
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