White House honors Dr. Bull for transportation safety work
Marilyn J. Bull, M.D., FAAP, of Indianapolis, was recognized as a Transportation Champion of Change by the White House, in conjunction with
Dr. Bull with Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxxthe U.S. Department of Transportation. She is one of 11 individuals nationwide to be honored in the program that features individuals who empower and inspire their communities.
Dr. Bull has been a successful advocate to improve transportation safety, particularly for children with special health care needs. She serves as AAP liaison to the National Child Passenger Safety Board. An immediate past member of the AAP Board of Directors, she is past chair of Committee on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention and the former Section on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention.
In addition to collaborating on child passenger safety issues with the Academy and her institution, Dr. Bull has worked with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration as well as engineers, manufacturers, and regulatory and legislative partners.
Dr. Bull is the Morris Green Professor of Pediatrics at Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health, where she supports the Automotive Safety for Children program and the Center for the Safe Transportation of Children with Special Health Care Needs.
Leaders in education to be honored
Four AAP members were selected for 2016 awards by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.
Alexander M. Djuricich, M.D., FAAP, of Greenwood, Ind., and Eileen Klein, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP, of Seattle, are recipients of the 2016 Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award.
Associate professor of clinical medicine and clinical pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine, Dr. Djuricich is program director of internal medicine/pediatrics residency and associate dean for continuing medical education.
Dr. Klein is a professor of pediatrics at University of Washington, fellowship director of pediatric emergency medicine and attending physician at Seattle Children’s Hospital Emergency Department.
Mary C. Ottolini, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP, of Gaithersburg, Md., is recipient of the 2016 Parker J. Palmer Courage to Lead Award.
Dr. Ottolini is vice chair of medical education and designated institutional official at Children's National Health System. Chair of the Graduate Medical Education Committee at Children’s, she has been a key proponent to move pediatric hospitalist medicine forward as a subspecialty within and outside her organization. She is president-elect of the Academic Pediatric Association.
Adele T. Reeder, M.D., FAAP, of Houston, is recipient of the 2016 David C. Leach, M.D., Award, which honors contributions to graduate medical education. She is assistant professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine.
Other recognition
Mark L. Hudak, M.D., FAAP, of Jacksonville, Fla., was appointed chair of the Food and Drug Administration’s Pediatric Advisory Committee. His two-year term began in July. Chair of the AAP Committee on Child Health Financing, he is a member of the Task Force on Practice Transformation.
Dr. Hudak is professor of pediatrics and chief of the Division of Neonatology at University of Florida College of Medicine in Jacksonville.
Fred A. McCurdy, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., FAAP, of Corpus Christi, Texas, was named medical director of the Driscoll Health Plan STAR Kids Program. The South Texas Medicaid managed care program is the first of its kind for children and youths with disabilities.
Dr. McCurdy is past chair of the AAP Section on Uniformed Services Executive Committee and past president of the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics.
Paul A. Offit, M.D., FAAP, of Philadelphia, was inducted as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) and the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
Dr. Offit is professor of pediatrics and director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He also is professor of pediatrics and vaccinology at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine, he is a member of the AAP Council on Communications and Media.
Heather Paradis, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP, of Elm Grove, Wis., was named medical director of community services for Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. She will provide medical input on child welfare, community services and public policy, and evaluate needs and identify resources for children in the community.
Dr. Paradis’ research involves reducing disparities at school entry for city children by optimizing developmental screening and referrals.
Susan E. Reef, M.D., FAAP, of Atlanta, received the Measles & Rubella Initiative (M&RI) Champion Award at the M&RI annual meeting.
She is team lead of the Rubella Team in the Global Immunization Division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Reef serves as a member of the World Health Organization Scientific Advisory Group of Experts measles and rubella working group. She is a member of the AAP Sections on Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases.
Chadwick T. Rodgers, M.D., FAAP, of Little Rock, Ark., was named vice president and chief medical officer of the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care. He also was 2015 recipient of the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Dr. Tom Ed Townsend Award for excellence in health care and consistent support of Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
Vice president of the AAP Arkansas Chapter, he is secretary to the Arkansas Medical Society Board of Directors. He is a member of the AAP Section on LGBT Health and Wellness Executive Committee.
Linda D. Sagor, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP, of Boxborough, Mass., was named medical director, Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.
Professor of clinical pediatrics at University of Massachusetts Medical School, she founded and directs the Foster Children Evaluation Services Clinic, which provides health care evaluations for children in foster care in the Worcester area. She is a member of the AAP Council on Foster Care, Adoption and Kinship Care.
Surendra K. Varma, M.D., FAAP, D.Sc. (Hon.), of Lubbock, Texas, was named editor in chief of International Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology.
Dr. Varma is Ted Hartman Chair in Medical Education, university distinguished professor and vice chair of pediatrics at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. He also is executive associate dean for Graduate Medical Education and Resident Affairs.
Past president of the Texas Pediatric Society and American Diabetes Association of Texas Affiliate, he has served on national committees of the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education, Pediatric Endocrine Society, Pediatric Academic Societies and American Medical Association.
