The 2024 Annual Report of the University of Wisconsin Department of Pediatrics covers clinical care, research activities, and educational milestones that took place in the department between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024. Read the full online version for highlights, stats, and stories. The summary video provides a brief overview of the department’s accomplishments.
2023–2024 Highlights
I am so excited to share the 2024 Annual Report of the University of Wisconsin Department of Pediatrics. As the interim chair of the department during the report period — July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024 — I had the pleasure to be part of recognizing and celebrating several milestones for our department.
Two milestones of note include 10-year milestones for our NICU at American Family Children’s Hospital and our Pediatric Complex Care Program. In addition to recognizing the lasting impact and excellence of some programs, we have also celebrated an important first milestone of launching the UW Health Kids Heart Transplant Program. At the national level, we have brought the excitement and opportunity that our department represents to hosting a department booth at the 2024 Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting, the largest combined meeting in our field. Within our department, we started a Clinical Care Week to focus on learning and on highlighting our clinical programs. The addition of this program rounds out our three focus weeks of clinical (fall), education (winter), and research (spring). Regarding our annual Research Week, our May 2024 event saw the highest number of posters submitted to our Poster Session, with 78 total posters from presenters in our department and throughout the School of Medicine and Public Health.
Our department initiatives in areas of quality improvement, well-being, professional development, advocacy, and DEI continue to grow and thrive. The advocacy team hosted a community-centered firearm injury prevention workshop. Our well-being team provided a year-long initiative supporting department members in their pursuit of productive, meaningful, and collaborative work through the How We Work initiative. We’ve bolstered the expertise of our department through the involvement of our joint and affiliate faculty across these initiatives, and we recognized the excellence of our staff through a redesigned staff recognition program.
As I look to the milestone of our transition to a new chair for the coming year, I’m greatly appreciative of all the contributions to our department across faculty, providers, staff, and trainees.
Please enjoy reading the 2024 Annual Report.
Megan Moreno, MD, MSEd, MPH
Professor, Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
Interim Chair (December 2022–November 2024)
By the Numbers
- Faculty: 217
- Joint and Affiliate Faculty: 69
- Advanced Practice Providers (APPs): 64
- Trainees: 94
- Academic and Research Staff: 151
- University Staff: 31
- Student Assistants and Hourlies: 64
Faculty Awards and Honors
We take great pride in recognizing excellence among our members. Below is a selection of awards presented to our faculty during the past academic year.
- American Diabetes Association (ADA) President’s Select Abstract of Distinction
Elizabeth Mann, MD, assistant professor, Endocrinology and Diabetes - Arnold P. Gold Foundation Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award
Brittany Allen, MD, associate professor, Division of General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine - Association of Public Health Laboratories/International Society for Neonatal Screening Clinician Champion Award in Newborn Screening
Philip Farrell, MD, PhD, emeritus dean, professor, Division of Pulmonology & Sleep Medicine - Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Silver Award
Bikash Pattnaik, PhD, associate professor, Division of Neonatology & Newborn Nursery - T1D Exchange Quality Improvement Collaborative Outstanding Pediatric Team Award
The University of Wisconsin team of physicians and health care providers who care for pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes: Denise McMurray, MA; Kali Ecker, RN; Kristin Jakubowski, RN; Ellen Connor, MD; Grace Franklin, RDN; Jenny Templeton, MA; Victoria Nicksic, MD; Elizabeth Mann, MD; Elizabeth Bender Roe, NP; Emily Becker; Doha Hassan, MD; Gabrielle Courseault, RN; Melinda Chen, MD; Julie Price, CDCES; David Allen, MD; Pam Englehart, RN; Kimberly Vidmar, MD; Tracy Bekx, MD; Meghan Furstenberg-Knauff, NP; Rachel Fenske, RDN; Whitney Beaton, RN; Jean Elkins, RN - UW Health Physician Excellence Awards
Awni Al-Subu, MD, associate professor, Division of Critical Care: Clinical Practice Award; Gregory DeMuri, MD, professor, Division of Infectious Diseases: Clinical Practice Award; Mary Ehlenbach, MD, associate professor and director of diversity, equity, and inclusion, Division of Hospital Medicine & Complex Care: Clinical Leadership Award - UW Health Safety Leadership Awards
Awni Al-Subu, MD, associate professor, Division of Critical Care; Melissa Cercone, MD, professor, Division of Critical Care; Nina Menda, MD, associate professor, Division of Neonatology & Newborn Nursery - UW School of Medicine and Public Health Dean’s Teaching Award
Kathleen Kastner, MD, assistant professor, Division of Developmental Pediatrics & Rehabilitation Medicine - UW SMPH Department of Pediatrics Gerard B. Odell Award
Bryn Webb, MD, associate professor, Division of Genetics & Metabolism - UW School of Medicine and Public Health Family Medicine and Community Health Residency Program SSM Clinical Teaching Award
Nicole St Clair, MD, MS, associate professor, Divisions of Hospital Medicine & Complex Care and Global Pediatrics - Wisconsin Medical Alumni Association Ralph Hawley Distinguished Community Service Award
David Bernhardt, MD, professor, Division of General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
Staff Awards and Certifications
- Certified Clinical Research Professional (CCRP)
Elena Alfaro, regulatory manager, regulatory support team, earned her CCRP certificate from the Society of Clinical Research Associates. - Big Ten Academic Alliance IT Leaders Program
Philip Doll, IT manager, computer services team, was chosen to attend a national cohort of IT leaders from Big Ten universities. - Leadership Empowerment for Advancing Pediatric Education Specialists (LEAPES)
Brittany Loughman, GME program coordinator, education team, completed the LEAPES program through the Association of Pediatric Program Directors. - University of Wisconsin Graduate Medical Education (GME) Coordinator Advisory Council Rising Star Coordinator of the Year
Presented to Tara Luckey, GME coordinator, education team. - University of Wisconsin Academic Staff Professional Development Grant/Clinical Research Coordinator Certification
Cassie Nelson, research nurse, pediatric clinical research coordination team, used her UW Academic Staff Professional Development Grant to obtain her Clinical Research Coordinator Certification from the Association of Clinical Research Professionals.
New Faculty
Below is a list of the 13 new faculty members who started during the 2024 academic year and their divisions. Select a name to read a New Faculty Focus Q&A with each one.
- Arij Beshish, MBBCh, PhD
Pulmonology & Sleep Medicine - Samantha Cordum, MD
Neonatology & Newborn Nursery - Laura Dos Reis, MD
General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine - Alexandra Erdmann, MD
Cardiology - Casey Freymiller, MD
General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine - Leanne Mansfield, MD
Allergy, Immunology, & Rheumatology - Mariana Montero Jaques, MD
General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine - Patrick Peebles, MD
Neonatology & Newborn Nursery - Anjali Rao, MD
Developmental Pediatrics & Rehabilitation Medicine - Danielle Rodgers, MD
General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine - Anudeepa Sharma, MBBS, MBA
Neonatology & Newborn Nursery - Benjamin Spector, MD, MS
Nephrology - Samantha Tyler, DO
Neonatology & Newborn Nursery
Patient Visits
- In fiscal year 2024, the combined number of general pediatrics and specialty clinic visits totaled 126,691.
- Department of Pediatrics faculty members saw patients at 40 specialty clinics throughout Wisconsin and Northern Illinois in fiscal year 2024. Specialty clinics are located in 16 cities outside of Dane County. Our providers saw patients in regional specialty clinics 752 days last year.
Patient Care Stories
- UW Health Transplant Center completes its first pediatric heart transplant
- Pediatric Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy Program marks its first year of successes
- NICU celebrates a decade of operation
- For 10 years, the Pediatric Complex Care Program has supported children with medical complexity and their families
By the Numbers
- Residents: 47
- Residency Pathways: 5
- Fellows: 35
- Fellowship programs: 14
- Pediatrics Grand Rounds sessions: 34
- Named lectures: 6
- Signature conferences: 3
By the Numbers
- Total amount of awards: $40.28 million
- Funding from the NIH: $25.01 million
- Unique research projects in the department: 164
- Percentage of research projects that were clinical studies: 34%
- New awards granted to investigators: 41
- Number of publications our faculty published in peer-reviewed journals: 329