Annual Research Symposium
Building Stronger Communities through Research and Innovation
Wednesday,November13,2024
GlastonburyBoathouse~252WellesSt,Glastonbury,CT
KeynoteSpeaker
InsightsintoDeterminantsofBacterialPathogenicity
Joseph W. St. Geme, III, MD
Physician-in-Chief and Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia LeonardandMadlynAbramsonProfessorofPediatricsandMicrobiology,Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
JosephW.St.GemeIII,MD,receivedhisbachelor’sdegreefromStanfordUniversity,Stanford,CA,andhismedicaldegreefromHarvard Medical School, Boston, MA. He completed a pediatric residency and chief residency at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and pursued postdoctoral training in microbiology and infectious diseases at Stanford University.
From 1992 to 2005, Dr. St. Geme was a member of the faculty in the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Molecular MicrobiologyatWashingtonUniversityinSt.Louis,MO. There heservedasDirectorofpediatricinfectiousdiseasesandco-leader of the Pediatric Infection, Immunity and Inflammation Research Unit. In 2005, Dr. St. Geme was recruited to Duke University, Durham, NC, where he was the James B. Duke professor and Chairman of Pediatrics, the Chief Medical Officer of Duke Children’s Hospital, and a professorof molecular genetics and microbiology.
In 2013, Dr. St. Geme relocated to Philadelphia to assume new responsibilities as the Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics and Physician-in-Chief at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. In addition, he is also chairman of Pediatrics and professor of pediatrics and microbiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He holds the Leonard and Madlyn Abramson Endowed Chair in Pediatrics.
Dr. St. Geme has an active laboratory research program that focuses on the molecular basis of host-pathogen interactions involving pathogenicbacteria,withparticularemphasisonHaemophilus influenzaeandKingellakingae.Haemophilusinfluenzaeis commoninthe nasopharynxandistheleadingcauseofotitismediaandsinusitisinchildren,andexacerbationsofchronicobstructivepulmonarydisease in adults. Kingella kingae is common in the posterior pharynx and has emerged as a major cause of bone and joint infections in young children.
Dr. St. Geme and his research team are using genetic methods, protein chemistry, X-ray crystallography, high-resolution microscopy, microarrayanalysis,andcellbiologyapproachestostudythemolecularandcellulardeterminantsofHaemophilusinfluenzaeandKingella kingae disease, aiming to understand how these organisms:
1. Initiate infection
2. Establish a state of commensalism
3. Transition from a state of commensalism to produce disease
Theteam'slong-termgoalsaretoidentifycommonmechanisms inbacterialpathogenesisandtodevelopnewantimicrobialswithactivity against a wide range of pathogenic gram-negative bacteria.
Dr. St. Geme has been elected to the Society for Pediatric Research, the American Pediatric Society, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, the American Academy of Microbiology, the American Association for the Advancementof Science, andthe Institute of Medicine.
Invited Speakers
Cancer Treatment Induced Cardiomyopathy: Biomarker Discovery from a Mouse Model to Human Disease
Olga H. Toro-Salazar, MD
Head Non-Invasive Imaging and Cardio-Oncology, Division of Pediatric Cardiology at Connecticut Children’s
Professor of Pediatrics,University of Connecticut School of Medicine
Olga H. Toro-Salazar, MD, is a pediatric cardiologist with over 25 years of clinical research experience. She founded the CMR program and the Center of Excellence in Cardio-Oncology at Connecticut Children’s, and currently directs all its activities. Since 2010, she has served as Head of Non-Invasive Imaging at Connecticut Children’s.
Dr. Toro-Salazar has expertise in advanced echocardiographic techniques and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI), with a special interest in myocardial mechanics and tissue characterization, including myocardial deformation analysis and T1/T2 mapping. Among her clinical accomplishments is thedevelopmentofstandardizedechocardiographicandCMRIlaboratoriesintheConnecticutChildren’sDivisionofPediatricCardiology. Under her leadership, the CMRI program has cared for over 3000 pediatric cardiac patients and performs more than 7,000 echocardiograms annually.
Strengthening Connections to Opportunities for Prevention Engagement (SCOPE), Intervening with Youth At-Risk and Connecting Them to Supports
Kevin Borrup, DrPH, JD, MPA
Executive Director, Injury Prevention Center, Office for Community Child Health
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Connecticut School of Medicine
Kevin Borrup, DrPH, JD, MPA, is Executive Director of the Injury Prevention Center at Connecticut Children’sandanAssistantProfessorinPediatrics attheUConnSchool ofMedicine.Dr.Borrupis the Principal Investigator for the Tow Foundation funded clinical trial known as SCOPE. Dr. Borrup also leads the Hartford Hospital-based Violence Intervention Program (HVIP) Collaborative, a partnership between the three level-one trauma centers in Hartford and four community-based organizations providing case management services. Dr. Borrup also leads a state-wide Community Violence Intervention (CVI) program funded by the Department of Public Health in which support is provided to programs ofeighteen organizations and agencies across Connecticut. Dr. Borrup is Chair-Elect of the Injury Control and Emergency Health Services (ICEHS) section of the American Public Health Association (APHA) and is a member of the Council of Centers of the Society for the Advancement of Violence and Injury Research (SAVIR).
BenchtoBedsideSuccess: TransformingGSD-IaTreatmentwithGeneTherapy Youngmok Lee, PhD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Connecticut School of Medicine
Dr. Youngmok Lee’s research focuses on glycogen storage diseases (GSDs), specifically GSD-Ia and GSD-Ib. He has contributed significantly to the development of gene therapies for these conditions, particularly by developing anefficacious rAAV-based therapy for GSD-Ia. Dr.Lee has also been involved in preclinical development for GSD-Ib gene therapy, advancing it to the point of clinical trial readiness.
Nutritional Management of Glycogen Storage Disease Ia: Pre and Post Gene Therapy
Malaya Mount, MS, RD, CDN
Senior Research Dietitian, Glycogen Storage Disease & Disorders of Hypoglycemia Program at Connecticut Children's
Malaya is a dedicated dietitian specializing in disorders of hypoglycemia, with a particular focus on Glycogen Storage Disease (GSD). Currently engaged in both outpatient care and clinical research at Connecticut Children’s and UCONN Health, Malaya is committed toadvancing theunderstandingand treatment of GSD, contributing her expertise to the field of metabolic nutrition.
Commensal-to-Pathogen Transition of Enteric Klebsiella: When Gut Microbes Become Hangry
Adam Matson, MD, MSc
Neonatologist and Physician Scientist, Division of Neonatology, Connecticut Children’s. Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Connecticut School of Medicine
Dr. Adam Matson is a neonatologist and physician scientist at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and UConn Health. He directs Connecticut Children’s Neonatal Biorepository and leads a translational research laboratory at UConn’s School of Medicine. He andhis group (the Matson Lab) were the first to report a link between Klebsiella oxytoca, which produces cytotoxins, and necrotizing enterocolitis, a severe and life-threatening intestinal inflammatory disease in premature infants. Currently,the Matson Lab studies bacterial communities in the developing intestine to improve health outcomes innewborns.
SeedGrantPresentations
LeveragingtheUniquePropertiesofthe“Discoid”MeniscustowardsRegenerative HealingofPediatricMeniscalTears
Matthew Brown, MD
Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon, Division of Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, Connecticut Children’s. Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Connecticut School of Medicine.
ExtracellularVesicles:ANewFrontierinNeonatalLungRegenerationandRepair
Hala Saneh, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Connecticut School of Medicine
AbstractPresentations
DevelopmentofanExplantPlatformtoModelUrothelialHealing
CourtneyRowe,MD
Director of Reconstructive Urology Program, Connecticut Children’s. Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Connecticut Schoolof Medicine
AssociationofBusulfanExposureandOutcomesafterHematopoieticCell TransplantationforPediatricPatientswithInbornErrorsofImmunity
LayneOram
MDCandidate,UniversityofConnecticutSchoolofMedicine
TheChildOpportunityIndexandPediatricHospitalizations:AreZIPCodesGood Enough?
AlexanderHogan,MD
AttendingPhysician,PediatricHospitalMedicine,ConnecticutChildren’s.Associate ProfessorofPediatrics,UniversityofConnecticutSchoolofMedicine