UPMC Children's Hospital 2022 Year in Review

Year in Review: 2023

A Note from Pediatric Neurology and Neurosurgery Leadership

The Division of Child Neurology and Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery at UPMC Children’s are pleased to share a look back at some of the research and clinical accomplishments from faculty and staff during 2023.

As our divisions continue to expand and our teams take on new patient care and research challenges, we look forward to the new year ahead and sharing our contributions with our colleagues around the country.

We also invite you to get in touch with us or any of our faculty members highlighted below to learn more about their research and clinical work, or to discuss ways in which we may collaborate in the future. Learn more about our academic programs at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pediatric Neurosurgery and Child Neurology.

Image of Dr. Bergman.

Ira Bergman, MD, PhD
Chief, Division of Child Neurology, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
Interim Chief, Division of Child Development, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
Program Director, Child Neurology Residency, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
Ronald L. and Patricia M. Violi Endowed Chair in Child Development
Professor of Pediatrics, Neurology, and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Dr. Abel

Taylor Abel, MD

Associate Professor
Chief, Pediatric Neurosurgery
Chief, Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery
Surgical Director, Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Program

UPMC Children’s Ranks as the #8 Best Pediatric Hospital in the U.S.

UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh is recognized as one of the top pediatric hospitals in the country, earning the #8 position on the 2023-24 U.S. News & World Report Honor Roll of America’s Best Children’s Hospitals.

Pediatrics Residency Ranked Among Top Ten In The Country

Ranked as among the top ten of residency programs in the country by Doximity. This incredible recognition highlights the strength and robustness of our residency program, which provides world-class faculty mentoring and advising to our residents, helping them develop into the next generation of leading pediatricians, clinicians, and scientists.

Published Research and New Research Grants

UPMC/Pitt Team publish study in Nature on “Protracted Neuronal Recruitment in the Temporal Lobe of Young Children.” The new research suggests that a subset of inhibitory neurons within the entorhinal cortex, or EC — an area of the brain essential for forming memories — continue to migrate into this region where they build new neuronal connections from birth through toddlerhood. Pediatric neurosurgeon Taylor Abel, MD, was a co-author of the paper.

Neurosurgery Team Awarded Grant from Pitt CMI. Michael McDowell, MD, assistant professor of neurological surgery at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, and Ricardo Fernández-de Thomas, MD, chief resident with the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery, have been awarded a $25,000 grant from University of Pittsburgh's Center for Medical Innovation (CMI) to help refine and commercialize a novel suction retractor called Malleous.

New Insights into ALS Pathophysiology: Drosha and miRNA’s Role in Modulating FUS-mediated Neurodegeneration. The FUS gene, which is involved in RNA processing and microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis, has been linked to neurodegenerative processes characterizing ALS.

Pandey Lab at UPMC Children’s Receives NIH R01 Grant to Further Studies of GEMIN5-driven Neurodevelopmental Disorder. In the new R01-funded study, the Pandey Lab and its collaborators will continue their exploration of GEMIN5-driven cerebellar ataxia syndrome (CAS) functional molecular mechanisms at play in the disorder.
Pandey Lab Publishes New Research on GEMIN5 Protein Implicated in Rare Neurodevelopmental Disorder. Udai Pandey, PhD, was the senior author of the study.

Udai Pandey, PhD, Receives New Multi-PI NIH R01 Grant For ALS Research. The main thrust of Dr. Pandey’s research has involved uncovering the mechanisms that drive traumatic brain injury and degenerative neurologic conditions, in particular amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Vagus Nerve Stimulation: Developing a New Predictive Model for Pediatric Epilepsy Treatment Response. The study was led by Nalli Muthiah, MD, MS, under the direction of Taylor Abel, MD. William Welch, MD, of Child Neurology was a collaborator.

UPMC Children’s Brain Cancer Research Team Uncovered a Key Culprit Behind Pediatric Brain Cancer Metastasis. New research pinpoints a key culprit controlling cancer cell metastasis and provides a potential new therapy for treating these tumors in the future.

To Identify a Voice, Brains Rely on Sight. The new study, published in the Journal of Neurophysiology, suggests that voice and face recognition are linked even more intimately than previously thought.

Survival following complete resection of neuroblastoma in novel orthotopic rat xenograft model. Sever RE, Rosenblum LT, Reyes-Múgica M, Edwards WB, Malek MM, Kohanbash G. Sci Rep. 2023 Nov 18;13(1):20214.

Immuno-PET Imaging of CD69 Visualizes T-Cell Activation and Predicts Survival Following Immunotherapy in Murine Glioblastoma. Nisnboym M, Vincze SR, Xiong Z, Sneiderman CT, Raphael RA, Li B, Jaswal AP, Sever RE, Day KE, LaToche JD, Foley LM, Karimi H, Hitchens TK, Agnihotri S, Hu B, Rajasundaram D, Anderson CJ, Blumenthal DT, Pearce TM, Uttam S, Nedrow JR, Pollack IF, Lieberman FS, Drappatz J, Raphael I, Edwards WB, Kohanbash G. Cancer Res Commun. 2023 Jul 6;3(7):1173-1188.

Long-term outcomes of deep pediatric arteriovenous malformations. Agarwal P, Sharma N, Nayar G, Jacobs RC, Al-Bayati A, Lunsford LD, McDowell MM, Greene S. J Neurosurg Pediatr. 2023 Nov 10;33(1):22-28

The Utility of Responsive Neurostimulation for the Treatment of Pediatric Drug-Resistant Epilepsy. Piazza MG, Varga G, Welch W, Abel TJ. Brain Sci. 2023 Oct 13;13(10):1455.

Functional outcomes of pediatric hemispherotomy: Impairment, activity, and medical service utilization. Harford E, Houtrow A, Al-Ramadhani R, Sinha A, Abel T. Epilepsy Behav. 2023 Mar;140:109099.

Faculty News

Deepa Rajan, MD, Appointed Chair of AAN Neurogenetics Section. Dr. Rajan is the director of the Neurogenetics Clinic at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Child Neurology Researcher, Udai Pandey, PhD, Becomes New Director of Children’s Neuroscience Institute In his role as CNI Director, Dr. Pandey will develop and foster initiatives to facilitate neuroscience research at UPMC Children’s.
Pitt Team Wins Innovation Competition. Startup team of Adi Mittal, Michael McDowell, MD, Kamil Nowick, MD, PhD, and Robert Friedlander, MD, wins graduate first-place award at this year’s national Collegiate Inventors Competition.
Taylor Abel, MD, Wins Pitt Donald Fraley Award. Dr. Abel was recognized for outstanding contribution to medical education through service as a mentor to medical students.
Agnihotri Receives Distinguished Scientist Award. Sameer Agnihotri, PhD, received the 2022 Distinguished Scientist Award from The Sontag Foundation.
Meghan Mack, MD, joined the Division of Child Neurology at UPMC Children’s.
Laura Kirkpatrick, MD, joined the Division of Child Neurology. She is the Director, of Epilepsy Transition Clinic, and Associate Director of Child Neurology Clinical Research.

Clinical Programs – New and Noteworthy Accomplishments

Pediatric Neurosurgery at UPMC Children’s: Minimally Invasive Endoscopic and Skull Base Surgery Have Applications Far Beyond Tumors. Michael McDowell, MD, leads skull base and pituitary neurosurgery efforts at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
That’s Pediatrics Podcast: Exploring the Ever-Advancing Field of Pediatric Neurosurgery with Dr. Stephanie Greene. Dr. Greene talks about the innovative fetal neurosurgery and pediatric neurovascular surgery programs at UPMC Children’s.
Taylor Abel, MD, Discusses Pediatric Epilepsy Care. Chief of pediatric epilepsy surgery at UPMC Children's Hospital talks about the family-focused, multidisciplinary approach to patient care at Pittsburgh's level 4 epilepsy center.
Drs. Greene and Al-Bayati Featured on WDTV-5. Neurovascular experts discuss the advanced, multidisciplinary work done at the UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Neurovascular Center.

Conferences, Symposia, and Annual Meetings – Sharing Knowledge with the Field

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Year in Review: 2023

A Note from Pediatric Neurology and Neurosurgery Leadership

UPMC Children’s Ranks as the #8 Best Pediatric Hospital in the U.S.

Pediatrics Residency Ranked Among Top Ten In The Country

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