Building on the highly successful APS and SPR Journey Program, we are pleased to launch the 2024-2025 APS SPR Journeys program. This year the Journeys program will feature eight virtual sessions designed to encourage and support promising early-career investigators in pediatrics by offering inspiring career journey stories, career development mentoring, feedback on research and networking with experienced Cohort Leaders and peers in academic medicine and a Mini-Gordon Conference at the PAS 2025 Meeting.

Program participants will be organized into twenty small cohort groups each guided by two leaders, experienced and successful academic pediatric professionals drawn mainly from the membership of APS and SPR. Pediatric department chairs, as well as leaders from FOPO and RAPID will nominate a total of 100 early-career participants, giving special attention to groups underrepresented in medicine. Further program details are below.

Journeys Success Stories

Received his first Child Neurologist Career Development Program K12 award!

Awarded NINDS K08 for Endogenous circadian clocks regulate NG2-glia regenerative potential!

Mariko Bennett received a NIH DP5. “Our lab studies the role that microglia, the brain’s resident macrophages, play in normal development and disease. We are trying to uncover ways we can use microglia targeting therapeutically and our current focus is on overcoming natural microglia viral restriction to enable gene therapies.

The Journeys program allowed community and mentorship throughout the COVID shutdown during a critical period of my training (and new motherhood).”

Praveen Chandrasekharan received an RO1. “After participating in the Journeys 2020 – 2021 and other supporting programs by NIH-NICHD and a strong lab team, I received an R01 grant in 2021, focusing on chest compressions for bradycardia during newborn resuscitation.

The Journeys program was helpful as an adjunct in interacting with peers and established investigators. Their experiences and inputs while discussing my research were valuable to me.”

Thao (Tina) Ho received an R21. “The goal of my grant is to investigate characteristics of gut microbiota associated with severe anemia in preterm infants using stool multiomics approach.

The Journeys Program motivated me to stay focused on my research and how to improve on grant writing.”

Monica Hsiung Wojcik received an R21. “My research focuses on equitable implementation of genomic medicine in the perinatal context, with particular emphasis on clinical effectiveness as well as parent/patient-reported outcomes towards improved health-related quality of life. To this effect, our team received an R21 in 2022 to evaluate an approach to equitable participation in rare disease genomic research. Recognizing the obstacles families face when attempting to access genomic sequencing for precision diagnosis, we have implemented a personalized and supportive approach to enrollment in the Broad Institute Rare Genomes Project.

I participated in the Journeys Program in one of my first years after graduating from a combined fellowship program, and it was extremely beneficial to learn about how my mentors in this program paved their own paths to independence from an early stage, to receive feedback on research and career plans, as well as to broaden my network of colleagues, collaborators, and friends.

Emma Mohr received an RO1. “My research focuses on vertical transmission and infant developmental outcomes of emerging viral infections during pregnancy using a translational macaque model.

I benefitted from the Journeys program by improving how I communicate with department leaders.”

Elizabeth Yen received a K23. “My K23-funded research focuses on understanding the sex-specific impact of prenatal opioid exposure on brain reward signaling and neonatal feeding regulation. While opioid-exposed infants are known to encounter growth and feeding issues, the molecular mechanisms underlying these problems are unknown. Using neonatal salivary gene expression, feeding, and growth measurements, our team aims to elucidate the impact of reward and hypothalamic signaling dysregulation of infant feeding behavior and growth trajectory. The role of sex as an important biological variable is also the focus of this multiyear study.

As a participant in the Journeys, I quickly learned that the path to a successful research career was not easy, yet it was possible. Surrounded by brilliant scientists and physicians, I realized the importance of strong mentorship, grit, resilience, team science, and effective communication. My group leaders (Drs. Beth Tarini and Bruce Gelb) were engaging, transparent, encouraging, and insightful. The group members provided stories of wins and losses and lessons learned that truly brought a healthy perspective for the entire cohort. The Journeys provided helpful, tangible advice for my grant application and fostered my long-term career growth.”

Katherine Bline received a K23 from NHLBI.  “Our lab studies the host immune response in children with viral lower respiratory tract infections, specifically the role of myeloid-derived suppressor cells that can inappropriately suppress adaptive immune function in this context. Our overarching goal is to identify novel therapeutic targets to augment the host immune response to better fight infection and restore immune homeostasis in children who become critically ill due to respiratory infections”.

We Want to Hear From You!

Tell Us Your Success

Journey’s Cohorts Feedback

Fantastic program, I found it very valuable since there are few physician-scientists at my institution.I’m grateful for the opportunity to participate in this seminar. The small groups allowed for the ability to ask meaningful questions. I enjoyed being able to present my research ideas and gain feedback (also was great timing I was applying for an internal research training program and pilot grant and the feedback was very helpful).Really enjoyed the journey and the honest stories and advice that the leaders provided. Also enjoyed meeting the other members and hearing similar questions and struggles that we all have. I particularly enjoyed the expert sessions with all the incredible experiences that each person had; truly encouraging and inspiring. Thank you for organizing this super important program!
This was a wonderful program. I loved the stories from leaders, mentors, and guest speakers. I loved being able to connect with other researchers who were early-career, and to know that I’m not operating in a silo where I feel like I’m toiling away in my research. It is nice to hear from all different aspects and fields of research within pediatrics, since all of our work is so varied. I can’t rave enough about this program. Thank you for the opportunity to participate.This group helped me talk to leadership about needing a partner and needing additional protected time. I said it multiple times over the years, but previously I approached it incorrectly. This time, I dug into numbers and showed them that I am currently at 1.7 FTEs. Starting May 1, I officially have more protected time. We hired 2 local family med / sports med physicians to pick up my dropped clinics until we hire another physician full time as a partner. (They can continue to stay on after that if they want to). I am hopeful that things are heading in the right direction! This group really gave me the tools to jump-start things here.I thought this was an exceptional program! Coming from a smaller pediatric department where clinical research is just emerging as a priority, I found it so valuable to meet others in a similar career path and stage as me. I thought the plenary speakers gave incredibly sage wisdom, particularly for women. In the plenary and in my group, I found the conversations around leadership, imposter syndrome, balancing clinical and research, and work-life balance so powerful. I really valued having a senior career leader who is a woman.
Great program! Didn’t realize how helpful it was going to be until I had multiple “aha” moments. THANK YOU!The Journeys program provided me with invaluable mentorship and community early in my faculty career. I formed new friendships, received crucial feedback on career plans and grant applications, and I was inspired by the talks from physician-scientists who have forged a similar path.

2024-2025 APS SPR Journeys Sessions

(all times are CT, except for Mini-Gordon Conference)

Session 1: Opening Plenary: Little Things to Improve Your Research
November 8, 10-11am CT
Speaker: Mary Leonard, Chair of Pediatrics, Stanford University
Open to All – APS & SPR Members and Journeys Cohorts

Session 1: Cohort Breakout Discussions
November 8, 11-11:30am CT
Participants: Cohort Members and Leaders – invitation only

Sessions #2 – 6: Cohort Breakout Sessions* (2nd Fri of month)
December 13, 11am-12pm CT
January 10, 11am-12pm CT
February 14, 11am-12pm CT
March 7, 11am-12pm CT
April 11, 11am-12pm CT
Topic: Science & Career Development
Participants: Cohort Members and Leaders – invitation only

Mini Gordon Conference & Luncheon
April 25, tentatively 7am-12pm HT at PAS 2025, Honolulu, Hawaii
Participants: Cohort Members and Leaders – invitation only

Session 7: Cohort Breakout Session*
May 9, 11am-12pm CT
Participants: Cohort Members and Leaders – invitation only

Session 8: Closing Plenary: Little Things to Improve Your Research
June 13, 10-11am CT
Speaker: TBD
Participants: Open to All – APS & SPR Members and Cohorts

Session 8: Cohort Breakout Discussions
June 13, 11-11:30am CT
Participants: Cohort Members and Leaders – invitation only