September 2020 Featured New Members

Nehal Parikh, DO, MS

Professor of Pediatrics, Perinatal Institute, Attending Neonatologist, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Tamara T. Perry, M.D., FAAP, FAAAAI

Chief and Professor of the Allergy and Immunology Division, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children’s Hospital

Joaquim M. B. Pinheiro, MD, MPH

Professor of Pediatrics, Director of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program, Albany Medical College

Elaine E. Schulte, MD, MPH, FAAP

Vice Chair of Academic Affairs and Faculty Development, Professor of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, Albert Einstein School of Medicine

As a neonatologist and neuroscientist, Dr. Nehal Parikh’s principal goal is to prevent neurodevelopmental disorders in high-risk newborns. Following rigorous training in translational research and clinical trials, he embarked on studies of etiology, prediction and prevention of neurodevelopmental disorders in high-risk newborns. He has led or co-led several cohort studies of advanced brain MRI in very preterm infants, clinical trials of neuroprotective therapies in high-risk newborns, and the development of the NICHD NRN Extremely Preterm Birth Outcomes prognostic calculator and website. Increased survival of extremely preterm infants has contributed to a higher prevalence of survivors with motor, cognitive, and behavioral/psychiatric abnormalities. Accurate diagnosis of these abnormalities takes 2 to 3 years. These early years are when the brain is most active in building its wiring system and optimally receptive to change and healing. Thus, when the diagnosis is delayed by up to 3 years, we are losing precious time. Newer approaches to diagnosis, prediction and prevention of developmental disabilities are urgently needed to improve the long-term quality of life of high-risk newborns.

The Parikh lab employs advanced brain MRI tools such as volumetric, diffusion, and functional MRI for early identification of biomarkers of brain injury/delayed development that are predictive of disabilities in individual high-risk neonates/infants. The lab’s current focus is to understand the nature of the commonly encountered diffuse white matter abnormalities and to develop early prognostic models of motor, cognitive, and behavioral abnormalities in a large geographic cohort very preterm infants. This important step will facilitate risk stratification, soon after birth, to design clinical trials of targeted neuroprotective interventions during the critical window of the first 3 years after birth when brain plasticity is at its peak.

Nehal Parikh, DO, MS

Professor of Pediatrics, Perinatal Institute, Attending Neonatologist, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Tamara T. Perry, M.D., FAAP, FAAAAI, is Chief and Professor of the Allergy and Immunology Division at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Dr. Perry is a researcher at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute and the Medical Director of Telehealth at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Perry received her M.D. in 1997 from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and completed a combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics residency at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children’s Hospital in 2001. She completed Allergy and Immunology Fellowship training at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. She joined the faculty of UAMS in August 2004 where she is a member of the Division of Pediatric Allergy/Immunology.

Dr. Perry treats patients with allergic and immunologic disorders including asthma, food allergy, atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis and primary immunodeficiency. She also has clinical and research interests aimed to improve health outcomes for children in rural and other underserved communities. Dr. Perry’s research also focuses on using cutting-edge innovation such as mobile health applications and telehealth to improve health outcomes.

Dr. Perry is a member of many professional societies including the American Academy of Pediatrics, Pediatric Academic Society, American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and the American Telemedicine Association. She has published multiple scientific manuscripts, review articles and book chapters. She is board-certified in both Pediatrics and Allergy-Immunology.

Tamara T. Perry, M.D., FAAP, FAAAAI

Chief and Professor of the Allergy and Immunology Division, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children’s Hospital

Dr. Joaquim M. B. Pinheiro, MD, MPH, is a Professor of Pediatrics and the Director of the Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program at Albany Medical College. He serves as the Clinical Quality & Safety Officer for Neonatology at the Bernard and Millie Duker Children’s Hospital at Albany Medical Center. His quality and safety work has focused on various aspects of neonatal resuscitation, particularly airway management, aiming to characterize device and user factors which promote intubation safety and prevent unplanned extubations.

For more than a decade, Dr. Pinheiro has been involved in the development of international manufacturing standards for neonatal airway devices. He has been a member of technical committees in ASTM International, Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation and the US Technical Advisory Group to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) – Anaesthetic and Respiratory Equipment. Dr. Pinheiro is the Albany Medical Center team leader in a multicenter collaborative to reduce unplanned extubations in NICU patients. Over the past 2 years, he has been the AAP liaison to the Society for Airway Management’s Coalition for Unplanned Extubation Awareness and Prevention, and the chair of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation’s Task Force for developing Pediatric & Neonatal Actionable Patient Safety Solutions (aimed at General Airway Safety and Unplanned Extubations).

Building on his previous experience as co-investigator in multicenter clinical trials of surfactant therapy, Dr. Pinheiro is the principal investigator in both a recently published and ongoing randomized trials of surfactant delivery via laryngeal mask airway (LMA) as an alternative to endotracheal intubation. These clinical research endeavors and quality improvement work led him to develop and facilitate workshops on Neonatal Airway Management and LMA use, which is spreading internationally to impact global neonatal health. Several generations of trainees have benefited from his mentorship and collaborated in his research and workshops and are now implementing these advances improvements in the neonatal communities that they serve.

Dr. Pinheiro received his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine, which was followed by a residency in Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and a fellowship in Neonatology and Developmental Physiology at Yale-New Haven Hospital. He later obtained a Master in Public Health degree at the University at Albany’s School of Public Health (NY).

Joaquim M. B. Pinheiro, MD, MPH

Professor of Pediatrics, Director of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program, Albany Medical College

Elaine E. Schulte, MD, MPH, FAAP, is Vice Chair of Academic Affairs and Faculty Development at The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in the Bronx. She is Professor of Pediatrics at Albert Einstein School of Medicine. Previously she served as Chair of the Department of General Pediatrics and Vice Chair for Staff Development at Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital. She is a board-certified executive coach and holds a certificate in executive coaching from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management.

At the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, Dr. Schulte directs the CHAM Peer Mentorship Program, a volunteer, longitudinal program created to increase academic productivity and enhance physician engagement. This program combines the fundamental concepts of mentorship along with the nuances of developmental coaching. Dr. Schulte also designs and facilitates division and department strategy sessions, and provides individual coaching to faculty members. She also co-directs the L.E.A.D. program, which supports and promotes academic excellence, leadership development, advocacy, and diversity and inclusion initiatives, in an effort to foster continued engagement of faculty within the Department of Pediatrics.

While at the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Schulte co-created the Center for Excellence in Coaching and Mentoring (CECM). The CECM aims to facilitate a relationship-centered developmental network for all physicians. CECM focuses on training physicians to become peer coaches and mentors. The CECM runs two flagship programs (Staff Coaching and Mentoring Program – for all physicians, and the Advanced Peer Coaching Program – available for physicians by invitation). Additional programming provides training for special interest groups internally, and at outside academic medical centers and healthcare organizations. The CECM faculty have trained over 1800 participants in the “Coach approach” to relationship building. Program outcomes demonstrate an increase in physician resilience, engagement and application of the skills taught in training across professional and personal contexts.

In addition to her administrative work, Dr. Schulte is a national expert in adoption medicine. She has authored clinical guidelines for practicing physicians, and has written a book on adoption for parents. She directs a clinical adoption program, and maintains an active general pediatric practice, with special interests in learning disabilities and graduate medical education.

Dr. Schulte serves as senior advisor and faculty for both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Ambulatory Pediatric Association, in a variety of capacities, including the AAP Young Physician Leadership Alliance, the APA Advancing Pediatric Leaders Program and the APA Speed Mentoring Program. She has given numerous national and international presentations and workshops on adoption, physician leadership, coaching and mentoring, and resilience.

Elaine E. Schulte, MD, MPH, FAAP

Vice Chair of Academic Affairs and Faculty Development, Professor of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, Albert Einstein School of Medicine