Webinar Journeys & Frontiers In Pediatric Research- Closing Plenary – Little Things to Improve your Research

Dr. Sara Berkelhamer is a Neonatologist and Professor of Pediatrics at University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital. She is a former chair of the AAP’s Helping Babies Breathe Planning Group, a contributing editor of the Essential Care for Every Baby program and co-editor of Essential Care for Small Babies. In these roles, she has led implementation and evaluation of educational programming on newborn care globally and advocated for equity in newborn care. Her research in newborn resuscitation has spanned from optimization of resuscitation education and practices in low-resource settings to translational work on resuscitation physiology. She currently leads the International Pediatric Association’s Committee on Newborn Care, contributes as a member of the AAP’s Global Newborn Advisory Committee and is a co-investigator on studies evaluating novel strategies for education dissemination including use of AI-based applications, virtual simulation and remote training in low resource settings.

Dr. Berkelhamer’s research interests further include the impact of perinatal exposures, defining the contribution of oxidative stress in the development of BPD with exposure to hyperoxia, as well as the impacts of in utero nicotine and cannabis exposures. She is a co-investigator on two NIH RO1s at University of Washington evaluating the neurodevelopmental impact of gestational cannabis alone (Kleinhans, PI), and on investigations of nicotine and cannabis cessation practices in pregnancy (Wen, PI).

Dr. Olga H. Toro‑Salazar is a Professor of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center School of Medicine and a nationally recognized leader in pediatric cardio‑oncology and advanced cardiac imaging. A graduate of Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia, she completed pediatric residency training at the University of Connecticut, followed by a Pediatric Cardiology fellowship at the University of Minnesota and advanced cardiac MRI training at Boston Children’s Hospital. She previously served as Chief of Pediatric Cardiology at Fundación Clínica Valle del Lili in Cali, Colombia, where she established a comprehensive regional pediatric cardiology program.

Dr. Toro‑Salazar’s unwavering commitment to health equity and global child health has shaped her career. A bilingual pediatric cardiologist, she has consistently leveraged her clinical and academic expertise to improve outcomes for children in under‑resourced communities worldwide. In 2004, she created an institutional partnership between Connecticut Children’s and the National University of Asunción in Paraguay to build sustainable pediatric cardiology capacity. Through this collaboration, she helped develop a self-sustaining program that provides early diagnosis and surgical repair for children with congenital and rheumatic heart disease, regardless of socioeconomic status. Dr. Toro‑Salazar co‑directed four Paraguayan‑American pediatric cardiac surgical missions—in 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2011—working closely with local clinicians. These efforts delivered life‑saving surgeries and established durable training pathways for Paraguayan physicians and surgeons, creating long‑term infrastructure for cardiac care.

Dr. Toro‑Salazar is a pioneer in identifying subclinical cardiotoxicity in childhood cancer survivors, utilizing cardiac MRI and myocardial strain imaging to detect early myocardial injury not captured by traditional metrics. Her work has informed modern surveillance strategies, contributed to national guidelines—including the American Society of Echocardiography’s 2023 recommendations—and supported cost‑effective screening approaches for centers without MRI access. She has authored 25 peer‑reviewed publications and serves as an investigator in multiple multicenter research collaborations.

As Director of Non‑Invasive Cardiac Imaging at Connecticut Children’s, she developed one of the region’s leading congenital and cardio‑oncology imaging programs. She is also a dedicated educator who teaches across all stages of medical training and has earned multiple awards for clinical teaching and mentorship. Her guidance has enabled residents and fellows to secure competitive grant funding and pursue successful careers in pediatric cardiology.

At Vanderbilt, Dr. Toro‑Salazar leads Pediatric Cardio‑Oncology and Dimensional Cardiac Imaging, spearheading the strategic development, clinical integration, and research advancement of cardiovascular imaging and survivorship care in cardio‑oncology. Building on her prior experience, she is establishing a comprehensive precision cardio‑oncology program that integrates advanced imaging, genomics, and clinical data analytics to deliver personalized care for individuals at risk for—or experiencing—cardiotoxicity. This initiative is designed to drive innovation, enhance early detection, improve risk stratification, and optimize management strategies for treatment‑related cardiac dysfunction.

Refika Ersu, MD, Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Ottawa, Division of Pediatric Respirology, Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Dr. Refika Ersu is a pediatric respirologist with a clinical and research expertise in sleep disordered breathing and chronic respiratory failure in children. After completing medical school and pediatrics residency in Istanbul, Turkey, she worked as a research fellow with Prof. Bush at Royal Brompton Hospital in London, UK. She then finished a 3-year pediatric respirology fellowship in Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, California, US. After working in Marmara University in Turkey, she moved to Canada and is currently working as a pediatric respirologist and director of sleep laboratory and home ventilation programs in Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa, Canada. She is also a senior researcher at the Research Institute and teaches and holds a professor position at University of Ottawa.

Dr. Christine E. Barron received her undergraduate degree in biochemistry from State University of New York Binghamton University in 1990 and received her medical doctorate from the State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn in 1995. She completed her pediatric residency at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence Rhode Island in 1998 and a Fellowship in Child Abuse Pediatrics (CAP) at Hasbro Children’s Hospital from 1998-2000. Dr. Barron established the Child Protection Program at UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center in Worcester Massachusetts and led that program until she was recruited back to Rhode Island in 2004. At the Lawrence A. Aubin Sr. Child Protection Center (Aubin Center), Dr. Barron has served in several positions, including serving as the Division Director since 2013. The Aubin Center completes comprehensive medical evaluations for all infants, children, adolescents and young adults when there are concerns of any form of childhood abuse or neglect. Dr. Barron provides direct clinical care to patients, teaching additional learners (medical students, residents and fellows), and completes research across an array of topics within the field of CAP. Dr. Barron has led hospital and community wide multidisciplinary teams to address all aspects of child maltreatment including prevention, recognition, and response. She has received several teaching and community service awards and has over 30 peer-reviewed publications. Nationally, she has facilitated leadership and collaboration among CAP fellowship programs through the process of applying for ACGME accreditation, creating CAP EPAs and Milestones 2.0 for the CAP subspecialty. Throughout her career, pediatric medical education and clinically related research has remained a primary focus.