Narrow your search by using the search box and/or filters to the left.
Hanna Alemayehu, MD, FACS, FAAP, has been named Director of Surgical Research at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. In this position, she will advocate for and drive innovation in surgical research by representing all pediatric surgical subspecialties and anesthesiology.
Dr. Alemayehu joined Children’s in 2022. Her focus has been on growing the pediatric surgery research portfolio by building a sustainable infrastructure aligned with our research mission and vision. She is passionate about expanding collaborative research opportunities and mentoring residents, fellows, students and advanced practice providers. She has spearheaded the establishment of new clinical programs, including a Pectus Clinic and a Robotic Surgery Program.
Her research is driven by clinical questions and focused on surgical outcomes. Top areas of interest include neonatal surgical illnesses such as NEC, SIP, meconium obstruction of prematurity, congenital esophageal anomalies, as well as acquired biliary disease in children of all ages. Her projects center on these clinical interests, with a particular emphasis on health equity, simulation, innovation and applications of artificial intelligence.
Research and Epidemiology for Adolescent and Child Health (REACH) Center
Children’s has named Roshan P. George, MD, Division Chief of Nephrology. Dr. George has been Interim Division Chief of Nephrology since January. Dr. George initially came to Children’s and Emory as a Fellow in July 2010. Since then, she has been Director of the Kidney Transplant Transition Program, Medical Director of Transplant Quality for Solid Organ Transplantation and Program Director for the Pediatric Nephrology Fellowship Program. She is also Chair of the national Member Education Committee and Co-chair of the national Training Program Director's Committee for American Society of Pediatric Nephrology, Past-Chair of the Pediatric Community of Practice for American Society of Transplantation, and serves on the Membership and Professional Standards Committee (MPSC) of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.
Center for Gastroenterology, Endocrinology, & Nutrition Innovation (GENI)
Children's Center for Immunity and Applied Genomics (CIAG)
Emory University School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics has created the Division of Behavioral and Mental Health to provide an academic home for faculty aligned with the Behavioral and Mental Health program at Children’s. Dr. John Constantino leads the Division, which includes three sections:
Pediatric Psychology, led by Bonney Reed, PhD, ABPP
Integrative and Community Care, led by Laura Dilly, PhD, ABPP
Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, led by David O’Banion, MD
Congratulations to Dr. Constantino, the section leaders, and all faculty members of the Division of Behavioral and Mental Health.
Children's Center for Neurosciences Research (CCNR)
Marcus Autism Center
Pediatric Technology Center (PTC)
The Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Pediatric Technology Center at Georgia Tech (PTC) has named a new co-lead for its work in Data Science, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence (Pillar 1)—Lauren Steimle, PhD, MSE. Dr. Steimle will co-lead Pillar 1 with Naveen Muthu, MD, who has been a co-lead since July 2024.
Dr. Steimle is the Harold R. and Mary Anne Nash Early Career Professor and an Assistant Professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE) at Georgia Tech. Her research focuses on the application of operations research and machine learning to improve medical decision-making and population health.
Pediatric Technology Center (PTC)
We are excited to announce our 2025 Pediatric Research Alliance Pilot Awardees. Congratulations to the following investigators:
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is ranked among the nation’s top pediatric hospitals for 2025-2026 on the U.S. News & World Report Best Children’s Hospitals list. Children's has eight specialties ranked in the top 20 and one specialty ranked in the top 10.
The Orthopedics Program (No. 9), the Cancer Program (No. 13), the Cardiology and Heart Surgery Program (No. 14), the Gastroenterology and GI Surgery Program (No. 15), the Nephrology Program (No. 17), the Neurology and Neurosurgery Program (No. 19), the Pulmonology and Lung Surgery Program (No. 20), and the Urology Program (No. 20) all ranked in the top 20 for their individual specialties. For the 6th year in a row, Children’s was also ranked the No. 1 pediatric hospital in Georgia.
The report ranks hospitals for excellence in outcomes, program structure and national reputation in 11 pediatric specialty areas—with the survey questions created and refined by content experts in each field. Children's Atlanta is the only children’s hospital in the state ranked in the top 50 nationally.
“Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is honored to again be named a top children’s hospital,” said Donna Hyland, CEO of Children’s. “As our physicians, nurses and clinical teams advance novel breakthroughs and treatment approaches propelling their fields, we are carving out a leading position among the nation’s best children’s hospitals, all with the purpose of making kids better today and healthier tomorrow.”
These rankings are featured on usnews.com/childrenshospitals and will be published in U.S. News & World Report's "Best Hospitals 2026” guidebook, which will be available later this fall.
Originally published here.
Terri D. McFadden, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP, of Atlanta, has been voted AAP president-elect and will serve as president of the Academy in 2027. She will follow Andrew D. Racine, M.D., Ph.D., FAAP, of the Bronx, N.Y., who will serve as AAP president in 2026. Dr. McFadden ran against Marsha D. Spitzer, M.D., FAAP, of San Diego.
“The AAP is an amazing organization with a proven record of standing on the right side of history when supporting children, families and pediatric clinicians,” Dr. McFadden said. “I look forward to working with the Board of Directors and our talented professional staff. These are challenging times for our patients and our profession, but I am confident that if we keep children as our North Star, we will continue to help them to reach their optimal potential.”
Dr. McFadden is a professor of pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta and a general pediatrician at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. She also serves as director of clinical initiatives at PARTNERS for Equity in Child and Adolescent Health. She is a member of the AAP Council on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention Executive Committee and the Council on Early Childhood.
“When children are healthy and strong, our communities are healthy and strong,” Dr. McFadden said. “I look forward to hearing from our members and encourage you to share your hopes and your concerns as we navigate choppy waters together. I remain undaunted by the fight.”
Read more about Dr. McFadden in AAP News.
Article originally published here.
Find details from the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta press release here.
Center for Clinical and Translational Research (CCTR)
Research and Epidemiology for Adolescent and Child Health (REACH) Center
Better Treatments and Life-Changing Connections: The Wong Laboratory Works to Improve Outcomes for Children with Epilepsy and Other Neurological Disorders
Dr. Jennifer Wong began studying epilepsy during her postdoctoral training in Dr. Andrew Escayg’s laboratory in the Department of Human Genetics at Emory. She recently joined the Department of Pediatrics at Emory with the Wong Lab opening in September 2024. She and the members of her lab are interested in studying the development and progression of pediatric epilepsy over the lifespan, examining the intersection between pediatric epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease, and developing better treatments for epilepsy and other neurological disorders.
As part of their work, the Wong Lab examines the effect of different genetic mutations on seizure susceptibility, behavior such as learning, memory and social behavior, and molecular changes over time. The lab is also interested in drug development, including the discovery of new strategies for using existing drugs that can help with seizures and behavioral challenges.
Children's Center for Neurosciences Research (CCNR)
The 2025 Early Career Researcher Conference, held on Tuesday, September 9th in HSRB, showcased the research of early career professionals in pediatrics, including fellows and junior faculty from Emory and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. The conference featured a keynote by Stephen W. Patrick, MD, MPH, MS, FAAP on the topic of "The Kids Are Why We Stay: Lessons in Resilience from a Career in Child Health Research.” It offered opportunities for both science and networking within the field of child health research and celebrated excellence in pediatric research. The event was sponsored by the NICHD-supported Atlanta Pediatric Scholars Program, K12HD072245.
We are excited to announce this year’s award winners:
Best Basic Science and Translational Research Oral Presentation: Dr. Jenny Shim
Best Clinical and Outcomes Research Oral Presentation: Dr. Akshaya Arjunan
Top Rapid-Fire Presentation: Dr. Justin Yoo
Top Rapid-Fire Presentation: William Briones
Congratulations to all of our winners for their exceptional contributions and thank you to all who participated in making this year’s conference a success.
Congratulations to our researchers who were acknowledged by the Dean’s office during Researcher Appreciation Day! Highlighting the remarkable accomplishments driven by our Pediatrics teams—thank you for your dedication and impact.
