A Word from the Chair
Professor and Chair
The Department of Pediatrics and Human Development is comprised of a diverse faculty who share a common concern for all aspects of human growth and development, both normal and abnormal. The Department has a statewide footprint with faculty in Lansing, Grand Rapids, Flint, Southfield, Midland, Traverse City, and Marquette/Escanaba. The Department has educational responsibilities at all levels in the curriculum of the College of Human Medicine. Its faculty participate in courses which relate biological, behavioral, and clinical sciences to child health. Departmental faculty play major roles in the new College of Human Medicine Shared Discovery Curriculum and its Learning Societies. The Department also has responsibility for general pediatric clerkships and pediatric subspecialty electives in the clinical medical curriculum. The Department participates actively in graduate medical education with three affiliated pediatric residency programs (with Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, and Hurley Children’s Hospital in Flint), three affiliated pediatric subspecialty fellowship programs (Perinatal-Neonatal Medicine in Lansing; Pediatric Hematology-Oncology and Pediatric Critical Care Medicine in Grand Rapids), and in CME. In addition, faculty members work with students in other graduate programs in the University. Individual faculty members of the Department participate in patient care and render medical consultation services in their respective subspecialty areas. The research endeavors of the departmental faculty are expanding and aim to help create a healthier, better functioning society by improving the health and wellbeing of the child and family.
B. Keith English, MD
Professor and Chair
DEPARTMENT OF PEDIATRICS AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Registration for Great Lakes Pediatric Research Day 2025 is now open
Registration for the 2025 Great Lakes Pediatric Research Day is now live. You may register and submit your abstracts, and find additional information, from the event's Eventbrite page HERE.
This year will feature presentations from Julia Felton, PhD and Jenny Radesky, MD on the topic of Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health.
8th Annual Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Family and Professionals Conference
The Michigan State University College of Human Medicine Department of Pediatrics and Human Development will host the 8th Annual MSU Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Family and Professionals Conference at the Kellog Hotel and Conference Center in East Lansing from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Thursday, July 25, 2024.
This year's theme, It Takes a Village, will cover the transition to adulthood and family dynamics.
This conference is open to anyone who lives with, cares for, or works with children and youth with autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders. We welcome family members, caregivers, self-advocates, and professionals in health care, behavioral health, and education.
Individual tickets are $10.00 per person, while tickets for professionals are $50.00. If financial assistance is required, please reach out to to Liz Stanton
This is an in-person event, but streaming will be available for those who register.
For professionals, 4.0 AMA PRA Category 1 CME credits are available for attending this conference.
The conference agenda can be found here.
To pass this information along to friends, family, and colleagues, a hard copy of the flyer can be found here.
Bachmann's pioneering DFMO research leads to FDA-approved lifesaving cancer drug
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug to treat neuroblastoma, an often-fatal pediatric cancer, based on pioneering research by College of Human Medicine professor André Bachmann.
The FDA approved a tablet form of a drug called difluoromethylornithine, or DFMO (synonym eflornithine), developed in 1978 and later used to treat West African sleeping sickness. The agency’s approval will allow doctors to use oral DFMO to reduce the rate of relapses in patients who have previously undergone standard therapy for neuroblastoma.
“This is an extraordinary milestone,” said Bachmann, PhD, a professor and associate chair for research in the College of Human Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics and Human Development, who had been studying DFMO as a potential treatment for neuroblastoma for more than 20 years."
Read the complete article here.
Chad Schultz Receives 2023 PHD Support Staff of the Year Award
Please join us in congratulating the winner of the 2023 PHD Support Staff Unit Recognition Award. Chad Shultz, B.S. Research Assistant III, Grand Rapids Research Center, Bachmann Lab This award was earned through Chad’s continued contributions to the Grand Rapids Research team, Bachmann Lab as well as to the Department of Pediatrics and Human Development. Chad's contributions extend beyond his technical skills as a Research Assistant III; he is a responsible and reliable colleague, someone whom you can always depend upon. He is the primary contact person for all research-related matters in the Bachmann laboratory and as such bears great responsibilities. He handles multiple projects, keeping excellent track record of research progress and maintaining all standard operating procedures in the laboratory. Chad has outstanding interpersonal skills and working relationships; he is loyal, highly dependable, pro-active and is always respectful. Congratulations on this very outstanding recognition! We would also like to congratulate the other nominee of the Support Staff Unit Recognition Award, Theresa Daggett, whose dedication, teamwork, and positive attitude improved her division and the whole department.
In Memoriam: Albert William Sparrow III, MD, MPH
It is with great sadness we announce that Albert William Sparrow III, MD, MPH, passed away last Thursday, January 25, 2024, at age 90. Dr. Sparrow joined the Department of Pediatrics and Human Development in 1972, and served as chair from 1992-2001.
A complete in memoriam can be found here.