Duane Alexander

THE DiGEORGE SYNDROME

This study describes clinical signs and symptoms in 16 patients with the DiGeorge syndrome (DGS). Diagnosed on the basis of typical facial stigmata, a broad spectrum of severity is seen with respect to congenital heart disease, hypoparathyroidism and immunologic parameters. A simple index of severity is introduced that clearly differentiates complete forms of the syndrome (cDGS) with poor prognosis from partial forms of the syndrome (pDGS). Of 13 pDGS patients, 12 are still living; 8 underwent corrective heart surgery without infectious complications. Moderate to severe mental retardation is seen in all pDGS patients. Due to the lack of thymus function, immunodeficiency is a result of cDGS, whereas immunoregulatory disturbances (hypergammaglobulinaemia, high titres of specific antibody production) prevail in pDGS patients.

Federation of Pediatric Organizations Task Force on Women in Pediatrics: Considerations for Part-Time Training and Employment for Research-Intensive Fellows and Faculty

Recognizing the significant issues and opportunities confronting the pediatric workforce, the Federation of Pediatric Organizations (FOPO) in 2007 appointed the second FOPO Task Force on Women in Pediatrics. The task force selected 4 issues on which to focus its attention in the subsequent 2 years: 1) routinely provide the option to train and work part-time at specific career stages; 2) allow flexibility in the career paths of physician/scientists; 3) draw more women into leadership positions; and 4) address child care issues. At the 2008 Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting, the task force hosted a symposium focusing on the provision of flexibility in the career paths of physician/scientists. This commentary summarizes the portions of the symposium that focused on current funding regulations at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) about part-time and protected research time and changes being considered and experiments conducted in 2 leading institutions that have permitted physician/ scientists to work part time. OVERVIEW Although the percent of women in medicine quadrupled in the last 30 years, women represent only 14% of tenured faculty and 12% of full professors 1 and approximately 10% of pediatric department chairs. 2 This is not a “pipeline issue,” because women represent 50% of matriculating medical students, 70% of pediatricians in training, and 50% of all practicing pediatricians. 3-5 Rather, it may be that academic institutions require women faculty to adjust to organizational structures, policies, and procedures that were established at a time when most faculty were men whose spouses had primary commitment to the household. 2 Institutional requirements for physician scientists have remained particularly rigid. In most universities, the physician scientist path is a tenure track position with the traditional restrictions and requirements to attain tenure, including a restricted time frame, explicit requirements for obtaining grant funding and producing publications, prohibitions against parttime appointments, and an inflexible tenure clock. 6,7 These requirements may not be realistic for women faculty because of their multiple roles, such as childbearing and rearing, forcing parents to choose between needs of their families and the de

New opportunities for researchers in obstetrics and gynecology through programs supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

The organization of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and its funding procedures are reviewed from the perspective of the specialty of obstetrics and gynecology. The opportunities for research training and career development recently made available by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development are described. Active and productive use of these opportunities by the academic community is important.

The Benefits of Having a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

A cting on the request of President John Kennedy, Congress, in October 1962, passed legislation establishing a new Institute at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). This legislation implemented the visionary proposal first put forward by Robert E. Cooke, MD, Chair of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins, to fill a void in the NIH research spectrum by focusing on developmental processes and how they were affected by genes, disease, or environment, with a focus on the health impact onmothers and children. This action provided the opportunity to use the unparalleled resources of the federal government, provided by the American people, to advance a great cause: Improving the health and lives of mothers and children, in this country and worldwide, through research. I would like to share with you some of what has come from a part of this investment. One of the keys to research success is training. Without a sound base of trained, skilled investigators, your field has no chance in the highly competitive world of winning research support. Nearly 25 years ago, the scientific leadership of Pediatrics asked me to support the convening of a meeting to plan a way to assure sound training of the scientific leadership for the pediatrics of the future. What came from that meeting at NICHD was the Pediatric Scientist Development Program (PSDP), funded by a new K12 grant from NICHD but contributed to by numerous pediatric organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Society for Pediatric Research, Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs, and American Pediatric Society. It was highly selective in who entered the program and intensely mentored to ensure success in training in top-notch labs and entering an academic career. That PSDP grant continues today, growing and expanding under the nurturing leadership of Dr Peggy Hostetter. Because of its success but need for larger numbers, NICHD added a companion program, the Child Health Research Career Development Program. It was also supported by NICHD K12 grants, awarded to and located in 20 pediatric departments, and markedly augmented the numbers of pediatric scientists trained in the flagship PSDP.