The half-day seminar presented clinical and translational pediatric research projects from Atlanta faculty, students, residents, and fellows. Sponsored by The Center for Pediatric Healthcare Technology Innovation and the Atlanta Pediatric Device Consortium, the event showcased a total of 13 oral presentations and 16 posters of clinical and translational pediatric research. Cash prizes were awarded for the best poster and oral presentations. Congratulations to the winners:

Best Oral Presentation for Translational/Basic Science Research:

Keri Stalun- Medical Student from Emory University

Amy Hutchinson’s Laboratory

Presenting “The Handy Eye ChartTM: A New Visual Acuity Test for Children”

Best Oral Presentation for Clinical Research:

Sarah Hill- Pediatric Surgery Research Fellow at Emory University and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Mark Wulkan’s Laboratory

Presenting “Cardiaplication as an Antireflux Procedure for Infants: A Proof of Concept in a Porcine Model”

Best Poster:

Rene Olivares-Navarrete - Senior Research Scientist at Georgia Institute of Technology

Barbara Boyan’s Laboratory

Presenting “Effects of Superhydrophobic Surface Modifications on Cell Response to Titanium and PTFE”

The keynote speaker, Dr. Robert M. Campbell, Jr., related his experiences in developing the Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium Rib (VEPTR). Dr. Campbell emphasized the importance of patience in bringing a medical device to market, describing the different obstacles he faced during the process. He learned that the idea is often the easiest part of the development process.  

Dr. Campbell is a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon and Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and is esteemed for his role in inventing the VEPTR. VEPTR is used to prevent and treat deformities resulting from rare diseases of the spine and chest wall, through surgical expansion of the chest and correction of spinal deformity, without inhibiting children’s growth. The titanium rib, approved by the FDA in 2004, has been introduced in more than 30 countries and is considered the gold standard for treating fragile pediatric patients with lung-restricting deformities. He has also published extensively on the thoracic and pulmonary disability of these patients and was the first to identify the disease Thoracic Insufficiency Syndrome (TIS).

The event was hosted by Barbara D. Boyan, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Pediatric Healthcare Technology Innovation and the Atlanta Pediatric Device Consortium and Associate Dean for Research and Innovation in the College of Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology; Mark Wulkan, M.D., Surgeon in Chief at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine; and George Raschbaum, M.D., Medical Staff President, Vice Chief of Surgical Outcomes Research and Assistant Professor at Emory University.

The 2nd Annual Pediatric Surgery and Technology Research Day was a great success. The group will continue this event, and is already planning the 3rd Annual event to be held in June 2013.