Current Research

July 2012

Current Research

• The Asthma Cluster is led by Jill S. Halterman, M.D., M.P.H. This group performs health-related behavior research aimed at decreasing the frequency of asthma attacks and hospitalizations and increasing compliance with national asthma guidelines, particularly among children in high-risk groups in the inner city.
• The Access to Care and Health Literacy Cluster is led by Laura Shone, M.S.W., Dr.P.H., Leesha Hoilette, M.D., M.S., Cynthia Rand, M.D., M.P.H., and Peter Szilagyi, M.D., M.P.H. This cluster is determining the barriers to obtaining primary care and health and preventive medicine information, particularly in economically disadvantaged and minority populations.
• The Immunization Cluster is led by Peter Szilagyi, M.D., M.P.H., Stanley Schaffer, M.D., and Cynthia Rand, M.D., M.P.H. This group is responsible for the extraordinarily high immunization rates in Rochester’s inner city, which is one of the most economically and socially disadvantaged regions in the U.S. This cluster is also leading the nation in the study of adolescent immunization delivery, school-based influenza vaccine, IT-based interventions and surveillance for new vaccines.
• The Foster Care and Mental Health Cluster is led by Moira Szilagyi, M.D., M.P.H. and Sandra Jee, M.D., M.P.H. Dr. Szilagyi directs Starlight Pediatrics, a Monroe County clinic and resource center for children in foster care. Studies aimed at improving the mental health of children in foster care and their complex families inform the care provided in this practice and around the country.
• The Obesity Cluster is led by Stephen Cook, M.D., M.P.H. The partnership between this cluster and community pediatricians has vastly altered how primary care pediatricians in the Greater Rochester region approach the prevention, treatment and education of childhood obesity. Partnerships with community organizations and food providers promise to inform interventions aimed at whole communities and groups of families and change the incidence of obesity.
• The Telemedicine Cluster is led by Kenneth McConnochie, M.D., M.P.H. along with Neil Herendeen, M.D., M.B.A. This cluster holds the promise of defining the solutions to variable access to care, whether defined by socioeconomic, geographic, or temporal factors.
• The Educational Cluster is led by Constance Baldwin, Ph.D. along with special programs on community pediatrics led by Jeffrey Kaczorowski, M.D., M.P.H. The award-winning innovations developed and studied by this cluster have driven national standards for residency education and evaluation in clinical, community, and advocacy agency settings. The Academic General Pediatric Fellowship Program led by Dr. Peter Szilagyi, Dr. Connie Baldwin and Dr. Laura Shone is a national leader in fellowship education.
• The Child Development Cluster is led by Heather Paradis, M.D., M.P.H. This relatively new cluster is examining the largely empirical tenets of anticipatory guidance to help parents recognize and distinguish normal and abnormal behavior throughout the childhood age spectrum.
• In addition, the Division of General Pediatrics is the major contributor to the University of Rochester’s Clinical & Translational Science Institute, Practice Based Research Network, and National Children’s Study site. The division received over $7,500,000 in total extramural research funding, approximately $4,000,000 of it from federal sources, for a total of 46 grants in FY 2012 alone.