Awards and Honors

Whitaker named CDC program ambassador, receives grant

Toni Whitaker, MD, professor of Pediatrics at UTHSC and division chief of Developmental Pediatrics at Le Bonheur, has been named state ambassador for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) program “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” This program focuses on improving early identification of children with developmental disabilities and autism, with the goal of providing support to these children and their families. As the program ambassador for Tenn., Whitaker has received a $94,000 grant to collaborate with early childhood programs across the state to promote developmental screening and monitoring.

Gosain, Pierre receive NIH funding for HAEC research

Ankush Gosain, MD, PhD, associate professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at UTHSC, and Joseph Pierre, PhD, assistant professor of Neonatology and Microbiology, Immunology & Biochemistry at UTHSC, received an NIH R21 grant to model host-fungal interactions in Hirschsprung-associated enterocolitis (HAEC). HAEC is a life-threatening complication of Hirschsprung disease, which causes intestinal obstruction in newborns, even following corrective surgery. Although microbes such as intestinal bacteria have been linked to HAEC, the precise microbial triggers of this condition have not been defined. Backed by NIH funding, Pierre and Gosain will examine interactions between gut fungi and immune responses of the intestinal epithelium, which lines the small and large intestine of the gastrointestinal tract. This research may shed light on fungal and immune contributions to the development of HAEC, thus providing potential therapeutic targets for this devastating condition.