Dr. Huttenlocher Receives WARF Named Professorship
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Above, Dr. Anna Huttenlocher (Professor, Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology) in her laboratory. (Photo by UW Health)
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Anna Huttenlocher, MD (Professor, Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology) was selected for the prestigious WARF Named Professorship award and has chosen the name “Anna Ruth Brummett Professor of Pediatrics and Medical Microbiology and Immunology” for the chair. The award, which carries a $100,000 flexible research fund, honors faculty who have made major contributions to the advancement of knowledge and is one of the highest honors the University of Wisconsin–Madison bestows. The award is provided by the University of Wisconsin–Madison Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education with funding from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF).
Dr. Huttenlocher’s research at the University of Wisconsin Department of Pediatrics is at the interface of cell biology and immunology. Much of her recent work has centered on understanding innate immune inflammation. Her research group is dissecting how external cues and cell signaling networks regulate cell migration during tissue damage and repair, and how this is altered in human disease. Her laboratory has pioneered approaches to visualize and manipulate cell motility within live organisms and has discovered previously unknown mechanisms that regulate resolution of inflammation.
Dr. Huttenlocher received her BA from Oberlin College and MD from Harvard Medical School. She is a physician-scientist who treats pediatric patients with autoimmune diseases. She is also director of the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, which provides integrated graduate training in scientific research and clinical medicine. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and a Fellow of the American Society of Cell Biology for Lifetime Achievement. She has served on the Council of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and is currently serving on the Council for the American Society of Cell Biology and the Association of American Physicians.
About Dr. Anna Ruth Brummett
Anna Ruth Brummett, PhD, was a Professor of Biology at Oberlin College. She grew up and attended college in Arkansas and then obtained her PhD at Bryn Mawr College. As an Oberlin professor, she performed research at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, MA, and focused much of her scholarship on developmental cell biology. Dr. Brummett had a special interest in promoting women in science and was Dr. Huttenlocher’s first cell biology and teaching mentor. During an independent study project at Oberlin College, Dr. Brummett guided Dr. Huttenlocher in writing about cell adhesion and migration, an area that became the focus of Dr. Huttenlocher’s research.
About WARF and the Award
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) is the private, nonprofit patent and licensing organization for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A pioneer and innovator among university-based technology transfer offices, WARF’s mission is to support, aid and encourage UW-Madison research by protecting its discoveries and licensing them to commercial partners for beneficial use in the real world. Ten faculty are appointed to WARF Named Professorships each year. Support for this award is provided by the University of Wisconsin–Madison Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education with funding from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.
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Department of Pediatrics Faculty Receive Messages of Appreciation for National Doctors' Day
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An embroidered W crest is pictured on a white coat during floor rounds at UW Hospital and Clinics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. (Photo by Jeff Miller/UW-Madison)
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In Celebration of National Doctor’s Day, UW Health offered an opportunity for people to submit notes of gratitude to their physician. Over seventy notes were received from current and former families and patients served by Department of Pediatrics faculty. We’re proud to share excerpts of some of them here.
Allergy, Immunology & Rheumatology
For Dr. Judy Smith: Thanks for everything you do for our son and our family. We’ve had a rough few years but having a wonderful, caring team led by you has made it easier to handle. We are so grateful for you and everything you do. Thank you, Dr. Smith!
Cardiology:
For Dr. Catherine Allen: Dr. Allen has always made us feel as though we were family by always taking the time to explain everything and answer any questions we have. Her bedside manner with our son is superb and we feel so comfortable and blessed knowing he is receiving top-notch care from a top-notch professional. Thank you, Dr. Allen!
Endocrinology & Diabetes:
For Dr. Ellen Connor: Since my diagnosis of Type I diabetes twelve years ago, Dr. Connor has always been there for me and my family. Through her guidance and compassionate care, I have learned to manage my condition. Her influence on my life has inspired me to pursue a nursing career so that someday, I will also be able to make an impact on future patients. Dr. Connor, thank you for your dedication to providing excellent care and going above & beyond to ensure the health of all of your patients. You are appreciated!
Read more.
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Save the Date: Virtual Pediatrics Research Week Begins May 26
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Above, students present research projects at an annual research symposium at UW-Madison. (Photo by Bryce Richter/UW-Madison)
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In response to COVID-19, the Department of Pediatrics’ annual Research Week will offer alternative programming to spotlight the scholarly work from its residents, fellows, faculty and staff. Through a mix of live-streamed lectures and interactive sessions, Research Week’s celebration of scholarship will be virtually available to the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health community and anyone interested in the latest advances in pediatric research.
Activities for the week include small group sessions with faculty and trainees to discuss research careers and how to turn an idea into a research project, the distinguished Gerard B. Odell Lecture, a Faculty Research Forum, platform presentations, and an online poster session featuring the research of residents, fellows, faculty and staff. New this year, up to 10 hours of continuing medical education (CME) credit can be earned by attending the lectures.
View the Pediatrics Research Week schedule.
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Saying Goodbye to a Colleague and Friend: A Tribute to Dr. Jon Wolff
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This tribute was contributed by the Wolff Family and Drs. David Wargowski, Patrick Remington, and Elizabeth Petty.
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 We are deeply saddened to share news about the passing of a long-time beloved faculty colleague, Dr. Jon Wolff (pictured left), after a courageous battle with cancer.
Jon was a professor and division chief of genetics and metabolism in pediatrics for most of the 20 years he spent at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Prior to joining our faculty, he received his undergraduate education at Cornell University, received his M.D. from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, completed clinical training in Pediatrics and Medical Genetics at the University of California-San Diego, and was a post-doctoral fellow at the Agouron Institute. He remained an honorary volunteer faculty member here and was always a strong supporter of our master of genetic counselor studies degree program throughout his career.
As a physician-scientist, Jon made significant contributions to diagnostic and therapeutic knowledge that helped transform the standard-of-care for several different genetic conditions. As an advisory member for Wisconsin’s Newborn Screening Program he helped establish new programs for detecting metabolic disorders and genetic conditions. He also led medical genetics courses for medical students and genetic counseling students over several years, adding cutting-edge molecular content, bringing patients into classrooms as teachers, and greatly improving medical and molecular genetic education throughout various classroom, clinic, and laboratory settings.
Read full tribute.
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New Grants & Awards
2020 St. Baldrick’s Summer Fellowship Awarded to Capitini Lab
 Congratulations to Christian Capitini, MD (Assistant Professor, Division of Hematology, Oncology & Bone Marrow Transplant), who was recently awarded a $5,000 Summer Fellowship from the St. Baldricks’s Foundation, the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants, to fund a student in his lab this summer. Nicholas Mohrdieck, currently completing the junior year of his undergraduate studies, will work in Dr. Capitini’s lab on the project, “Vaccine and checkpoint blockade after allogeneic BMT for neuroblastoma,” with the goal of discovering whether a combination of anti-PD1 inhibitors with an engineered costimulatory vaccine may be an effective strategy to induce apoptosis of neuroblastoma tumor cells. This approach seeks to increase T cell and NK-mediated cytokine production and cytotoxicity and investigate whether anti-tumor effects after bone marrow transplant (BMT) are enhanced.
Bruce Klein, MD, Awarded Grant from Vaxine
 Bruce Klein, MD (Professor and Division Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases), was recently awarded a one-year, $38,500 grant from Vaxine, an Australian biotechnology company focusing on development of innovative vaccine technologies. The objective of this grant, for the project titled, “Developing Advax adjuvanted vaccine formulation against systemic fungi,” will be to formulate Advax (provided by Vaxine) with protective fungal antigens (provided by the Klein lab) to vaccinate against fungal infections and ultimately to translate the formulation to a human vaccine.
Danielle Scholze, MD, Receives Award from Autism Speaks and HRSA
 Congratulations to Danielle Scholze, MD (Assistant Professor, Division of Developmental Pediatrics and Rehabilitation Medicine) for her recent award of $20,000 from Autism Speaks and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to support the Waisman Center’s participation in the recently developed Autism Learning Health Network (ALHN). ALHN is a group of academic and clinical sites working together with the common goal of improving clinical care and quality of life for all children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Dr. Scholze and the ALHN will identify and test evidence-based practices and develop standards of care for the evaluation and treatment of challenging behaviors associated with autism through quality improvement methods, data-sharing between sites, and information dissemination to the community.
Dr. Elizabeth Cox, Collaborators Receive Carbone Cancer Center’s Rural Cancer Pilot Award
 Elizabeth Cox, MD, PhD (Director of the Program of Research on Outcomes for Kids (PROKids), and Professor, Division of General Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine), in collaboration with Chris Queram (CEO and president of Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality (WCHQ)), Melissa Gilkey, PhD (University of North Carolina), and members of the PROKids team recently received a Carbone Cancer Center Rural Cancer Pilot Award. The project, “On-Time HPV Vaccination for Rural Wisconsin Youth,” is a first step to inform healthcare system-level interventions that address low rates of HPV vaccination in rural Wisconsin. Based on WCHQ data, the project will develop and validate metrics of on-time HPV vaccination initiation and completion in Wisconsin health systems and use interviews with healthcare stakeholders to understand challenges, opportunities, and initiatives related to HPV vaccination among rural clinics. Findings from this work will inform a future multi-year National Cancer Institute P01, implementing evidence-based interventions to ultimately improve HPV vaccination rates and reduce the burden of HPV-associated cancers in Wisconsin and beyond.
Travel Funds Awarded to Erika Zevin, MD
 Congratulations to Endocrinology & Diabetes fellow Erika Zevin, MD, who was awarded travel funds of approximately $800 to attend the 23rd Advanced Postgraduate Course on Growth and Growth Disorders being held in late September 2020 in Stockholm, Sweden. This five-day course held by the Karolinska Institute and supported by Pfizer Limited, will cover the biology of human growth as well as clinical management of growth disorders, led by internationally known experts in pediatric endocrinology and other aspects on growth. The conference held at the historic Krägga Mansion, will be attended by 25 pediatric endocrinology fellows from across the globe.
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"I am so thankful to work beside a provider that is not only so caring to her patients and families but also to your team. Every day, your dedication to the clinic is beyond amazing, but it has been especially strong in this time of crisis. You are always keeping the clinic up to date on the latest changes and asking if there are things we need. The care that you give to all of us on a personal level is amazing. You really care about what happens not only here at work but in our home lives as well. You are amazing; keep being you!"
