A Message from the Chair

Summer may bring thoughts of vacations, but for the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, June, July and August are busy months. July 1 brings new pediatric and med-peds residents for an important part of their medical training, and August marks the start of a new academic year in the School of Medicine.

Medical students and pediatric and Med-Peds residents started rounding with attending physicians in July, and now these teams have space for collaboration inside the Kathy and Joe Sanderson Tower at Children’s of Mississippi.

Also in July, faculty, residents and medical students who are in the Pediatric Research and Clinical Education Program (PReCEP) presented a record 23 posters in the 2023 Pediatric Research Day. Every year, I am impressed with their research in a wide variety of pediatric topics.

Earlier this summer it was announced that UMMC is joining the Neonatal Research Network, working with 14 other centers across the country over the next seven years to conduct collaborative, multi-site clinical trials and observational studies on newborn infants, providing evidence to guide clinical practice.  The network is funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, part of the National Institutes of Health.  

Our educational efforts also include continuing education programs for the state’s health care professionals. Grand Rounds for CE credits include a presentation Aug. 30 on “Obesity Management for the Pediatric Population” by Dr. Jarrett Morgan, assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics.

During summer and the rest of the year, the Department of Pediatrics’ mission areas of education and research are helping to improve the health care of children in the state.

Sincerely,

Mary B. Taylor, M.D., M.S.C.I.

Professor of Pediatrics

Suzan B. Thames Chair, Department of Pediatrics