Leonard P. Rome CATCH Visiting Professorships

Leader: Oscar Taube, MD

Visiting Professor: Corey Rood, MD

Title: Commercial Sex Exploitation of Children: Hospital & Community Response to Crisis

Abstract: The goal of the Visiting Professorship is to give participants the knowledge/skills they need to respond to the health crisis of Commercial Exploitation of Children as most healthcare institutions lack the resources necessary to identify and support survivors who present for care. As a practicing clinician working in both inpatient and outpatient medical settings, Dr. Rood works regularly with survivors of exploitation. He has worked with multiple universities and healthcare institutions to create a pathway that closes healthcare recognition and provision gaps and improves healthcare outcomes for these vulnerable patients.

Leader: Candice Taylor Lucas, MD

Visiting Professor: Natalie Muth, MD

Title: Social Drivers of Health Conference – Nourishing Healthy Futures

Abstract: The goal of the Visiting Professorship is to empower residents, faculty, and community partners to effectively identify and address food insecurity and support healthy mealtime experiences for youth and families in Orange County, California. Pediatric residents rarely hear from patients or their patients’ parents directly. Funds for this grant will be used to reimburse community experts who will participate in a noon conference designed to foster cultural humility and to confront weight bias. Dr. Muth was the past section chair for the AAP Section on Obesity and will assist with efforts to increase training in motivational interviewing techniques to strengthen resident skills.

Leader: Alexander Bassuk, MD

Visiting Professor: Glenn Flores, MD

Title: Building Community – Focused Advocacy Skills for Residents and Faculty to Advance Child Health Equity in Latinx Populations

Abstract: The goal of the Visiting Professorship is to strengthen capacity to advance child health equity by enhancing advocacy training, fostering community partnerships, and equipping residents and faculty with skills to address disparities through evidence-based advocacy, policy engagement, and systems-level action. Dr. Glenn Flores’ career exemplifies the integration of research, advocacy, community partnerships, and policy to improve outcomes for underserved children. His work offers a powerful model for translating evidence into effective advocacy and systems-level change.

Leader: Aasna Shah, DO

Visiting Professor: Lisa Horowitz, PhD

Title: Adolescent Suicide Screening Protocols in Pediatric Primary Care

Abstract: The goal of the Visiting Professorship is to provide advocacy and outreach training and to create an Advocacy Champion structure within our Health System. There will be an initial focus on community education, child health awareness, and public engagement. Using AAP materials for outreach and better understanding the role of the pediatrician as an advocate. This will lead to educational engagement with policymakers to create a bidirectional relationship for pediatricians as child health experts and participation in public hearings, advisory panels, or policy discussions affecting child health when appropriate.

Leader: Karen Ganacias, MD, MPH

Visiting Professor: Olanrewaju Falusi, MD, MEd

Title: Promoting Advocacy in the Nation’s Capital through Enhancement of a Longitudinal Advocacy Curriculum

Abstract: Many pediatric residents at Medstar Georgetown University Hospital have requested expanded opportunities to advocate for children and families, especially given the close proximity to legislators.  Our proposal would be to design and launch a more formal advocacy curriculum for pediatric residents at Medstar Georgetown University Hospital to better equip them with the skills to collaborate with legislators and community leaders, understand policy making and draft advocacy letters and health policy proposals, integrated throughout their Pediatric Residency.

Leader: Amy Buczkowski, MD

Visiting Professor: Susan Kressly, MD, FAAP

Title: Working with Community Through Crisis

Abstract: This proposal aims to support the 2025 Northern New England Advocacy Collaborative (NNEAC) Summit, which will be sponsored by the MaineHealth Maine Medical Center (MHMMC) Pediatric Residency Program in Portland, Maine in September 2025. We propose a 2+ day educational conference with faculty and resident development activities, opportunities for building community partnerships, and legislative advocacy skills-building workshops.

Leaders: Linda Aponte-Patel, MD & Dodi Meyer, MD

Visiting Professors: Jeffrey Goldhagen, MD, MPH & Raul Mercer, MD, MSc

Title: Translating the Principles of Child Rights, Social Justice, and Equity

Abstract: This grant will support a two-day workshop titled “Translating the Principles of Child Rights, Social Justice, and Equity into Pediatric Practice.” The program will equip pediatricians with the knowledge, tools, and strategies to apply a child rights-based framework to clinical care, education, and advocacy. Grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and other global instruments, the agenda addresses social, commercial, and political determinants of health that impact child well-being.

Leaders: Renee Kinman, MD, PhD, MAEd & Christine Nelson, MD

Visiting Professor: Kanani Titchen, MD, FAAP

Title: Beyond the Exam Room: Community Partnerships to Prevent and Protect Trafficked Youth

Abstract: Since COVID-19 disrupted our residents’ community-engaged learning the Community Health and Advocacy Training Program needed to re-center its residents as active child health advocates. This Award will revitalize our advocacy efforts by addressing human trafficking through cross-sector collaboration with a variety of community partners with the goal of empowering physicians to become proactive, culturally responsive leaders in advocacy.

Leaders: Sarah Denny, MD, FAAP; Roopa Thakur, MD; Anita Shah, DO, MMS, MPH; & Lisa Miyatake, DO

Visiting Professor: Debra Best, MD, FAAP

Title: Ohio Pediatric Advocacy Collaborative

Abstract: Ohio children experience widespread poverty and one of the nation’s highest infant mortality rates, yet Ohio’s nine pediatric training programs lack an infrastructure to collaborate on community health and advocacy initiatives. Resources and requirements vary among these training programs, and, at the same time, many of today’s residents request expanded, mentored opportunities to advocate for children and families. Our proposal is to create a collaborative of pediatric training program faculty in community health and advocacy. The Rome Visiting professorship will provide an opportunity to develop the structure of the collaborative and concrete goals for the next year- including structure for communication and shared goals, resources, and training.  

Leaders: Patricia Rodriguez-Reyes, MD, FAAP & Nilka deJesus-Gonzalez, MD, MSc, FAAP

Visiting Professor: Banjamin Hoffman, MD, FAAP

Title: Empowering Pediatricians for Change: Implementing a Longitudinal Advocacy Curriculum to Improve Pediatric Health Equity in Puerto Rico

Abstract: The health of children living in Puerto Rico is adversely impacted by social determinants, fragile health infrastructure, and environmental factors. Pediatricians play a unique role in advocating for children's well-being, making it essential to empower them with the skills needed to navigate the political process, develop successful advocacy strategies, and communicate effectively with policymakers. At the UPR-SOM General Pediatrics Residency Program, residents actively participate in advocacy initiatives during their 4-week Community Pediatrics Rotation. However, this short-term exposure to advocacy efforts limits their opportunities to gain advanced skills in advocating for patients.  Through the Visiting Professorship, a longitudinal pediatric advocacy training curriculum will be developed to ensure residents have the tools and expertise to effectively advocate for children's health and well-being.

Leaders: Carmela Sosa, MD, FAAP

Visiting Professor: Janice Kim, MD

Title: Better Together: Strengthening Community Partnerships to Advance Equity in Pediatric Health

Abstract: Valley Children’s Hospital is a community-based hospital that, outside of its relationship through graduate medical education - does not have an academic affiliation. As such, the organization is dependent on visit volumes for funding. Most providers are not given time to work on research or other projects outside of clinical care. This leaves little to no time for providers to engage in advocacy outside of individual, patient-level advocacy. Additionally, residents feel overwhelmed by the mere prospect of advocacy given the significant needs in our community. An opportunity that could be addressed through the Visiting Professorship is a culture shift – that advocacy can and should be brought into every aspect of patient care, whether resident or attending. The only way in which to do it effectively, and on limited time, is through partnerships with community-based organizations and other community agencies, leveraging each other’s strengths.

Leaders: Sarah Garwood, MD & Molly Krager, MD

Visiting Professor: Steven Harowitz

Title: Harnessing the Power of Storytelling for Advocacy

Abstract: This proposal will fund a visiting professor to facilitate storytelling training for an expansive group including the pediatric faculty of the Missouri Collaborative for Advocacy in Resident Education (MOCARE), the pediatric residents of the MOCARE state-wide advocacy track representing all four pediatric training programs in Missouri, Missouri AAP (MO AAP) state chapter leaders, and key community leaders. Prior to the trainings, collaborative decisions will be made with grant applicants, the MO AAP, and Campfire regarding advocacy areas of focus for the workshops. Sessions will result in a bank of stories for use in state level advocacy, skill development in effective storytelling for advocacy, and relationship development among the attendees of the trainings.