Faculty Awards (continued)
Cincinnati Children's celebrated outstanding faculty members on February 17. Congratulations to our honorees and to all who were nominated by their peers.
Clinical Care Team Award
Mayerson Center for Safe and Healthy Children
Row 1 (l-r): Julie Bemerer, PsyD; Heather Bensman, PsyD; Kathi Makoroff, MD; Marguerite (Meg) Care, MD; Row 2 (l-r) Erica Messer, PsyD; Alan Oestreich, MD, FACR; Pratima Shanbhag, MD, MPH; Robert Shapiro, MD.
The Mayerson Center for Safe and Healthy Children team is comprised of hospital-based physicians, nurse, psychologists, and social workers who collaborate with local child-protection agencies and law enforcement to treat, assess, and guide the investigation of potential victims of child physical and sexual abuse in the Tristate area.
Their diagnoses are more consequential than many, as they involve not just the physical health of children but also their psychological and social safety. In addition to medical and psychological care, the specialists in this group are frequently called upon to provide courtroom testimony in both civil and criminal proceedings.
The members of this team are recognized at the local, state, national and international levels with memberships and leadership in relevant committees of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Society of Pediatric Radiology. They have all ontributed to the literature and have been active educators and lecturers, sharing their expertise.
Many children are safer, healthier and alive because of the work of the Mayerson Center for Safe and Healthy Children team.
Educational Achievement Award
Yemisi Jones, MD, MEd, FAAP, FHM
Division of Hospital Medicine
Yemisi Jones, MD, MEd, FAAP, FHM, and assistant professor in the Division of Hospital Medicine, is a respected educator known for her commitment to teaching and innovative approach to educational programming. She is a graduate of the Advancing Pediatric Educator eXcellence (APEX) teaching program, a longitudinal national faculty development program.
Yemisi has served as the medical director for Continuing Medical Education (CME) at Cincinnati Children's for the past five years. She led the CME team through the joint accreditation process for interprofessional education, which greatly enhanced the reputation of our CME offerings. Her current scholarship has led to the creation of a diversity, equity and inclusion education toolkit—a resource that will have a significant impact on promoting the design of inclusive and non-biased curricula in continuing education.
Yemisi served as co-director of the Cincinnati Children's Pediatric Hospital Medicine (PHM) board review course from its inception in 2019 until 2022. The course prepared physicians for the inaugural American Board of Pediatrics PHM certification exam and resulted in excellent pass rates for attendees.
Educational Achievement Award
Melanie Myers, PhD, MS, CGC
Division of Human Genetics
Melanie Myers, PhD, MS, CGC, is the director of the Genetic Counseling Graduate Program (GCGP) at the UC College of Medicine. She directs the research training for graduate students, oversees their academic and clinical training, oversees an online learning program for practicing genetic counselors and prospective students with over 200 users each year and has developed and implemented a funded research program.
Melanie recently led and completed the national re-accreditation of the GCGP. She received outstanding reviews for her educational program and the reorganization of the entire design and curriculum. The GCGP also received an A+ rating from the UC Graduate School as being one of the finest in the nation and one of the best graduate programs at UC.
Melanie has transformed the GCGP into a high-caliber, highly recognized exemplar program visited by national and international faculty charged with starting up new GCGPs. In addition, she has been actively dedicated to developing genetic counselors for current and future practice areas.
On a national and international level, Melanie is recognized for her passionate determination to elevate research and evidence-based practice in the genetic counseling profession.
Entrepreneurial Achievement Award
Charles Dumoulin, PhD
Division of Radiology
Chuck Dumoulin, PhD, has a long track record of developing new technologies and applications that have resulted in products that have improved patient care. He has over 130 issued or pending patents that span a variety of MRI technologies.
A major area of focus during Charles' time at Cincinnati Children's has been the development of a dedicated neonatal MRI system that allows critically ill babies to have better access to this technology, as well as improved safety during imaging. The first iteration of this system has proven its worth clinically and scientifically and has been recognized by two awards from the Society for Pediatric Radiology.
Charles' work has resulted in the creation of a company for the development and sale of the next-generation 3T dedicated neonatal MRI scanner. The impact of this system on neonatal imaging care will be profound and opens new avenues of research and improvements in clinical care.
Mentoring Achievement Award
Farhan Zafar, MBBS
Division of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery
For Farhan Zafar, MBBS, associate professor in the Division of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery, serving his community and colleagues is integral to his vocation. As a student at Dow Medical College in Pakistan, Farhan served in several volunteer and leadership roles in the Patients' Welfare Association—a non-profit organization run by students of the college that provided free health services to the underserved patients of Civil Hospital Karachi.
At Cincinnati Children's Farhan's commitment to advancing the care of children with heart defects is only matched by his ability to support, guide and encourage his team and colleagues. In addition to his surgical and research acumen, his strong leadership skills and humble character often make him the primary contact for trainees at all levels. In fact, Farhan has mentored nearly 30 students, residents and fellows in the past nine years.
According to David Morales, MD, executive do-director of the Heart Institute and director of the Division of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery, "Farhan's calm demeanor, kindness, intellect, true concern for others and ability to communicate effectively make him a true mentor."
Mentoring Achievement Award
Basilia Zingarelli, MD, PhD
Division of Critical Care Medicine
Basilia Zingarelli, MD, PhD, is a professor in the Division of Critical Care Medicine and has been the director of basic science research for the division for over 11 years.
For decades, fellows in this division, regardless of prior experience, have been able to perform meaningful science that has advanced the understanding of sepsis and critical illness—due in large part to Basilia's passion and skill as a mentor. Her ability to transform novices into accomplished scientists has contributed to the career success of nearly 100 board-certified critical care physicians who required scholarly activity to sit for boards, beyond the 20 fellows whom she personally mentored.
Beyond the mentorship of trainees, Basilia has mentored numerous faculty who have received K- and R-level awards. And after Hector Wong's unexpected death in 2022, Basilia took on additional mentorship of all junior faculty in the division, selflessly giving her time to ensure junior faculty research programs could continue.
In the last 13 years, as the division has pivoted and grown beyond basic science research into areas of education, equity, quality improvement and informatics, Basilia's research prowess and mastery of mentoring researchers have proven invaluable.