Pediatric respiratory diseases remain a major health problem for children in the United States. These diseases, such as asthma and pneumonia, are of the highest priority for research so we can better understand their treatment, diagnosis and prevention.

During medical school at Georgetown University, I was fascinated by the time I spent on the Adult Pulmonary service and what I learned about respiratory illness. I also spent time in acute care pediatric settings, such as the emergency department and intensive care unit.

After completing my pediatric residency, my first faculty appointment was split 50 percent in the pediatric emergency department and 50 percent on the pediatric pulmonary service at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. This further interested me in the care and understanding of acute pediatric respiratory conditions and in pediatric emergency medicine. All of this experience helped me build strengths as a diagnostician and an empathic listener to families in need with acute medical and sometimes very complex problems.

The research I focus on includes single and multicenter pediatric emergency medicine with a concentration in acute respiratory illness, primarily pneumonia and asthma. Additionally, my research team and I are striving to improve the healthcare system to ensure children receive the best care in a safe, positive, patient-centered setting.

My research aims to better understand the factors that lead to severe respiratory illness in children and how to identify, triage, treat and improve the outcomes for children with infectious and allergic pulmonary disease.

The awards and honors I have received during my career include:

• Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society (1975)
• Founder’s Award from the Cincinnati Pediatric Society for the formation and growth of the Division of Emergency Medicine (2009)
• Jim Seidel Distinguished Service Award from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center American Academy of Pediatrics for service to the field of Pediatric Emergency Medicine (2010)
• The Cincinnati Children’s Faculty Service Award from the department of pediatrics (2015)

Along with these awards and recognitions, I have been a member of the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network since 2001 and a principal investigator of this network at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center since 2011. I’ve had my research published in respected journals, such as The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, The Journal of Emergency Medicine and JAMA Pediatrics.