Contributors

Erica Banta, MBA, LDSS, is the director of Talent Management at The Ohio State University.

John A. Barnard, MD, is chief of Pediatrics at Nationwide Children's Hospital, president of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's and holds the Ann I. Wolfe Endowed Chair in Pediatric Research Leadership. He is chair of the Department of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine where he is also a professor of Pediatrics, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. As a physician-scientist, he held National Institutes of Health and other grants for more than twenty years of his career. He has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed journal articles, reviews and book chapters.

Mary a freelance science writer and blogger based in Boston. Her favorite topics include biology, psychology, neuroscience, ecology, and animal behavior. She has a BA in Biology-Psychology with a minor in English from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY, and a PhD from Brown University, where she researched bat echolocation and bullfrog chorusing.

Allan C. Beebe, MD, is director of Pediatric Orthopedic Trauma in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Nationwide Children's Hospital and the director of the Center for Comprehensive Spine Care at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Dr. Beebe is also an assistant professor of Orthopedics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and the assistant program director of the Mount Carmel Residency Training Program. Dr. Beebe received his medical degree from Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, and completed a pediatric orthopedic fellowship at the Hospital for Sick Children. Dr. Beebe's primary clinical interests include pediatric orthopedics; scoliosis and spinal deformity; hip, knee and foot issues; pediatric trauma; and sports medicine.

Gina is the director of Media Relations at Nationwide Children's Hospital. She has a background in health care public relations. She previously worked at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and is a graduate of Otterbein College.

Dr. Berlan is a physician in the Section of Adolescent Medicine at Nationwide Childcare’s Hospital and associate professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.  She is a researcher, educator, clinician and advocate for young women’s reproductive health. As founder and director of the BC4Teens/Young Women’s Contraception Program at Nationwide Children’s, she leads the hospital’s diverse efforts in teen pregnancy prevention. Dr. Berlan is also an active participant in local efforts in public health to reduce infant mortality.

O. N. Ray Bignall II, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Nephrology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Dr. Bignall received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Howard University, a Doctorate of Medicine from Meharry Medical College, and a Certificate in Health Policy at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center for Health Policy at Meharry. He completed his general pediatrics residency, clinical fellowship in nephrology, and a National Institutes of Health T32 post-doctoral research fellowship in the Center for Treatment Adherence and Self-Management, all at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Dr. Bignall’s academic interests include social determinants of health, population health, and health disparities in pediatric kidney disease and transplantation. He is a recipient of the American Academy of Pediatrics Community Access to Child Health (CATCH) award, and was appointed a John E. Lewy Fund Advocacy Scholar of the American Society of Pediatric Nephrology (ASPN). He currently serves as a member of the Public Policy Committee of the ASPN, and the Policy and Advocacy Committee of the American Society of Nephrology. In addition, Dr. Bignall is involved in a variety of community and child health advocacy efforts, including the Healthy Neighborhoods, Healthy Families initiative, and the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust.

Michael T. Brady, MD, is associate medical director at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, co-medical director for Patient Safety, a member of the hospital’s Division of Infectious Diseases and a Professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. An infectious disease specialist for more than three decades, Dr. Brady began focusing on the emerging HIV epidemic in the mid-1980s and its implications for infants, children and adolescents. He created the country’s first family-centered pediatric HIV program at Nationwide Children’s in 1987. While still involved with the HIV program, his interests in recent years have included promoting immunization in children, reducing healthcare associated infections and providing guidance on emerging infections.

Dr. Brady served as physician-in-chief at Nationwide Children’s from 2005 to 2013 and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at OSU’s College of Medicine from 2006 to 2013. Under his leadership, OSU’s Pediatrics faculty nearly doubled in size. Dr. Brady also oversaw the development of Physician Direct Connect at Nationwide Children’s, a service that puts community pediatricians in nearly immediate contact with specialists for consultations. He is a long-time member of Nationwide Children’s Graduate Medical Education Committee, influencing the training of the next generation of physicians.

At the national level, Dr. Brady has served as chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Infectious Diseases. He is currently the associate editor of Red Book, the comprehensive infectious disease reference from the AAP. He is also a member of the editorial panel for Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in HIV-Exposed and HIV-Infected Children: Recommendations from the NIH, CDC, HIV Medicine Association, PIDS and AAP. Other activities have involved global immunization advocacy, ongoing education of pediatricians across the country and service on task forces handling issues ranging from circumcision to meningococcal vaccines.

Katherine (Katie) Brind’Amour is a freelance medical and health science writer based in Pennsylvania. She has written about nearly every therapeutic area for patients, doctors and the general public. Dr. Brind’Amour specializes in health literacy and patient education. She completed her BS and MS degrees in Biology at Arizona State University and her PhD in Health Services Management and Policy at The Ohio State University. She is a Certified Health Education Specialist and is interested in health promotion via health programs and the communication of medical information.