Contributors

Linda Cripe, MD, is a professor of pediatrics and a pediatric cardiologist for The Heart Center. She is also a member of the physician team for the Neuromuscular Disorders section of The Neurosciences Center at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Dr. Cripe completed her residency at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. She served as a pediatric cardiology fellow at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and at Children's Hospital Boston. Before coming to Nationwide Children's, Dr. Cripe spent 12 years at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Dr. Cripe's clinical interests focus on non-invasive cardiac imaging specifically echocardiography as well as on the care and treatment of cardiomyopathy associated with neuromuscular disease, such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy. She was a member of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) National Steering Committee Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Standards of Care, and has been an invited lecturer nationally and internationally on cardiomyopathy related to DMD. Dr. Cripe is currently is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy.

Dr. Cripe is chief of the Division of Hematology, Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. His clinical interests include gene and viral therapies for solid tumors in children, including brain tumors, neuroblastoma and bone and soft tissue sarcomas. Dr. Cripe’s current research focuses on developing and testing new therapies for pediatric solid tumors and translating those findings into clinical studies. He was among the first in the country to launch clinical trials of attenuated oncolytic viruses in children.

Nancy Cunningham, PsyD, director of Community Engagement and Development, Big Lots Behavioral Health Services, is a psychologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital who has provided child and adolescent clinical services and overseen program development in their behavioral health department. Dr. Cunningham currently works with external community providers and organizations to develop partnerships that result in improved access to care and integration of services on behalf of children and their families.

Rebecca Cybulski is a coordinator for the Social Media and Media Relations teams at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She is a graduate of Kent State University.

Curt J. Daniels, MD, is Director of the Adolescent and Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program at The Heart Center at Nationwide Children's Hospital. He is a Professor of Clinical Cardiology at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Dr. Daniels received his medical degree from The Ohio State University. He completed his residency and received fellowship training from Children's Hospital in Columbus. He is certified in Pediatrics, Internal Medicine and Cardiology, and is therefore uniquely qualified to diagnose, treat and provide long-term care for the growing number of adolescents and adults who are diagnosed with congenital heart disease.

Laura Dattner, MA, is a research writer in the Center for Injury Research and Policy of the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. With both a health communications and public health background, she works to translate pediatric injury research into meaningful, accurate messages which motivate readers to make positive behavior changes.

Lauren Dembeck, PhD, is a freelance science and medical writer based in New York City. She completed her BS in biology and BA in foreign languages at West Virginia University. Dr. Dembeck studied the genetic basis of natural variation in complex traits for her doctorate in genetics at North Carolina State University. She then conducted postdoctoral research on the formation and regulation of neuronal circuits at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in Japan.

Alaina Doklovic is a Marketing Specialist for Research Communications at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. She received her BS in medical anthropology and English from The Ohio State University. Her passions for science and health, combined with her desire to help others, motivated her to pursue a career in which she could actively help improve patient outcomes and scientific research through writing.

Dennis R. Durbin, MD, MSCE, is president of the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, a professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and vice chair for Research in the Department of Pediatrics.

As president of AWRI, Dr. Durbin oversees the vision and strategic direction for the research institute, including the further integration of research and clinical care at Nationwide Children's as highlighted in the hospital’s recently announced new five-year strategic plan. Dr. Durbin represents the research institute in its ever-growing relationship with The Ohio State University and with the evolving biotechnology ecosystem developing in central Ohio. He also continues to support the recruitment of basic scientists; clinical investigators; and behavioral health and health equity researchers to AWRI.

Previously, as AWRI’s first CSO, Dr. Durbin managed a broad portfolio of research initiatives, leading including the formation of Andelyn Biosciences, the hospital’s first chief clinical research officer position, currently held by pediatric surgeon Kate Deans, MD; the recruitment of over 40 new research-intensive faculty; and the construction of a fourth research building on the Nationwide Children's campus, scheduled to open in 2023. Prior to joining Nationwide Children's in early 2018, Dr. Durbin was the assistant vice president and chief clinical research officer for The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute. He was also a professor of Pediatrics and an associate scholar in the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He was on the university’s faculty for over 20 years as a clinician and scientist. Dr. Durbin has mentored dozens of trainees and junior faculty, supporting them in becoming thriving physician-scientists in independent research careers

Dr. Durbin is an internationally recognized injury epidemiologist whose research has focused on the prevention of motor vehicle occupant injuries to children and the prevention of teen driver crashes. He has published nearly 200 articles and editorials in peer-reviewed journals that established the evidence base for child and adolescent traffic safety interventions and he has extensive experience translating research findings into policy and practice. He served on the Committee for Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention of the American Academy of Pediatrics during which time he was the lead author on the Academy’s revised policy statement on child passenger safety. His research has been recognized by several organizations, including the Governor’s Highway Safety Association, the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the University of Pennsylvania.