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This week’s Faculty Spotlight shines on pediatric cardiologist Michael Camitta, MD. Camitta talks to us about how he first became interested in pediatric cardiology as an intern at Duke where he worked with his first research mentor who later became his mother-in-law(!); his insights into the current challenges and opportunities in the field of pediatric cardiology, specifically developing new ways to use technology; and the knowledge he gained from his most significant mentor, Dr. J. Rene Herlong.

Josie Dunnigan became one of the first children in the United States to have what’s known as a double-switch procedure to re-direct blood flow and re-assign the left ventricle with the task of pumping blood out to the body. Since her first heart surgery in 2001 at the age of one and a half, Josie and her family had moved to North Carolina and her mother sought out Dr. Piers Barker for her daughter’s continued care. From 2006 onward, Dr. Barker has served as Josie’s primary cardiologist, seeing her through a total of six heart surgeries by the age of 21.

Neeta Sethi, MD, is a pediatric cardiologist, who is an inpatient hospitalist also specializing in reading echocardiograms and performing transesophageal imaging in the cardiothoracic operative room. She talks to us about how she became interested in pediatric cardiology while volunteering in a rural hospital in India. She also discusses her current research project identifying health disparities in patients with palliated critical congenital heart disease and her passions outside of Duke.

Andrew Landstrom, MD, PhD, assistant professor of pediatrics and cell biology, has been named director of the Duke Pediatric Research Scholars Program for Physician-Scientist Development (DPRS), effective April 1, 2021.

From student activist to Senior Associate Dean for Student Diversity, Recruitment, and Retention, Dr. Armstrong left behind a legacy of almost half a century of service to Duke and the wider medical community.

In this week’s Faculty Spotlight, ay Campbell, MD, talks about his clinical specialty and research in cardiac imaging, his most significant mentors during fellowship and at Duke, and provides advice for trainees.

A spotlight on Emily Depetris, a child life specialist who works with the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (PCICU), who created a "Tell me something good" email. Every week she highlights current and former patients from the PCICU who had a positive experience or milestone in their life.

This week's Faculty Spotlight shines on Kevin Hill, MD, an associate professor of pediatrics in the Division of Cardiology. Hill talks to us about his clinical responsibilities in the cardiac cath lab and pediatric cardiac ICU. He also explains how he become interested in pediatrics and cardiology, in particular. Hill describes the significance of one of his latest research projects funded by the Children’s Health and Discovery Initiative and offers advice for trainees.

The Cardiac Safety Research Consortium (CSRC) recently announced the establishment of a first-in-kind national database of pediatric cardiac screening information aimed at advancing the ability to discover potentially dangerous pediatric cardiac conditions and preventing sudden cardiac arrest or death in young people (SCDY). This database is being developed through a multidisciplinary partnership formed by the CSRC with support from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with the goal of identifying and overcoming barriers to effective pediatric cardiac screening.

This week's Faculty Spotlight shines on Patsy Park, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics in the Division of Cardiology. Park talks to us about her responsibilities as a pediatric cardiologist who also specializes in fetal cardiology and the wide range of patients she sees in the course of a typical day. She also talks about how she became interested in congenital heart disease and what inspired her to go to medical school.