In this episode of In Pursuit, Dr. Patrick Seed talks with Dr. Jennifer Huffmann about rates of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation among children and teens, which surged during the COVID-19 pandemic and remain alarmingly high today. Huffman discusses her research into interventions that start in the emergency room and promote a sense of connectedness for young people experiencing a mental health crisis that could be protective against youth suicide.

In this episode of In Pursuit, Dr. Patrick Seed talks with Dr. Bria Coates, about her research in pediatric critical care medicine and respiratory infections in children. Dr. Coates shares insights into the challenges and unpredictability of viral respiratory illnesses in young patients, the impact of these infections on long-term lung health and how her research aims to reshape the field.

During more than three decades of her career in pediatric pulmonology, Susanna McColley, MD, has seen the average life expectancy for children with cystic fibrosis advance from teenage years to mid-50s. In this episode, Dr. McColley details the evolution of cystic fibrosis diagnosis and treatment and discusses how she is addressing the ongoing disparities in CF research, education, and care.

Genetic testing has been transformative in many areas of pediatrics, such as diagnosing rare conditions and syndromes. But in other cases, such as the processing of immigrants at the border or of children separated from families during war, genetic testing and the collection of biometric data in children can lead to an overreach of the government or law enforcement in criminal or humanitarian cases. Sara Huston, MS, Principal Investigator of the Genetics and Justice Laboratory at the Stanley Manne Research Institute, is an expert in genetic testing and the legal and ethical questions that often arise with its application in medicine and law enforcement. In this episode she discusses her research and current events where genetic testing could potentially help or harm families.

In this episode, we explore how family dynamics can influence child health outcomes, specifically the impact that fathers can have on their children's health and development and the importance of including fathers in public health data collection, with guest Dr. Craig Garfield. Dr. Garfield leads the Family and Child Health Innovations Program (FCHIP) which is housed at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and is part of the Mary Ann & J. Milburn Smith Child Health Outcomes, Research and Evaluation Center.

In this episode, surgeon, engineer, scientist and innovator, Dr. Seth Goldstien, discusses the impact of research and innovation in pediatric surgery. From using near-infrared light technology to detect intestinal ischemia in necrotizing enterocolitis, a critical disease in premature newborns, to pioneering fluorescence-guided surgery, Goldstein shares insights into the unique challenges and solutions in the field.

As an infectious disease specialist, whose research focus is HIV maternal child health, Jennifer Jao, MD, MPH, splits her time between sub-Saharan Africa and Chicago, investigating the long-term metabolic effects of in utero exposure to HIV and antiretroviral medications. In this episode, Jao retraces her path to Global Health and infectious diseases and offers a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding HIV/AIDS and the ongoing efforts to improve care and prevention strategies in women and children.

In this episode of In Pursuit, host Patrick Seed, MD, PhD, talks with James W. Collins Jr., MD, MPH about his research career dedicated to understanding factors that affect the health outcomes of newborns, including a particular focus on how race and other social influencers of health are tied to birth outcomes in the U.S. and globally.

Host: Patrick C. Seed, MD, PhD, FIDSA, Attending Physician, Infectious Disease; President & Chief Research Officer, Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute; Children's Research Fund Chair in Basic Science; Professor of Pediatrics (Infectious Disease) and Microbiology-Immunology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Guest: James W. Collins, Jr., MD, MPH, Medical Director, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Lurie Children's; Attending Physician, Neonatology; Zeisler Family Neonatology Leadership Chair, Professor of Pediatrics (Neonatology), Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine