3 faculty honored for excellence in pediatric care
Three UC Davis Health faculty are being recognized for their excellence in pediatric care and education by the Western Society for Pediatric Research (WSPR) and the Western Section of the American Federation for Medical Research. They will honor the faculty at the Western Medical Research Conference next year.
The Western Association of Physicians, the California Thoracic Society and the Western Section of the American Federation for Medical Research will host the conference in Carmel in January. The UC Davis Health honorees are:
- Daniah Beleford, assistant professor in the Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology and UC Davis MIND Institute faculty member receives the WSPR’s 2025 Abbott Nutrition Young Investigator Award. This award is given to a young faculty member performing outstanding research in the area of pediatrics.
- Satyan Lakshminrusimha, chair of the Department of Pediatrics and physician-in-chief of UC Davis Children’s Hospital, receives the 2025 WSPR Joseph W. St. Geme Jr. Education Award. This award is presented to recognize outstanding achievement in pediatric education and mentorship and is nominated by one’s peers and former mentees.
- Geoanna Bautista, assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics, receives the 2025 Western Section of the American Federation for Medical Research Young Investigator Award.
Beleford, Lakshminrusimha and Bautista will receive a cash prize and are invited to attend the Joint Plenary session on Jan. 17, 2025, where they will be honored.
In addition, Lakshminrusimha has been invited to be a speaker at the WSPR’s 2025 Western Perinatal Club on Jan. 17. His presentation will focus on “Oxygen Saturation Targets: Are Neonates Tiny Adults?”
Bautista was also invited to give a presentation on her research on Jan. 17. The title of the presentation is “Smooth Muscle Cell Depletion of Piezo1 Leads to Impaired Contractile Properties in the Small Bowel.”