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Adolescent Medicine

Significant Accomplishments

Continued Studies of the Environment on Puberty

A significant paper, featured in Pediatrics (Pediatrics 2010;126:e583-90), demonstrated that girls are maturing at younger ages than previously reported. The findings were an outgrowth of our “Continued Studies of the Environment on Puberty” project, a longitudinal NIH-funded multi-site study headed by Frank Biro, MD, principal investigator. Several division members, as well as members of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, and the UC Department of Environmental Health, also participate in this project, which includes epidemiology, community outreach and translational cores. This continues the work of a previous seven-year project, “Puberty and Cancer Initiation.” We seek to understand the influences of environmental exposures on timing of puberty, as well as whether these exposures could be related to the relationship of timing of menarche on risk of breast cancer. Participants are seen annually in the Clinical Translational Research Center (CTRC). A related NIH project, “Impact of Peripubertal Exposure to Xenohormones on Fat Distribution and Cytokines,” explores environmental exposures on the relationships between bone mineral content, insulin resistance, and cytokines during pubertal maturation.

Office of Faculty Development

The Office for Faculty Development (OFD), housed within the Division of Adolescent Medicine, was launched in May 2010. The office seeks to enhance the academic environment within the Research Foundation to support and reward professional activities among faculty; promote recruitment, retention and career advancement; improve promotion rates and leadership opportunities for women and minority faculty; enhance career and work-life satisfaction; and provide faculty with resources to advance their careers. The office, directed by Jessica Kahn, MD, MPH, Assistant Chair of Academic Affairs and Faculty Development, offers monthly career seminars, a grantsmanship training program and a core leadership training program.

Asthma Innovation Lab

The Asthma Innovation Laboratory bridges research and health care improvement. Clinical activities, led by Maria Britto, MD, MPH, are housed within the Teen Health Center. The Lab develops and prototypes care delivery innovations, translates existing research resources into practice-friendly tools, and uses quality improvement methods to continuously enhance the clinical care it provides to nearly 180 adolescents with asthma. In the past year, our interventions helped 60 percent of our patients with poorly controlled persistent asthma achieve good control, compared to 25 percent the prior year. Interventions included vigorous contact (phone, texting, schools), as well as tracking and coordinated delivery of available evidence-based care (trigger avoidance, skill development, treatment of co-morbidities). We also have encouraged 35 percent of our patients to enroll in one or more research projects. Our upcoming focus will be to serve as a pilot site for a comprehensive Epic-based population management system and improving coordination between primary and specialty asthma care.