Erik B. Hysinger, MD, MS

While attending medical school, a mentor inspired me to become a pediatric pulmonologist. I admired his interactions with patients and providers, and I knew I wanted to model my career after his. I'll never forget the day he took me to the operating room for the first time. I was able to look at the airway, and I have been in love with pulmonology medicine and bronchoscopy ever since. My specialties include bronchoscopy, bronchopulmonary dysplasia and chronic ventilation.

I am currently developing an imaging technique that evaluates airway motion without the need for sedation or radiation in children of all ages. For the first time, this will enable us to understand airway motion and its natural history in children with and without airway disease. This novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides a unique opportunity to evaluate the impact of airway motion on pediatric health and understand the response to therapeutic interventions.

One of my clinical interests is tracheomalacia, which is the most common abnormality of the trachea in children and can result in marked breathing difficulty. Despite the sizeable clinical burden, there is little agreement about the disease's definition and even less about the best therapeutic strategy for treatment. Consequently, I think studying tracheomalacia has the potential to improve respiratory care for a vast number of children.

I am honored to have received the Best in Pediatrics award at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) international conference in 2018. This award is given for the six best scientific abstracts annually. I obtained board certification in pediatrics in 2013 and pediatric pulmonology in 2018.