A photo of Sonya Tang Girdwood.

Sonya Tang Girdwood, MD, PhD


  • Member, Division of Hospital Medicine
  • Member, Division of Translational and Clinical Pharmacology
  • Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics
Today, my clinical work informs my research so that any newly discovered information can impact my patient’s care.
Sonya Tang Girdwood, MD, PhD

About

Biography

I chose to specialize in hospital medicine because it allows me to collaborate with other subspecialties in the care of pediatric patients. I enjoy the acute-care aspect of hospital medicine and have the opportunity to develop relationships with the families of children with medically complex illnesses admitted to our inpatient unit.

Early on, I realized information regarding appropriate drug dosing in medically complex or critically ill children was lacking. So, my research explores how to personalize the dosing of antibiotics and other medications in critically ill patients and patients with complex diseases.

I focus on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of antibiotics, specifically beta-lactams, in critically ill children. Additionally, I strive to better understand the timely transition of intravenous to enteral antibiotics in hospitalized children. Today, my clinical work informs my research so that any newly discovered information can impact my patient’s care.

As a clinical fellow, I received several notable awards, including:

  • Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center Arnold Strauss Fellow Award
  • Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medicine Fellow Award
  • Gerber Foundation Research Novice Award

As a faculty member, in addition to serving on the American Society of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Career Development Committee, I am also a member of their Scientific Programming Committee for the national conference. Locally, I am a co-director of the Genetic Pharmacology Service and the T32 Pediatric Clinical Pharmacology Fellowship.

During my first two years on faculty, I was supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) K12 Child Health Research Career Development Award to study the impact of piperacillin/tazobactam pharmacokinetics on kidney injury. I’m currently funded by a National Institute of General Medicine Sciences (NIGMS) R35 Maximizing Investigators' Research Award to continue building the evidence of precision dosing of antibiotics in critically ill children.

BS: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 2004.

MD: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 2013.

PhD: Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 2013.

Residency: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, 2016.

Chief Residency: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, 2017.

Fellowship: Pediatric Hospital Medicine & T32 NICHD Clinical Pharmacology, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, 2020.

Interests

Hospital medicine; complex care inpatient team

Services and Specialties

Hospital Medicine, Genetic Pharmacology, Genetic Pharmacology Service

Interests

Pediatric clinical pharmacology; sepsis; model-informed precision dosing; IV to enteral antibiotic transition

Research Areas

Clinical Pharmacology

Additional Languages

Mandarin

Publications

Impact of fluid balance on beta-lactam antibiotics target attainment: Insights from a simulation-based meropenem study. Morales, R; Mizuno, T; Paice, KM; Hambrick, HR; Punt, N; Tang Girdwood, S. International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents. 2024; 64:107267.

From Dose to Exposure: Shifting the Paradigm of Pediatric Clinical Pharmacology Research and Education. Morales Junior, R; Amajor, V; Paice, K; Kyler, KE; Hambrick, HR; Pavia, KE; Haynes, AS; Gooden, F; Pais, GM; Downes, KJ; Ramsey, LB; Wagner, J; Tang Girdwood, S. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. 2024; 116:515-517.

Cystatin C Outperforms Creatinine in Predicting Cefepime Clearance in Pediatric Stem Cell Transplant Recipients. Hambrick, HR; Fei, L; Pavia, K; Kaplan, J; Mizuno, T; Tang, P; Schuler, E; Benoit, S; Girdwood, ST. Transplantation and Cellular Therapy. 2024; 30:614.e1-614.e11.

Ceftriaxone Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamic Target Attainment for Three Pediatric Patients Receiving Continuous Kidney Replacement Therapy. Hambrick, HR; Cervantes, F; Dong, M; Tang, P; Arbough, T; Vinks, AA; Mizuno, T; Goldstein, SL; Kaplan, J; Girdwood, ST. Journal of Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics. 2024; 29:180-187.

Piperacillin pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in paediatric patients who received high frequency intra-operative piperacillin/tazobactam dosing. McIntire, C; Luna Torres, J; Tang, P; Vinks, AA; Kaplan, J; Tang Girdwood, S. International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents. 2024; 63:107079.

Opportunities for Pharmacogenetic Testing to Guide Dosing of Medications in Youths With Medicaid. Tang Girdwood, S; Hall, M; Antoon, JW; Kyler, KE; Williams, DJ; Shah, SS; Orth, LE; Goldman, J; Feinstein, JA; Ramsey, LB. JAMA network open. 2024; 7:e2355707.

Cefepime-Associated Neurotoxicity in a Pediatric Patient With Stage V Chronic Kidney Disease. Hambrick, HR; Pavia, K; Tang Girdwood, S; Lazear, D; Taylor, JM; Benoit, S. Journal of Pharmacy Practice. 2024; 37:243-247.

Major Drug-Drug Interaction Exposure Among Medicaid-Insured Children in the Outpatient Setting. Kyler, KE; Hall, M; Antoon, JW; Goldman, J; Shah, SS; Girdwood, ST; Williams, DJ; Feinstein, JA. Pediatrics. 2024; 153.

868: EARLY MEROPENEM CLEARANCE OF CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS IN A PEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE UNIT. Paice, K; Tang Girdwood, S; Pavia, K; Mizuno, T; Kaplan, J. Critical Care Medicine. 2024; 52:s407.

Professionalism or prejudice? Modelling roles, risking microaggressions. Miller, E; Girdwood, ST; Shah, A; Anyigbo, C; Lanphier, E. Journal of Medical Ethics. 2023; 49:822-823.

From the Blog

PAS 2022: Exactly What My Soul Needed
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PAS 2022: Exactly What My Soul Needed

Sonya Tang Girdwood, MD, PhD5/2/2022

Growing Need for Pharmacogenetics Data for Pediatric Medications
Quality and Safety

Growing Need for Pharmacogenetics Data for Pediatric Medications

Sonya Tang Girdwood, MD, PhD3/9/2022

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