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Charles Berul receives award

Charles Berul, M.D., named Pioneer in Cardiac Pacing and Electrophysiology by Heart Rhythm Society

Charles Berul receives award

Dr. Berul receives the Pioneer in Cardiac Pacing and Electrophysiology from the Heart Rhythm Society at their 2021 meeting.

The Heart Rhythm Society has awarded its 2021 Pioneer in Cardiac Pacing and Electrophysiology Award to Charles Berul, M.D., chief of Cardiology and co-director of the Children’s National Heart Institute at Children’s National Hospital.

The award recognizes an individual who has been active in cardiac pacing and/or cardiac electrophysiology for many years and has made significant contributions to the field. It is typically given to electrophysiologists who treat adults. Dr. Berul is the second pediatric specialist to receive it. Dr. Berul accepted his award at Heart Rhythm 2021, the society’s annual meeting.

“It is wonderful news that Dr. Berul is receiving this award in recognition of his major contributions to this field and to improve the lives of children with heart rhythm challenges,” says David Wessel, M.D., executive vice president, chief medical officer and physician-in-chief at Children’s National Hospital. “We are proud of all he has achieved so far, and are so thankful that he shares his expertise, leadership, mentorship and friendship with us at Children’s National every day. Congratulations to him on this tremendous honor.”

The Heart Rhythm Society notes that Dr. Berul has mentored dozens of trainees who have gone on to successful careers and particularly advocates for young investigators and clinician-scientists. He is known for his collaborative style and promotion of faculty physicians in academic medicine. His scientific work began with cellular electrophysiology and clinical genetics of inherited arrhythmia disorders.

He is known for his development of innovative electrophysiologic studies for phenotypic evaluations of genetically manipulated pre-clinical models. Over the past two decades, his research focus and passion have been to develop novel minimally invasive approaches to the heart and improving methods for pediatric pacing and defibrillation.

Dr. Berul is an active member of the Heart Rhythm Society. He has served on multiple society committees, task forces, and writing groups, and is currently an associate editor for the society’s journal, Heart Rhythm. He is also actively involved in other key organizations such as Mended Little Hearts and the Pediatric and Congenital Electrophysiology Society (PACES).

He has more than 300 publications and is an invited speaker nationally and internationally in the areas of pediatric cardiac electrophysiology and miniaturized device development.

Deepika Darbari

Deepika Darbari, M.D., receives the 2021 ASH Award for leadership in promoting diversity

Deepika Darbari

Deepika Darbari, M.D., hematologist at Children’s National Hospital, is being honored by the American Society of Hematology (ASH) for her significant contributions to the mentorship and training of underrepresented minority researchers and for advancing the care for underrepresented patient populations, primarily individuals living with sickle cell disease (SCD). Dr. Darbari started studying and treating SCD at Howard University, where she also saw firsthand the many disparity issues surrounding the condition, such as inadequate funding, limited treatment options and biases and stigma. She also learned about barriers to career development that minority students faced. She worked to address those issues through her mentorship.

Dr. Darbari has mentored many medical students, residents and fellows whose research projects focused on improving care for individuals living with SCD. She has also fostered the careers of junior investigators of underrepresented minorities as well as served as a member of the ASH Minority Medical Student Award Program, the ASH Committee on Promoting Diversity and the ASH Women in Hematology working group, all in her continued efforts to increase diversity, equity and inclusion at ASH and in the health care community at large.

Dorothy Bulas

Dorothy Bulas, M.D., receives the Society for Pediatric Radiology’s highest honor

Dorothy Bulas

Dorothy Bulas, M.D. F.A.C.R., F.A.I.U.M., F.S.R.U., chief of diagnostic imaging and radiology in the Division of Diagnostic Imaging and Radiology at Children’s National Health System, is being recognized at the 2018 Society for Pediatric Radiology Annual Meeting with their most distinguished honor, the Gold Medal.

The Society of Pediatric Radiology (SPR) Gold Medal is awarded to pediatric radiologists who have contributed greatly to the SPR and their subspecialty of pediatric radiology as a scientist, teacher, personal mentor and leader.

Initially, Dr. Bulas completed her residency in pediatrics. During a pediatric radiology rotation at John Hopkins University, she realized how much she loved problem solving and using emerging imaging modalities and went on to complete her radiology residency at Albert Einstein Hospital. Soon after, Dr. Bulas moved to Washington, D.C. to complete a pediatric radiology fellowship at her professional home, Children’s National.

Since the completion of her fellowship, Dr. Bulas views her role in the advancement of fetal imaging as her most significant professional contribution. She has published 131 papers, one of her most recent as a co-author on “Neuroimaging findings in normocephalic infants with Zika virus” in Pediatric Neurology. Dr. Bulas is also a co-author of the textbook entitled Fundamental and Advanced Fetal Imaging and has authored 35 book chapters.

She has served as program director of the Radiology Fellowship Program at Children’s National since 2005 where she has impacted medical students, residents and fellows from the United States and abroad.

As a previous chair member for numerous organizations, Dr. Bulas currently co-chairs the American College of Radiology’s pediatric radiology education committee. She is a founding member of the Image Gently Alliance, where she chaired the outreach campaign to parents and wrote brochures, web material and articles. Dr. Bulas is also a founder of the World Federation of Pediatric Imaging.

Dr. Bulas was honored as an outstanding teacher with the Edward Singleton-Hooshang Taybi Award for Excellence in Education from the SPR and this past fall and as the Outstanding Educator in 2017 by the Radiological Society of North America.

Jennifer Porter

Jennifer L. Porter receives the 2018 National Minority Quality Forum 40 under 40 Award for Leaders in Minority Health

Jennifer Porter

Jennifer L. Porter, MPH, MCHES, 2018 NMQF 40 Under 40 Award Winner.

Jennifer L. Porter, government affairs specialist in the Child Health Advocacy Institute, has been selected as one of the 2018 National Minority Quality Forum 40 leaders under 40 in minority health for her achievements in advocacy and research on behalf of Children’s National Health System. The 2018 National Minority Quality Forum Leadership Summit on Health Disparities and Spring Health Braintrust will be held in Washington, D.C on April 16-17, 2018.

After receiving hundreds of applications from health care professionals across the country, 40 individuals were chosen to represent the next generation of thought leaders working to reduce health disparities and decrease health inequality for minority communities.

This award acknowledges Jennifer’s approach to bringing fresh ideas to help those suffering from poor access to quality health care and focuses on a wide range of adolescent sexual issues including: economic influences of medical adherence for HIV positive adolescents, structural barriers, HIV prevention for youth and pregnancy prevention outcomes.

Throughout her career, Mrs. Porter has been a tireless health advocate and has held a number of volunteer leadership positions in local, regional and national community service organizations. She currently serves as a commissioner for the District of Columbia Commission for Women; the National Health Policy Conference Advisory Committee and serves on the National Policy Advisory Group for Girls, Inc.

“When it comes down to advocacy, this award validates the importance of these types of roles where you never see the work behind the scenes,” says Porter. “Whether it’s research or advocacy, my mission is to make a positive impact on the changing health care landscape and to tell these people’s story with dignity and context.”

Along with U.S. Rep. John Lewis, Rep. Maxine Waters and Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier, Porter will accept her award during the leadership summit on April 16-17, 2018 in Washington, D.C. Congratulations again Jennifer for receiving this award!

The 38th Annual Telly Awards recognizes a Children’s National documentary

Shireen Atabaki

“I was very excited that our documentary was able to receive such an honor. We were able to successfully train 100% of D.C. Public School nurses, which makes all the difference when recognizing concussions in students and athletes,” says Shireen Atabaki, M.D., M.P.H.

The “Play Smart, Your Brain Matters” documentary was recently recognized at the 38th Annual Telly Awards, which honors excellence in video and television across all screens. In light of the Athletic Concussion Protection Act of 2011, the documentary was created as a training tool for the Concussion Care and Evaluation Training Program, funded by the D.C. Department of Health and hosted by Children’s National Health System and MedStar Sports Medicine.

According to the Athletic Concussion Protection Act of 2011, athletic, school and medical personnel are required to receive the proper preparation and training in concussion recognition and response. All athletes suspected of sustaining a concussion are to be removed from practice or play and only allowed to return to sport participation after a written clearance is given by a licensed healthcare provider who is experienced in the evaluation and management of concussions.

Emergency Medicine Specialist, Shireen  Atabaki, M.D., M.P.H., and expert in concussion and knowledge translations says, “I was very excited that our documentary was able to receive such an honor. We were able to successfully train 100% of D.C. Public School nurses, which makes all the difference when recognizing concussions in students and athletes.

NICU Nurse Manager receives the 2017 Richard Hader Visionary Leader Award

Maureen Maurano accepts the 2017 Richard Hader Visionary Leader Award at the Nursing Management Congress 2017.

Maureen Maurano accepts the 2017 Richard Hader Visionary Leader Award at the Nursing Management Congress 2017.

Maureen Maurano, NICU Nurse Manager at Children’s National Health System, was honored as the winner of the 2017 Richard Hader Visionary Leader Award at the Nursing Management Congress 2017 held October 2-6, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The annual award recognizes excellence in nursing leadership and awards a nurse leader who views nursing as both an art and a science by promoting caring and competence as the link between science and humanity.

The winner of the award is nominated by a colleague and is entered into the competition after the Nursing Management journal’s editorial board has received a 2,000 word manuscript detailing the nominee’s accomplishment in the planning, development, implementation and evaluation of a sustainable change in the work environment or clinical practice that has resulted in a positive outcome. The editorial board selects the winner based on the manuscript’s readability, originality, and evidence of credibility. The winning manuscript will be featured in the January 2018 issue of Nursing Management.

“I am truly honored to have accepted this Visionary Leadership Award, however, this could not have been achieved without our amazing leadership and nursing team,” says  Maurano. “It is truly a team effort that empowers our success on a daily basis in providing the most innovative and world-class care for our patients at Children’s.”

Vice President of Nursing and Chief Nursing Officer, Linda Talley says, “Maureen is an outstanding nurse leader who exemplifies our core values – commitment, compassion and connection – through her engagement of others, creating a positive work environment and driving change that has a positive influence on the professional practice of nursing.  We are very proud of her and the recognition she has so deservedly earned.”

With a crowd of over 2,000 medical professionals, Maurano accepted her award as a leader of excellence representing the U.S. News and World Report #1 NICU for babies. Congratulations again Maureen for receiving this great honor!

Mary Ottolini receives COMSEP Achievement Award

Mary Ottolini

Mary Ottolini, M.D., M.P.H., M.Ed., vice chair of medical education at Children’s National Health System and professor of pediatrics at The George Washington University, recently received the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP) Achievement Award during the group’s annual meeting in Portland, Oregon. This prestigious award is given to a current or former COMSEP member who has made major contributions to the organization and its members.

Since joining the organization in 2000, Dr. Ottolini has become a leader in the COMSEP Education Technology task force, a mentor to medical students, a teacher in clinical settings and an education innovator. Currently, Dr. Ottolini’s work with COMSEP is focused on overturning a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services regulation that bars medical students from documenting in the medical record, which interferes with their progress to becoming physicians. She continues to uphold the educational mission of Children’s National in caring for children by training the pediatric experts of tomorrow.

Denice Cora-Bramble among the Washington Business Journal Women Who Mean Business

Denice Cora-Bramble, M.D., M.B.A., Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of Ambulatory and Community Health Services at Children’s National Health System, was named to the 2016 list of Women Who Mean Business by the Washington Business Journal. Dr. Cora-Bramble was among a select group of Washington, DC, metropolitan area women who were honored Oct. 13 for having made a significant impact on their community, using their leadership skills and professional accomplishments to break down barriers.

At Children’s National, Dr. Cora-Bramble oversees all regional ambulatory clinical operations including seven pediatric subspecialty regional outpatient centers, two emergency departments, six general pediatrics health centers, 12 pediatric practices, three mobile medical units, as well as nursing services in DC Public Schools and Public Charter Schools. She also has direct responsibility for the Children’s Health Network, which includes more than 1,400 providers in the mid-Atlantic region.

“I am honored to work along-side Dr. Cora-Bramble on a daily basis, and it comes as no surprise to me that she’s being recognized as one of the Washington Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business. As one of our two Chief Medical Officers, Dr. Cora-Bramble is a crucial component of this organization, and I am so proud to see her honored for her leadership and commitment to our patients,” said Kurt Newman, M.D., President and CEO of Children’s National.

Dr. Cora-Bramble has worked at Children’s National for 14 years in various roles, including overseeing the Diana L and Steven A. Goldberg Center for Community Pediatric Health before she took on the role of Chief Medical Officer of Ambulatory and Community Health Services in 2013. She is a Professor of Pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences and a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatrics.

Dr. Cora-Bramble completed her medical and pediatric residency training at Howard University and a Master in Business Administration with a concentration in Medical Services Management from Johns Hopkins University. She has held several leadership positions at the George Washington University Medical Center and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.