Three clinicians from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) are held in such high regard by their peers that their respective sections of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) honored them with lifetime achievement awards in 2017.

Training generations of ED physicians

Kathy Shaw Kathy N. Shaw, MD, MSCE, FAAP, Department of Pediatrics’ Associate Chair for Quality and Patient Safety and former Chief of Emergency Medicine, received the Jim Seidel Distinguished Service Award from the AAP Section on Emergency Medicine.

Dr. Shaw has devoted much of her career to the education and academic development of trainees and faculty in pediatric emergency medicine and improving the quality of emergency care for children nationally. As the Department of Pediatrics’ Associate Chair for Quality and Patient Safety, she is a leader and mentor to many faculty and fellows across multiple specialties and areas of research.

In 2015, Dr. Shaw was named the 2015 ED Director of the Year by the American College of Emergency Physicians/Emergency Medicine Foundation for her interdisciplinary work to improve operational and clinical standards for evidence-based emergency care. As Chief of the Division of Emergency Medicine at Children's Hospital for 19 years, she mentored and built an academic faculty of 50 physicians/PhDs and 12 fellows.

In addition to her CHOP responsibilities, Dr. Shaw is the Co-director of the Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Safety, a master’s degree training program at the University of Pennsylvania; an associate editor for Annals of Emergency Medicine; and a senior epidemiologist for the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network. 

A champion for kids with autism

Susan Levy Susan E. Levy, MD, MPH, Director of the Regional Autism Center, received the Arnold J. Capute Award, given by the AAP Section on Children with Disabilities, to recognize her notable contributions to the health and well-being of children with disabilities through service and advocacy.

In her more than 30 years at CHOP, Dr. Levy has focused on improving the lives of children with developmental and behavioral disabilities.

In 1999, she launched the Hospital’s Autism Integrated Care Program, which evaluates more than 300 new patients for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) every year. Her research includes early identification of children with ASD, epidemiology of ASD, clinical shared decision-making, and complementary and alternative medical treatments of ASD.

She is also Chair of the Autism Subcommittee for the Council on Children with Disabilities of the AAP.

Helping children breathe easier

Julian Allen Julian Allen, MD, Chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine and Director of CHOP's Asthma Program, was awarded the 2017 Edwin L. Kendig, Jr. Award by the AAP Section on Pediatric Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine for his lifetime achievement in the field of pediatric pulmonology.

In addition to treating children with asthma, Dr. Allen sees patients in several specialty areas at CHOP: the Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia Center, the Cystic Fibrosis Center, the Children’s Interstitial and Diffuse Lung Disease Center, the Center for Pediatric Airway Disorders, the Technology Dependence Center, the Sleep Center and the Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center. Each child benefits from his expertise and dedication to family-centered care.

As a member of the Penn Center for Pulmonary Biology, Dr. Allen researches developmental respiratory system mechanics; lung function testing in children, adolescents and infants; developmental chest wall physiology; pulmonary complications of sickle cell disease; and complications of cystic fibrosis.


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