Pediatrics also spelled paediatrics, is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth until the age of 18. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends people seek pediatric care through the age of 21, but some pediatric subspecialists continue to care for adults up to 25. Worldwide age limits of pediatrics have been trending upward year after year. A medical doctor who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician, or paediatrician. The word pediatrics and its cognates mean "healer of children", derived from the two Greek words: παῖς and ἰατρός. Pediatricians work in clinics, research centers, universities, general hospitals and children's hospitals, including those who practice pediatric subspecialties.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is the largest professional association of pediatricians in the United States. It is headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, and maintains an office in Washington, D.C. The AAP has published hundreds of policy statements, ranging from advocacy issues to practice recommendations.
Ralph David Feigin was an American pediatrician whose influential book Textbook of Pediatric Infectious Diseases was in its sixth printing at the time of his death.
The John Howland Award is the highest honor bestowed by the American Pediatric Society (APS). Named in honor of John Howland (1873–1926), the award, with its accompanying medal, is presented annually by the American Pediatric Society for "distinguished service to pediatrics as a whole."
Susan Swedo is a researcher in the field of pediatrics and neuropsychiatry. Beginning in 1998, she was Chief of the Pediatrics & Developmental Neuroscience Branch at the US National Institute of Mental Health. In 1994, Swedo was lead author on a paper describing pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAS), a controversial hypothesis proposing a link between Group A streptococcal infection in children and some rapid-onset cases of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or tic disorders such as Tourette syndrome. Swedo retired from the NIH in 2019, and serves on the PANDAS Physician Network.
Catherine D. DeAngelis is the first woman and the first pediatrician to become editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). She has also edited several additional medical journals. Before assuming the editor's position at JAMA in 2000, DeAngelis was a professor and Vice Dean of Faculty at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She is the 2015 recipient of the John Howland Award, the most prestigious award given by the American Pediatric Society (APS).
Waldo E. "Bill" Nelson was an American pediatrician who was sometimes referred to as "the father of pediatrics". Nelson authored the leading pediatric textbook and was a longtime editor of The Journal of Pediatrics. He led the pediatrics department at Temple University School of Medicine.
Loretta C. Ford is an American nurse and the co-founder of the first nurse practitioner program. Along with pediatrician Henry Silver, Ford started the pediatric nurse practitioner program at the University of Colorado in 1965. In 1972, Ford joined the University of Rochester as founding dean of the nursing school.
Frank DeStefano FACPM is a medical epidemiologist and researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where he is director of the Immunization Safety Office.
Michael Weitzman is an American pediatrician specializing in public health and policy. He is known for his research focusing on the social and environmental determinants of child health. He has published over 150 articles in medical and scientific journals on the damaging effects of second-hand smoke, lead exposure, and countless other determinants of children's health and behavior. From 1999-2005 he served as the executive director of the Center for Child Health Research, a national research institute created by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Renee Rosalind Jenkins is an American pediatrician known for her work in adolescent medicine. She is the first African-American president of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Society of Adolescent Medicine.
Barbara J. Stoll is an American pediatrician and professor. She is the H. Wayne Hightower Distinguished Professor in the Medical Sciences, Professor of Pediatrics and former Dean at McGovern Medical School.
Samuel Zachary Levine was an American pediatrician who was a professor of pediatrics at Cornell University Medical College. His research focused on neonatology, particularly physiology of premature infants. He served as president of both th Society for Pediatric Research and served the American Pediatric Society.
Rhea W. Boyd is an American pediatrician and child and community health advocate. Boyd is a popular science communicator, making use of social media to amplify a diverse range of voices in an effort to improve the heath of communities of colour.
Eliana Perrin is an American pediatrician, researcher, and Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Primary Care with joint appointments with tenure in the Department of Pediatrics in the School of Medicine and in the School of Nursing at Johns Hopkins University. She was elected a member of the American Pediatric Society in 2021.
Adele Hofmann was an American pediatrician. She was a leader in the field of adolescent medicine, co-authoring the field’s authoritative textbook and co-founding two of its leading professional organizations.
Catherine Mason Gordon is an American pediatrician who is clinical director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health.
Jerold Francis Lucey was an American pediatrician and journal editor. He specialized in the field of neonatology, and introduced several therapies to mainstream use in the United States, including phototherapy for neonatal jaundice, transcutaneous oxygen monitoring, and pulmonary surfactant use.
Daniel Cody Darrow was an American pediatrician and clinical biochemist whose research focused on fluid and electrolyte balance in the human body. He pioneered the routine use of intravenous potassium in patients after surgery, and in children with diarrhea.
Clifford Grosselle Grulee was an American pediatrician and a founding member of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
