Children’s Hospital Chief to Lead International Research Conference
Patrick Brophy, M.D., the William H. Eilinger Professor and Chair of Pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and the physician-in-chief at UR Medicine’s Golisano Children’s Hospital, has been named Program Committee Chair for the 2020 and the 2021 Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) Meeting, the preeminent pediatric research conference in North America.
The meeting is a partnership between four pediatric organizations — the American Pediatric Society, the Society for Pediatric Research, the Academic Pediatric Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics — and draws several thousand pediatricians from across the continent each year.
As Program Committee Chair, Brophy will coordinate efforts from all four organizations to showcase basic, translational, and clinical research, and to maximize the conference’s impact and educational offerings. His appointment begins in June, and he will spend the first year shadowing the 2019 Program Committee Chair, Thomas P. Shanley, M.D., before stepping in to the lead for the subsequent two meetings.
“Dr. Brophy was chosen for this very important position from a list of a dozen excellent applicants,” said Steven Selbst, M.D., PAS Executive Committee Chair. “He was chosen because of his strong leadership skills – including his recent appointment as a Department Chair – and committed involvement with PAS for many years.”
Brophy also hopes to use the role to bring more attention to child health research and related public health issues, and to advocate for increased funding in the field.
“This meeting gives you a pretty significant pulpit from which to bring forth some of these issues, and allows you to engage leaders across enterprises,” said Brophy. “It’s an opportunity to really be a voice for child health research and advocacy.”
The 8th Chair of the Department of Pediatrics, Brophy joined URMC earlier this year. A board-certified pediatric nephrologist, he is President of the American Society of Pediatric Nephrology, where he also previously served as Program Committee Chair for the society’s annual meeting. Before coming to Rochester, he served as division director of pediatric nephrology at the University of Iowa.
Brophy said he was looking forward to working closely with colleague Kate Ackerman, M.D., Senior Vice Chair of Innovation & Integration and Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Critical Care, who serves on the PAS Operating Committee.