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Patient Choice Award Recipients – 2025

We are pleased to report that 5 of the pediatric endocrinology providers in our division have received Patient Choice Awards. These awards are given out by UI Health Care to recognize physicians for consistently providing patients with an excellent healthcare experience with ratings in the top 10% nationally. The recipient physicians were:

Dr. Pesce honored for 5 years of Patient Choice Awards. Here she is joined by her husband who also received a Patient Choice award.
  • Vanessa Curtis, MD
  • Katie Larson Ode, MD
  • Liuska Pesce, MD
  • Akhila Ramakrishna, MD
  • Julie Osterhaus, ARNP

Dr. Pesce was furthermore recognized for having received the award for 5 consecutive years.

The Choice Award was earned by only 276 outpatient providers across the entire institution. The Award recognizes those who scored in the top 10% nationally in response to patient surveys asking whether the physician showed concern for patient questions or worries, gave explanations about problem or condition, made efforts to include the patient in care decisions, discussed proposed treatments (options, risks, benefits, etc), and whether they would be likely to recommend the care provider to others. Our division is fortunate to have these Award winning physicians on our team. We thank each of them for their wonderful work.

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Balancing Confidentiality and Care: Dr. Kanner Helps Shape Guidelines

Dr. Kanner

We are proud to share that Dr. Kanner has helped author an important new publication in the Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (December 2025 issue). The manuscript, titled “NASPAG Clinical Consensus on Adolescent Pregnancy Testing: Balancing Confidentiality, Consent, and Disclosure” addresses a critical aspect of adolescent reproductive health care.

This consensus document, developed by members of the North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (NASPAG), provides clinicians with a framework for counseling adolescent patients who present with a positive pregnancy test. It explores the legal, ethical, and clinical considerations involved in guiding patients through the testing process, including strategies for ordering tests, disclosing results, and managing care when a pregnancy is confirmed. The review emphasizes the importance of individualized, patient-centered approaches, mindful of varying clinical, institutional, and legal scenarios. The abstract for this publication is available on PubMed at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41371579/. This work represents a significant contribution to the important ongoing dialogues about adolescent health care. We thank Dr. Kanner for her efforts relating to this challenging topic.

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Drs. Castano & Palmer Pass Boards!

Dr. Palmer
Dr. Castaño

It takes years of training to become a pediatric endocrinologist, requiring at least a decade of studies after college. You could consider this to be the equivalent of completing the “26th grade”. The final step is to pass the Pediatric Endocrinology board exam. We are pleased to report that the two newest doctors in our Division have just passed their Board Exam. Congratulations to Dr. Castano and Dr. Palmer for becoming Board Certified Pediatric Endocrinologists. Their years of hard work and study have enabled them to become fully qualified to diagnose and treat pediatric endocrine conditions.

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Lifestyle Counseling for Adolescents by Physicians

Dr. Kanner

Lifestyle interventions can be a very powerful means to impact adolescent obesity. However lifestyle counseling of adolescence is notoriously difficult. Physicians are often poorly trained to meet this challenge. These discussions are fraught with some risk that insensitive approaches might trigger disordered eating and/or disturbed body image. To help physicians address these challenges, Dr. Lauren Kanner from our division is part of a team delivering a lecture entitled “Neither Feast nor Famine: Weight-Inclusive Approaches to Counseling Youth with Higher BMIs”. This lecture aims to provide physicians with strategies to effectively counsel adolescents to enact positive lifestyle changes. The lecture will be delivered by Dr. Kanner in conjunction with Dr. Maya Kumar from Rady Children’s Hospital. The lecture is co-sponsored by Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine (SAHM) and the North American Society for Pediatric & Adolescent Gynecology (NASPAG). The webinar will occur on October 8, 2025. See this link to sign up to view the webinar.

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Grand Rounds: Medical and Psychological Care for DSD

Dr. Akhila Ramakrishna

On September 19th, Dr. Ramakrishna from our division co-presented Pediatric Grand Rounds along with pediatric psychologist Dr. Laura Fuller. Their talk, entitled “Treating Patients with Differences of Sexual Development: The Intersection of Medicine and Psychology”, explored the complexities of the medical and psychological healthcare of Differences of Sexual Development (DSD).

DSDs encompass a group of conditions in which the typical processes of sexual development—anatomical, hormonal, functional, and reproductive—do not follow the usual male or female patterns. These variations may be apparent at birth or even prenatally, though some forms may not be diagnosed until adolescence or adulthood.

The primary goal of pediatric DSD care is to support the physical and emotional well-being of affected individuals during youth. During their presentation, Drs. Ramakrishna and Fuller provided an overview of the various types of DSDs and illustrated the unique medical and psychosocial needs of patients through case examples. They emphasized the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to care.

Drs. Ramakrishna and Fuller lead a multidisplinary DSD clinic that includes pediatric endocrinologists, pediatric urologists, clinical geneticists, and pediatric radiologists, with support from reproductive endocrinology and clinical pharmacy services.

We extend our sincere thanks to Drs. Ramakrishna and Fuller for their insightful presentation and for their leadership in delivering expert, compassionate DSD care through their multidisciplinary team.

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Investiture: Celebration of Dr. Tansey’s appointment to the Gary D. Hughes Professorship in Pediatric Endocrinology

Dr. Tansey

In 2017, Gary D. Hughes established a philanthropic gift dedicated to finding a cure for type 1 diabetes and improving the lives of children with this disease. The gift has established the Gary D. Hughes Professorship in Pediatric Endocrinology, which is held by Michael Tansey, MD. Dr. Tansey is an ideal recipient for the Professorship, as he has devoted his career to the advancement of type 1 diabetes care and treatment. Having published over 60 manuscripts, primarily focused on type 1 diabetes, Dr. Tansey has contributed to knowledge about continuous glucose monitors, insulin pumps, and emerging treatments that can forestall the onset of type 1 diabetes. Today, the University honored Dr. Tansey and Gary D. Hughes for this partnership that has and will continue to benefit children with diabetes.

Dr. Tansey honored as the Gary D. Hughes Professorship in Pediatric Endocrinology
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New Podcast: Endocrine Disorders in Infants and Young Children

Dr. Kanner

We’re pleased to share that Dr. Kanner from our division was recently featured in a YouTube podcast hosted by pediatrician and author Dr. Carole Keim. In their 40-minute conversation, Dr. Kanner provides expert insights into a range of endocrine conditions that can affect infants and young children.

The discussion begins with congenital hypothyroidism, a serious but treatable condition that can be identified through routine newborn screening. Dr. Kanner then explores disorders related to growth abnormalities, including both insufficient and excessive growth patterns.

The conversation also covers the various forms of pediatric diabetes, highlighting key symptoms that caregivers should watch for. The episode concludes with practical advice on promoting healthy nutrition and physical activity habits in children to support long-term endocrine health.

We invite you to watch this informative and accessible interview here: the podcast on YouTube.

Thank you, Dr. Kanner, for sharing your expertise and helping to raise awareness about these important pediatric health issues.

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Announcing New Faculty: Ben Palmer, MD

Dr. Palmer

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Benjamin Palmer is starting as a new pediatric endocrinologist in our division. He received his Medical Doctorate from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, completed pediatric residency at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, where he also just completed fellowship in pediatric endocrinology. He has published expertise in several aspects of diabetes care in youth. His ongoing clinical interests revolve around diabetes, including diabetes and sports/exercise, and the rapidly advancing field of diabetes technology. In clinic, his initial practice will include general pediatric endocrinology and diabetes, as well as outreach services in Cedar Rapids and Dubuque. Welcome Dr. Palmer!

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Supporting Medical Student Education

Dr. Eirene Alexandrou

We are excited to announce that Dr. Alexandrou has been selected to serve as Co-Director of the Flocks Learning Community at the University of Iowa’s Carver College of Medicine. Each medical student at the Carver College of Medicine is matched into one of four Learning Communities. These Learning Communities enhance the activities and learning environment of students, in part by providing a physical study space. In her role as Co-Director, Dr. Alexandrou will provide leadership for the students in the Flocks community. She will support their support educational, philanthropic, and social endeavors in a way that extends beyond the formal medical school curriculum. Furthermore, she will provide guidance to ease transition to the rigors of medical school and give career mentorship. This is a part-time activity and Dr. Alexandrou will continue her important role as a clinical doctor providing care to children and youth with hormonal and endocrine disorders. We envision that she will provide astute and caring guidance to the Flocks Learning Community.

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Sugar Surge: Rates of Pediatric Type 2 Diabetes More than Doubled During the Pandemic

Dr. Catherina Pinnaro

Early in the pandemic, pediatric endocrinologists began noticing a rise in new cases of diabetes among youth. To investigate this trend, a group of specialists formed a national consortium representing 23 pediatric centers across the country. Their findings revealed a significant increase in new diagnoses of type 2 diabetes during the pandemic, with cases more than doubling. This increase was observed across all sampled regions of the United States. In contrast, the rise in new-onset type 1 diabetes was less pronounced and did not reach statistical significance.

Encouragingly, the number of new type 2 diabetes cases appeared to return to baseline by the end of the pandemic’s second year.

While the study was not designed to determine the exact causes of the type 2 diabetes surge, the results suggest that the major contributing factors were transient in nature. These temporary factors may have included reduced physical activity, disrupted daily routines and eating habits, and increased psychosocial stress. Perhaps less likely to play a major role would be the physiological effects of the SARS-CoV2 virus itself.

The consortium has now published these findings in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. Dr. Pinnaro, from our division, was involved with the consortium’s creation, this research and the writing of the published manuscript. The abstract can be found on PubMed at this link.