Dr. Baum Completes Pediatric Endocrine Fellowship

Dr. Kyle Baum

We are extremely proud of Dr. Kyle Baum. For the past 3 years, Dr. Baum has been a pediatric endocrinology fellow in our program. Today he finishes this training and will officially become a “board eligible” pediatric endocrinologist. During these past three years, Dr. Baum has been an exemplary fellow, delivering excellent clinical care and demonstrating exceptional clinical interpersonal skills and judgement. He has become known for his unique knock before entering a patient room and for fist bumping all his patients who participate in crafting their health care plan. His contributions include being an enthusiastic volunteer at Diabetes Camp Hertko Hollow. While a fellow, he has been an energetic scholar, creating two very different studies to examine how modern weight-loss medications, such as GLP1RAs, impact skeletal muscle health. One of these studies, involving a model system, is nearly complete – look for a future publication. The other study will occur as a future clinical research project. Dr. Baum will be taking an academic position as a Pediatric Endocrinology attending in the Sanford Health system. Congratulations Dr. Baum on completing fellowship!!!

Diabetes Camp Hertko Hollow 2026 – A Wonderful Summer Session

Dr. Palmer & Dr. Tansey

Diabetes Camps are a summer highlight for many kids who live with diabetes. Camp represents a chance to experience outdoor fun, make new friends who understand what it is like to have diabetes and learn more about diabetes self-care, all while under the watchful eye of diabetes-knowledgeable camp counselors and staff. Several of the staff in our Division help support Camp Hertko Hollow (click for link ), a diabetes camp in central Iowa with access to 400 acres of forest / outdoor recreation space. Dr. Palmer from our division serves to provide medical direction for the camp, and diabetes nurse Susan Huff has long volunteered to support the camp. This year’s camp occurred June 21-27. The Camp website (link above) also has details about Mini Camp and Family Camp opportunities, as well as next summer’s Camp and financial assistance. Sponsorship, donation, and volunteer opportunities also exist. We are grateful for the doctors and nurses from our Division who have volunteered their time in camp last week: Dr. Palmer, Dr. Tansey, Dr. Castaño, Dr. Baum, Dr. Radig, Dr. Gu, Alex LaCarte ARNP, Sue Huff RN, & Ashley Norris RN. Also, a special thanks to Drs. Ariel Roghair, Dr. Julie Lindower, and Kelly Hoenig PharmD from outside our division for helping out. Some of the physician and nurse volunteers from last week are pictured below.

Camp Hertko Hollow – Summer 2026 – some of the Medical Staff Volunteers

Pediatric Endocrine Fellows Present their Research at International Meeting

In early June, the American Diabetes Association held its annual international scientific meeting. Over 12,000 diabetes researchers and physicians from around the globe gather to discuss the newest and most important developments in diabetes research. Our two senior fellows had their work selected to be presented at the meeting. We are proud that they were selected for this honor. Also, several faculty from our division contributed to presentations at the meeting including Drs. Larson Ode, Norris, Pinnaro and Tansey. The fellow research presentations were as follows:

  • Dr. Power: “Age at Type 1 Diabetes Diagnosis Is an Independent Risk Factor from HLA for Development of Type 1 Diabetes in First-Degree Relatives” (abstract doi link)
  • Dr. Baum: “Retatrutide Enhances Weight Loss in Female Mice and Preserves Muscle Mass, Strength, and Mitochondrial Efficiency” (abstract doi link)

Our Division’s Scholarship Well Represented at National Pediatric Endocrine Society Meeting

Each year, pediatric endocrinologists from around the world attend the “PES Annual Meeting”, hosted by the Pediatric Endocrine Society (PES). This year’s PES meeting was held April 30 – May 3. Several Division members were selected to present their research and/or to share their clinical expertise.

Dr. Baum: Presented a poster on his research into how potent obesity medications impact skeletal muscle health.

Dr. Power: Gave a lecture regarding his research examining how the age at which type 1 diabetes develops might run in families.

Dr. Kanner: Gave a symposium talk on primary ovarian insufficiency in adolescents.

Congratulations to all for helping advance the field of Pediatric Endocrinology.

Photos of division members at the meeting can be found in the pictures section here.

Best Senior Fellow Abstracts!

Dr. Baum and Dr. Power both submitted abstracts of their research to the Pediatric Research Day 2026 event. Both had their work chosen as “Best Senior Fellow Abstracts” and were invited to give research talks at the event, held on April 10. Congrats to both!

Dr. Baum at the podium!
Dr. Power at the podium!

Pediatric Research Day 2025

The 2025 Pediatric Research Day was held on the afternoon of April 11th, highlighting eight speakers, a “data blitz”, and a poster session. Our Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes was well represented. Two of our fellows had their abstracts selected for one of four speaker slots. Additionally, our faculty contributed to several poster abstracts. The fellow talks were as follows: Dr. Kyle Baum: “Impact of the incretin, retatrutide, on weight loss, lean body mass, and muscle physiology in mice”. Dr. Benjamin Palmer: “Assessing Sports Participation and Associated Barriers in Youth with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus”

Senior Fellow Dr. Palmer speaking at Research Day.
Fellow Dr. Baum speaking at Research Day.

Dr. Baum, Endocrinology Fellow, Receives National Rising Star Award

Dr. Kyle Baum

The Pediatric Endocrine Society is dedicated to advancing the treatment of children and adolescents with endocrine disorders. Part of its mission is to identify and support talented young physicians who show acumen for biomedical research. For this purpose, the Pediatric Endocrine Society has created a competitive “Rising Star Award”, which provides funds to support research being conducted by pediatric endocrine fellows. We are pleased to announce that our own 2nd year pediatric endocrine fellow, Dr. Kyle Baum, has been announced as the recipient of one of these competitive awards. The funded project is entitled “Role of FoxOs in muscle strength and mitochondrial function in response to GLP-1RA weight loss“. Congratulations Dr. Baum on this recognition and support.

Announcing New Pediatric Endocrine Fellow: Dr. Baum

Dr. Kyle Baum

Today we are thrilled to announce that Dr. Kyle Baum has joined our division as a new pediatric endocrine fellow. He will serve three years in this role, after which he will be a full fledged board eligible pediatric endocrinologist. Dr. Baum received his Osteopathic Doctorate degree from Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine having completed undergraduate studies at Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas. He just completed a three-year pediatric residency at the Sanford School of Medicine, University of South Dakota. While a resident he demonstrated an outstanding aptitude for and interest in pediatric endocrinology. In his spare time, he volunteered at Camp Gilbert for children with diabetes. His scholarly work was recently recognized by the Pediatric Endocrine Society, who awarded his abstract with a prestigious Presidential Poster that was presented in May at their national meeting. A warm welcome to Dr. Baum!!

Iowa Well Represented at National Pediatric Endocrine Society Meeting

The Pediatric Endocrine Society (PES) is a professional organization of over 1,600 endocrinologists with the purpose of advancing treatment of youth with endocrine disorders. The PES held its annual meeting May 5-8 in San Diego. Several of our division faculty attended the meeting. Dr. Pesce presented at one of the symposium session on Endocrinology in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Dr. Parra Villasmil presenter her research, conducted under the mentorship of Dr. Pinnaro, on Screening for Turner Syndrome-associated Hyperglycemia. Dr. Parra Villasmil’s work was selected as one of the top-ranking abstracts, receiving a PES Presidential Poster award. In addition, our future fellow, Dr. Kyle Baum, currently a pediatric resident at Sanford School of Medicine, also had an abstract selected for a PES Presidential Poster award.

Dr. Pesce presenting at PES 2023
Dr. Parra Villasmil at PES 2023