Editorial introductions

Current Opinion in Pediatrics was launched in 1989. It is one of a successful series of review journals whose unique format is designed to provide a systematic and critical assessment of the literature as presented in the many primary journals. The fields of pediatrics are divided into 18 sections that are reviewed once a year. Each section is assigned a Section Editor, a leading authority in the area, who identifies the most important topics at that time. Here we are pleased to introduce the Journal's Section Editors for this issue. SECTION EDITORS Elijah PaintsilElijah PaintsilDr Paintsil is the Joel & Barbara Alpert Professor of Pediatrics and Chair, and Professor of Pharmacology, Physiology and Biophysics at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and Chief of Pediatrics at Boston Medical Center, Boston, USA. He was the chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases & Global Health from 2019 to 2023. He is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Society for Pediatric Research, Academic Pediatric Society, the Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs (AMSPDC), Board Member of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, a consultant to Africa CDC. He graduated from the University of Ghana Medical School, Ghana in 1992 and worked as a medical officer at a district hospital in Ghana and later became the District Director of Health Services. He did his pediatric residency training (1999–2002) at Lincoln Hospital in New York City, USA and fellowship training (2002–2005) in pediatric infectious disease at Yale University, USA. He received an NIH K08 award from 2008 to 2013 and transitioned to R-level grants. In 2006, Dr Paintsil established a bi-directional research and training initiative with the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research at the University of Ghana (Ghana-Yale Partnership for Global Health). Based on the success of the Yale-Ghana collaboration, the program was expanded in 2009 to include additional partner institutions, the University of Sao Paolo, Brazil and King Saud University, Saudi Arabia and, in 2014, the University of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica. He is the PI of a D43 grant and an R01. The Paintsil Lab is interested in the effect of antiretroviral therapy on mitochondrial function and HIV-comorbidities, and pediatric HIV outcomes in resource-limited setting. Thomas HoovenThomas HoovenThomas Hooven, MD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Newborn Medicine at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, USA. This is his fifth year as a Current Opinion in Pediatrics section editor. He is a graduate of University of Michigan Medical School, USA, and completed his general pediatrics residency and neonatology training at the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of Columbia/New York-Presbyterian, USA. A former fellow in the Pediatric Scientist Development Program, Dr Hooven's research interests centre on maternofetal and neonatal bacterial infections, with an emphasis on genomic and bioinformatics approaches to understanding pathogenesis. He has also published widely on diagnostic and treatment strategies for new-born bacterial infections. He is a member of the Society for Pediatric Research and has NIH funding for ongoing studies of group B Streptococcus colonization and infection. Amélie CollinsAmélie CollinsAmélie Collins, MD PhD, is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, USA. She is a graduate of the University of Chicago, USA obtained her MD and PhD degrees from New York University School of Medicine, USA and completed her General Pediatrics Residency and Neonatology-Perinatology Fellowship under the ABP's Accelerated Research Track at Columbia University/New York Presbyterian Hospital, USA. Her research interests include developmental immunology and hematopoiesis, focusing on hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells in the fetus and neonate and their capacity to generate myeloid lineage cells, especially neutrophils, in response to inflammation and infection. She is the primary investigator of an NIH-funded laboratory that uses mouse models and human patient samples to investigate the susceptibility of neonates to infection, and cares for sick newborns in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Henry H BernsteinHenry H BernsteinDr Bernstein is a Professor of Pediatrics at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell in New York, USA. He taps into his extensive 40–year experience as a general pediatrician in private practice, the National Health Service Corps, and as Chief of General Academic Pediatrics at urban, suburban, and rural children's hospitals to promote the health and well-being of children, their families, and their communities. His private, community-based primary care (generalist) experiences in combination with academic leadership responsibilities have provided him with a value-added, translational science perspective, unique from many others in academia. This tacit knowledge enables him to fulfil a lifelong passion of communicating, educating, and translating science into clinical settings, educational venues, policymaking, and media interactions to advance the health of children. Research is consistently woven into the fabric of Dr Bernstein's clinical practice, which has served as a “laboratory” for his active studies. His research and quality improvement initiatives focus on issues important to Academic General Pediatrics and community-based practice, including immunizations, infectious diseases, postpartum newborn discharge, childhood obesity, breastfeeding, health promotion, preventive health screening in primary care, technology and medical education. His commitment, innovative spirit, and enthusiasm also encompass many facets of medical education along the continuum from training and mentoring future physicians to fostering lifelong learning and supporting the continuous professional development of practicing pediatricians. Dr Bernstein is a voting member of the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) and a former voting member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice (ACIP). He serves as a consultant on the ACIP COVID-19, Influenza, and the Combined Adult and Pediatric Immunization Schedules workgroups. He also is an ex-officio member of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) Committee on Infectious Diseases (Red Book Committee) and was Associate Editor of the AAP's Red Book Online for 13 years. In addition, he is Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of PediaLink, the AAP's online home for lifelong learning, and past Chair of the interdisciplinary Bright Futures Health Promotion Workgroup, which created a distinctive health promotion curriculum, videos, and a companion educational website (www.pediatricsinpractice.org). Dr Bernstein has been Editor of the Office Pediatrics Series in Current Opinion in Pediatrics since 1995 and was Senior Editor of Pediatrics on the public website of Harvard Medical School's Health Publications Division for 17 years. He regularly shares his knowledge and expertise by educating the public, writing for health information websites and often participating in media interviews on a variety of pediatric health care issues including immunizations, diagnosis and treatment of common childhood infectious diseases and conditions, and practical information for parents, teachers and caregivers. In the spirit of lifelong learning, Dr Bernstein earned a Masters in Healthcare Management (MHCM) at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, USA in 2013 and has been a faculty member in this Executive Education Masters degree program since. He actively maintains his certification by the American Board of Pediatrics. He completed his residency training in Pediatrics at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, USA after earning his medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - School of Osteopathic Medicine, USA. Hank and his wife, Sophie, have been married for 44 years, are extremely proud of their 40-year-old daughter, Lauren, and 34-year-old son, David, and are “over the moon” with their 2 granddaughters, Eva and Vienne, and their grandson Nico.