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The Team |
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Dr. Gillian HotzDr. John W. KuluzDr. John Ragheb
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Consulting Services: Dr. Lawrence H. Iteld, Dr. Shahriar Shahzeidi, Dr. Juan E. Sola, Dr. Stephen Stricker, Dr. Ramzi T. Younis
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The PBI program has a dedicated team of professionals who work together to improve the quality of life for the children they treat. The team includes physicians, nurses, therapists, nurse practitioners, case managers, social workers, office and research staff. The three Co-Directors and Consulting Services are presented below:
Gillian Hotz, Ph.D.
Gillian is the Co-Director of the Pediatric Brain & SCI Program and Director of Neurotrauma Outcome Research for the Division of Trauma & Surgical Critical Care. She is an Associate Research Professor in the Daughtry Family Department of Surgery at the University of Miami School of Medicine in Miami, Florida.
Since Grade 4, Gillian has been interested in brain behavior. She completed her MSc in Communication Disorders at Boston University and then completed her PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience at Boston University School of Medicine.
As a research neuropsychologist, she has been conducting neurotrauma resarch at the University of Miami since 1992. Her major areas of interest have been traumatic brain injury and stroke. Her research has focused on early rehab intervention for both adults and children and their outcomes. She has co-authored the Brief Test of Head Injury (BTHI, 1990) and in the process of standardizing the Pediatric Test of Brain Injury (PTBI, 2002) both are neurocognitive assessment measures.
Gillian is also a member of a number of National and International Associations and is a committee member actively involved in dealing with Pediatric TBI issues with the Florida Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program. She has authored many journal articles, book chapters and given numerous presentations including; pediatric and adult neurotrauma and neurorehabilitation, outcomes of traumatic brain injury, and injury prevention in the areas of pediatric pedestrians and motorcycle accidents.
With her interest in early intervention, her most current research has been studying children with acute severe brain injury using Snoezelen Therapy. The purpose of the study is to evaluate behavioral changes by assessing the physiological changes of children recovering from severe brain injury before and after receiving Snoezelen therapy.
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John W. Kuluz, M.D.
Dr. John Kuluz, MD is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Kuluz is the Scientific Director of the Pediatric Critical Care Research Laboratory and Attending Physician in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and the Pediatric Rehabilitation Unit at Jackson Children's Hospital. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Mississippi School of Medicine. Dr. Kuluz trained in Pediatrics at Shands Hospital/University of Florida in Gainesville, and completed a Research Fellowship at the Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI) at UCSF and a Clinical Pediatric Critical Care Fellowship at Moffit-Long Hospital at University of California, San Francisco.
In the laboratory, Dr. Kuluz has focused primarily on the mechanisms of brain blood flow regulation and improving methods of cerebral resuscitation after acute injuries such as stroke, trauma, cardiac arrest and near-drowning. He recently completed a KO8 NIH award studying the mechanisms of fever after stroke and is currently trying to elucidate age-dependent differences in the mechanisms of stroke in a new animal model of stroke, which he developed de novo in Miami with several collaborators in the Department of Neurology and the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.
In the clinical setting, Dr. Kuluz has applied his findings in the laboratory to increase our knowledge and understanding of brain injury in infants and children in an effort to improve patient care and maximize functional outcome. He is currently engaged in a study in which his clinical research team is attempting to determine the beneficial effects of selectively cooling the acutely injured brain using a newly developed cooling helmet as well as other methods of controlling brain and body temperature. His motto is, "We take the kids nobody else wants," reflecting his and the University of Miami Pediatric Brain Injury Team's intense dedication and commitment to finding the key ingredients in the care of children with brain injury which will help them maximize their potential.
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John Ragheb, M.D.
Dr. John Ragheb is the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery in the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine and Director of Neurosurgery at Miami Children's Hospital. He is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University and the University of Michigan School of Medicine. Dr. Ragheb trained in neurosurgery at the University of Maryland and completed a fellowship in pediatric neurosurgery at New York University Medical Center. Dr. Ragheb is certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery and the American Board of Pediatric Neurological Surgery. He has a special interest in congenital anomalies of the central nervous system, neuroendoscopy and pediatric neuro-oncology.
Dr. Ragheb is one of the Co-Directors of the Pediatric Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program. He has also been involved in the violence prevention effort of the community and has been named as principal investigator at the Miami Site for a National Institutes of Health funded program on the use of hypothermia in the treatment of children with traumatic brain injury.
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Consulting Services |
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Lawrence H. Iteld, M.D.
Dr. Lawrence Iteld received his medical degree from the University of Michigan School of Medicine and then completed an integrated residency in Plastic Surgery at the University of Chicago Hospitals. He then undertook additional fellowship training in Oncologic and Microvascular Reconstruction at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he also held an appointment as Clinical Specialist. In 2005, Dr. Iteld joined the faculty of the Division of Plastic Surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine as Assistant Professor of Clinical Surgery.
Dr. Iteld has experience in a broad spectrum of techniques for reconstruction after cancer surgery, including newer free flap procedures such as perforator flaps. His clinical interests focus on reconstructive and aesthetic surgery of the female breast and facial aesthetics. Other areas of interest include reconstruction of head and neck cancer defects, complex reconstruction of the chest wall, and research in super microsurgery.
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Shahriar Shahzeidi, M.D.
Dr Shahriar Shahzeidi is an Assistant Professor in Clinical Pediatrics in the Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Pediatrics at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. Dr Shahzeidi is the Director of Pediatric Sleep Center at the Holtz Children Hospital. Dr Shahzeidi joined the University of Miami in 2004 and developed the Pediatric Sleep Disorders Program at the Holtz Children Hospital. He is a graduate of Howard Medical Center and completed his fellowship in Pediatric Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine at the Children National Medical Center and George Washington University in Washington DC. Dr Shahzeidi is the winner of the Roland and Waldean Nickens scientific research award from Howard University College of Medicine and also received an award for scientific and academic achievement from Children's National Medical Center. Dr Shahzeidi's interest is primarily in Pediatric Sleep disorders and in particular insomnia, which is caused by traumatic as well as a number of other types of brain injuries in children. Dr Shahzeidi is currently performing polysomnography and multi-modality video-monitoring of children with sleep disorders in a specially equipped area of Jackson Memorial/Holtz Children's Hospital in Miami to find the most effective treatment for distorted sleep architecture which happens commonly after brain injury.
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Juan E. Sola, M.D., FACS, FAAP
Dr. Juan E. Sola is an Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Division of Pediatric Surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He is an alumnus of both the undergraduate and medical school of the University of Miami. Dr. Sola obtained all of his surgical training at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, completing General Surgery, Pediatric Surgery fellowship, and a 2 year NIH sponsored Research fellowship in Pediatric Surgical Oncology. Dr. Sola is board certified in General Surgery and Pediatric Surgery by the American Board of Surgery. His clinical interests include pediatric trauma, ECMO, complex neonatal surgery, and minimally invasive surgery.
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Stephen Stricker, M.D.
Dr. Stephen Stricker has served as a pediatric orthopaedic faculty member at the University of Miami since 1986. He has an interest in Pediatric Rehabilitation and served as either Medical Director or Co-director of the Jackson Hospital Pediatric Rehabilitation Unit from 1990 until 2004. He is currently the Pediatric Orthopaedic Consultant to the Pediatric Rehabilitation Unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Dr. Stricker completed medical school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1981. His 5-year orthopaedic residency was then performed at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. He has published 30 papers in scientific journals. His interests include limb lengthening, scoliosis surgery, and lower extremity osteotomies. For children with brain and spinal cord injuries, Dr. Stricker performs Botox injections, brace and wheelchair prescriptions, and treatment of muscle contractures, joint subluxations, and spinal deformity. He leads Pediatric Rehabilitation Team Rounds at the patients' bedside every Friday.
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Ramzi T. Younis, M.D.
Dr. Ramzi T. Younis is currently the Chief of Pediatric Otolaryngology at the Department Otolaryngology University of Miami. He completed his residency training and M.D. from the American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon. Then he joined Le Boheur Children's Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, where he completed three years of Pediatric Otolaryngology fellowship training ending in June, 1992. Since then he has been actively involved in delivering care to pediatric patients with Ear, Nose, Throat and Airway problems. He has built a world known reputation for his Clinical and Research work in his sub specialist.
His primary accomplishment has been in Sinus Disease and Sinus Surgery, Airway reconstruction, Ear infections and management of Snoring and Sleep disorder in children. Dr. Younis has several published scientific articles and textbook chapters. He is the Editor of a unique book on Sinus Disease in Children. He has been a guest speaker and presenter at a variety of National and International meetings. He has received several awards and recognition from National and International societies. Before joining the University of Miami, Dr. Younis was the Chief of Pediatric Otolaryngology at Yale University and thereafter Interim Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Mississippi, Jackson, Mississippi.
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