Get to know the individuals who make up PeDRA’s vibrant and diverse community. This series of video interviews is a fun and casual way to learn how our leaders, investigators, trainees, staff, and patient partners got where they are today. You’ll also learn some entertaining tidbits about who they are outside of work. Interviews range from 15 to 30 minutes long and are available as both embedded videos and audio podcasts so you can sit down and explore or download a few episodes for your next workout.
Season Two
Getting to Know PeDRA
April 21, 2022
This year marks PeDRA’s 10th anniversary. For 10 years, our vibrant community has been forging relationships and conducting meaningful research to prevent, treat, and cure childhood skin diseases. Together, we are advancing the field in ways that were nothing more than dreams 10 years ago. Take a look back at what we’ve accomplished and where we’re heading in the future with PeDRA’s Executive Director, Mike Siegel, PhD. Celebrate with us by sharing your favorite PeDRA memory right here.
Harper Price, MD
March 18, 2022
Dr. Harper Price is the Division Chief and Fellowship Director of Pediatric Dermatology at Phoenix Children’s Hospital as well as Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. Having been a member of PeDRA since nearly the beginning, she’s previously served on the Membership Committee and is currently serving on the Grants Committee and PeDRA’s Best Practices Task Force. Dr. Price is an avid photographer and loves animals. Watch to learn more about her great work.
Megha Tollefson, MD
February 16, 2022
Dr. Megha Tollefson is a Pediatric Dermatologist and Professor of Pediatrics and Dermatology at the Mayo Clinic. She has served on several PeDRA committees in the past and is currently serving as Member at Large on the Board of Directors. Dr. Tollefson, like so many others in the field, has always enjoyed taking care of children. Learn how that passion translated into a career in pediatric dermatology and learn about a little piece of advice she received from her Peloton coach.
Beth Drolet, MD
January 19, 2022
Dr. Beth Drolet is Chair of the Department of Dermatology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. She’s a founding member of PeDRA, completed a term as chair of PeDRA’s Nominating Committee in 2021, and is a current member of the Best Practices Task Force. Tune in for Dr. Drolet’s perspective on leaning into failure and be sure to watch until the very end as she shares her very special hidden talent (hint – it will make you want to dance!). Watch and learn more about Dr. Drolet’s incredible career in research.
Holly Neale, MD Candidate
December 29, 2021
Holly joined the PeDRA team in June of 2021 as the 2021 – 2022 PeDRA Fellow. Holly manages PeDRA’s four social media platforms, provides administrative support to the board of directors, and is the medical student liaison for PeDRA’s Early Investigator Committee. Holly is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Massachusetts and enjoys being a peer mentor to other medical students. When she’s not studying, supporting PeDRA, or mentoring medical students, she’s out and about seeking thrills. Listen to the very end for Holly’s most intense thrills to date.
Sheila Rittenberg
December 16, 2021
In this very special Getting to Know You, we look back on how it all began with PeDRA’s first executive director, Sheila Rittenberg. She was brought on in 2013 and for six years, Sheila and the board of directors carefully laid the foundation for the organization we are today. Now, as PeDRA nears its 10th birthday, Sheila shares her personal connection to childhood skin disease and her hopes for PeDRA’s future. She also shares how she’s been able to nurture her creative side in retirement by working to produce a documentary film.
Amy Stein, PhD
December 7, 2021
Dr. Stein is the new PeDRA Biostatistician. Hailing from Arizona, Amy stumbled into a career in statistics near the end of her senior year as an undergraduate. One of her professors offered her a stop in the statistics graduate program at Baylor and it was there that Amy found her calling. She supports PeDRA investigators with everything from designing a stats-friendly study to teasing out data at the end of a study, all with a hands-on, energetic approach. When Dr. Stein isn’t tackling the stats, she’s baking cookies for every season with her children, and reading any book she can get her hands on.
Leah Lalor, MD
November 18, 2021
Dr. Lalor is an Assistant Professor of Dermatology at the Medical College of Wisconsin and is a vice chair of PeDRA’s Acne and HS Focused Study Group. Even though she had decided on dermatology as her specialty, she said she’d never be a pediatric dermatologist. That is, until she went to University of Cincinnati for her residency and fell in love with the field. Learn more about her research and be sure to listen to the very end for a special announcement.
Season One
Lawrence Eichenfield, MD
July 16, 2021
Dr. Lawrence Eichenfield is a Professor of Dermatology and Pediatrics and Vice-Chair of Dermatology at the University of California, San Diego. He’s a founding member of PeDRA and one of PeDRA’s original Co-Presidents. Dr. Eichenfield is a leader in the field of inflammatory skin disease research and has led many PeDRA studies while mentoring colleagues and trainees on many more. Learn more about Dr. Eichenfield’s career and his passion for musical theater.
Jeff Sugarman, MD, PhD
May 25, 2021
Dr. Jeffrey Sugarman is a Professor of Dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco. He is a founding member of PeDRA and served on PeDRA’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee for many years. He’s also the immediate past president of the Society for Pediatric Dermatology. Learn more about Dr. Sugarman and his work in pediatric dermatology research.
Jenna Streicher, MD
May 18, 2021
Dr. Streicher is an Assistant Professor at Indiana University School of Medicine. She’s currently co-chairing PeDRA’s Birthmarks Focused Study Group. She became interested in pediatric dermatology while in medical school at Indiana University after completing a peds derm rotation with Dr. Anita Haggstrom. Her training took her to Georgia and Pennsylvania, and she’s come full circle back to Indiana to work alongside Dr. Haggstrom. Learn more about her work with the Birthmarks Focused Study Group and why she’s been reading so much by Julia Donaldson lately.
Milie Fang
April 26, 2021
Milie Fang is finishing her fourth year of medical school at Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Indiana and recently matched into the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) Dermatology Residency Program. Milie joined PeDRA in 2019 after attending her first PeDRA conference and presented at the 2020 virtual PeDRA Annual Conference. Learn more about Milie’s work and her multi-lingual skills!
Rony Francois, MD, PhD
April 6, 2021
Dr. Rony Francois is a fourth-year resident at University of Florida and will be joining University of California, San Francisco as a dermatopathology fellow soon. He’s currently working through a research elective at UCSF. Dr. Francois has a number of research interests, but is primarily interested in melanoma. Get to know more about Dr. Francois’s research and his love of “spontaneous” travel.
Yvonne Chiu, MD
March 23, 2021
Yvonne Chiu, MD is an Associate Professor of Dermatology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She joined PeDRA in 2014 and founded the Connective Tissue Disease Focused Study Group. She has since served on many committees, including the Outcomes, Grants, and Early Investigator Committees. She currently co-chairs the PeDRA Meetings Committee and is a member of PeDRA’s Board of Directors. Get to know more about Dr. Chiu, her story, how she’s mastered Google along the way!
Jennifer Huang, MD
March 9, 2021
Dr. Jennifer Huang is an Associate Professor of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School. She joined PeDRA in its infancy and helped to establish the Skin Tumors and Reactions to Cancer Therapies (STARC) Focused Research Group. She has served on many committees within the organization, including chairing the Early Investigators Committee. She’s currently on the Board, and Grants committee and is co-chairing the Meetings Committee. Get to know more about Dr. Huang and her passion for oncodermatology.
Heather Brandling-Bennett, MD
February 25, 2021
Dr. Brandling-Bennett is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at University of Washington School of Medicine. She is the chair of PeDRA Connective Tissue and Autoinflammatory Disease Focused Study Group. She values the PeDRA network for being a place where new ideas take shape and “ah-ha” moments can be shared with others. Get to know more about Dr. Brandling-Bennett and listen as she shares some thoughts on how to build a rewarding career.
Kalyani Marathe, MD, MPH
February 9, 2021
Dr. Kalyani Marathe is an Associate Professor at the University of Cincinnati Department of Pediatrics. After being inspired by her physician father, she pursued science in college and while taking her pre-med courses, she was also an English major. Her work and research is focused on pediatric vulvar disease and she recently started a vulvar clinic with a pediatric and adolescent gynecologist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Get to know more about Dr. Marathe and how her patients have shaped her views of the diseases she treats. Listen to the very end to discover her very special hidden talent!
David Roberts
January 26, 2021
David Roberts joined PeDRA as the Development Director 2019. He brings more than 15 years of experience in non-profit development to his role. He has worked in the dermatology space for some time, having previously worked at the National Psoriasis Foundation. Get to know David and is role and hear about his artistic abilities!
Explore Every Getting to Know You Interview
Deepti Gupta, MD – Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Seattle Children’s Hospital
January 12, 2021
Jenn Dawson – PeDRA’s Outreach Manager
December 16, 2020
Lisa Arkin, MD – Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin and Chair of PeDRA’s Early Investigators Committee
November 3, 2020
Randy Ko – MD/PhD candidate at the University of New Mexico
November 3, 2020
Ilona Frieden, MD – Professor at the University of California San Francisco and current PeDRA President
November 3, 2020
Mike Siegel, PhD – PeDRA’s Executive Director
October 8, 2020
Katherine Devenport – PeDRA’s Research Coordinator
October 8, 2020
Heather Miller – PeDRA’s Meeting and Events Manager
October 8, 2020
Kelly Cordoro, MD – Professor at the University of California San Francisco and co-founding PeDRA member
October 6, 2020
Olivia Davies – PeDRA Fellow 2019 – 2021
October 6, 2020
Leslie Castelo-Soccio, MD, PhD – Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania
September 16, 2020
Jennifer Schoch, MD – Assistant Professor of Dermatology at the University of Florida and chair of PeDRA’s Neonatal Skin Focused Study Group
September 4, 2020
Listen and subscribe to Getting to Know You on your preferred podcast platform
Have someone in mind you’d like to see interviewed as part of Getting to Know You? Send us a email to let us know!