UPMC Children’s Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine Faculty Spotlight: Levent Midyat, MD

The Division of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh welcomed Levent Midyat, MD, associate professor of Pediatrics, to the Division in May 2023 as the new medical director of the Advanced Lung Diseases and Lung Transplantation Center.

Dr. Midyat earned his medical degree from the Istanbul University Cerrahpasa Medical School. He served as a resident and a chief resident in pediatrics and subsequently was a fellow in pediatric allergy and immunology at Ege University School of Medicine, and he was promoted to Associate Professor in Pediatrics in 2012.

In 2013, he moved to the United States, first as a fellow in pediatric pulmonology at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School and then as a resident in pediatrics at the combined residency program of Boston Children’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center, after which he joined the Division of Pediatric Pulmonology faculty of Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, remaining there until departing for UPMC Children’s.

Clinical Expertise

Dr. Midyat’s clinical focus has been caring for patients requiring lung transplantation and children who need advanced respiratory support due to underlying complex medical issues. He’ll put those skills to work with patients in the recently established Advanced Lung Diseases and Lung Transplantation Center at UPMC Children’s.

While the center will inherently focus on patients requiring or recovering from lung transplants, it also significantly emphasizes pediatric patients suffering from advanced lung diseases. This includes children with underlying cardiac issues that are so severe they often require ICU admission and other advanced care.

The primary aim of the center is to bolster pulmonary rehabilitation for these patients, making them stronger and managing their symptoms more effectively. For those requiring lung transplants, the center offers comprehensive support in that journey.

“I think the vision we have for the center is one of expanded resources integrated through an interdisciplinary approach,” says Dr. Midyat.

Planning a New Post-ICU Clinic at UPMC Children’s

One of Dr. Midyat’s objectives during his first year at UPMC Children’s is to build and launch a post-ICU clinic for patients. The new clinic will be a collaborative effort between the Division of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine and several other areas within UPMC Children’s, including the various ICUs, cardiology, and other disciplines.

The post-ICU clinic is designed to cater to patients after they've been discharged from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and are transitioning back home. The transition from ICU to home can be complex, with a recognized risk of patients becoming lost in the shuffle.

Dr. Midyat has been at the forefront of this new approach to post-ICU care, along his teammates, having established one of the world's first such pediatric specialty clinics during his tenure at Boston Children's. He'll now employ that knowledge and expertise to create the new UPMC Children's Post-ICU clinic.

The Post-ICU clinic aims to reduce hospital readmission rates, improve patient quality of life after an ICU stay, and facilitate the transition back to the patient's home. Essential for achieving these goals are medication management and education, monitoring for chronic and acute issues for which the clinic can rapidly follow up with patients who have asthma, chronic respiratory problems, or recent ailments such as pneumonia, and facilitating comprehensive rehabilitation that goes beyond medical needs, addressing aspects like nutrition and any social challenges the patient might be facing.

The Division’s establishment of the post-ICU clinic underscores a shift towards a more patient-centric health care approach. Recognizing the vulnerabilities and challenges faced by patients post-ICU, Dr. Midyat and colleagues’ new clinic will work to provide comprehensive care, addressing medical and social needs.

“It’s about evolving our understanding of patient needs and emphasizing the importance of continuous care, community support, and multidisciplinary collaboration to achieve optimal long-term outcomes,” says Dr. Midyat.

Research Emphasis

Dr. Midyat's research has primarily emphasized the study of chronic rejection in lung transplant patients. Chronic rejection remains a significant impediment to prolonged survival. Some of his current work involves transcriptomic analysis of post-lung transplant biopsy samples with digital spatial profiling to determine potential targets for future immunopathological studies.

He also uses conventional statistics and machine learning models to assess the natural history and risk factors of chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) in pediatric versus adult populations using large datasets. His other ongoing projects include post-transplant donor-derived cell-free DNA measurements, cardiac contribution to exercise tolerance, and gastrointestinal complications after lung transplantation. Dr. Midyat was also the site investigator for an NIH-awarded multi-institutional project that studies the role of anti-IL-6 therapy in preventing acute and chronic rejection development after lung transplantation. 

Learn more about Dr. Midyat and the Division of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Department of Pediatrics.