UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Serves as Host Site Sponsor of CHNC 2026
September 24, 2026
This October, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh will serve as the host site sponsor for the Children’s Hospitals Neonatal Consortium (CHNC) Annual Symposium in Denver. The three-day meeting brings together the multidisciplinary neonatal community from across North America to share research, quality improvement, and best practices aimed at improving care for critically ill infants and their families.
As host site sponsor, UPMC Children’s will welcome attendees during the general session and share a video highlighting the people and programs that make up its neonatal community from highly specialized Level IV NICU care to regional partnerships, telemedicine, research, and education.
Burhan Mahmood, MD, FAAP, will share work from the CHNC ECMO Focus Group examining therapeutic plasma exchange and plasmapheresis during neonatal ECMO, contributing to a broader discussion about care for critically ill newborns.
Abeer Azzuqa, MD, and Chelsea Bitler, DO, MS, will join colleagues for the workshop “QI Approach to Building AI Assistants – It’s Not Rocket Science Anymore. Understand, Build, Improve.” Dr. Azzuqa will also contribute to workshops focused on neonatal intestinal failure and neonatal teleresuscitation.
Katelyn Fiehler, DO, will present work focused on ECMO education, highlighting efforts to strengthen education and preparedness in the care of neonates requiring ECMO.
Lois Bangiolo, MD, MPH, will present her work in neonatal nutrition and human milk analysis, adding to the breadth of UPMC Children’s clinical research and quality improvement work represented at the symposium.
Onome Oghifobibi, MD, Jacqueline Graham, CRNP, and Mekayla Heinzmann PA-C, will give a podium presentation highlighting the experience of establishing UPMC Children’s neonatal advanced practice provider fellowship, showcasing the program’s approach to developing and preparing APPs for the complexity of neonatal care.
UPMC Children’s faculty will also help guide conversations throughout the symposium. Jen Kloesz, MD, Lois Bangiolo, MD, MPH, Abeer Azzuqa, MD, and Burhan Mahmood, MD, FAAP, will serve as moderators for symposium sessions.
