Health care providers, medical students and pediatric specialists from across the region gathered at the annual Wolf Pack Pediatric Symposium to explore advances in pediatric health care, strengthen professional collaboration and support the future of Northern Nevada’s pediatric workforce. 

Hosted by the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine (UNR Med) in partnership with Renown Children’s Hospital, the symposium has quickly grown into a major educational and networking event for pediatric health care professionals throughout the region. This year’s symposium focused on “The Pediatric Brain,” bringing together experts in neurology, behavioral health, developmental pediatrics, neurosurgery and mental health. 

Kris Deeter, M.D., MBA, FAAP, chair of pediatrics at UNR Med and physician-in-chief at Renown Children’s Hospital, helped launch the symposium in 2023, coinciding with the arrival of the Pediatrics Residency Program’s inaugural class. “We wanted to create opportunities for collaboration, continuing medical education and visibility for pediatric healthcare in our region,” Deeter explained. “We know there’s a major shortage of pediatricians across Northern Nevada, and events like this help strengthen our network and support recruitment.” 

According to Deeter, the symposium serves multiple purposes beyond continuing education. It provides local health care professionals with access to updated pediatric research and clinical advancements while also helping connect providers across specialties. It also ensures a strong research foundation that is rooted in Northern Nevada and utilizes the region’s expertise. 

“Northern Nevada has traditionally had more clinically focused pediatric practices without as many academic opportunities locally,” Deeter said. “This creates a space where providers can learn from one another, collaborate and stay updated on advances in pediatric care without having to leave the region.” 

The state continues to face significant physician shortages, particularly in pediatrics and pediatric subspecialties. Current workforce data shows Northern Nevada has a shortage of more than 80 pediatricians and pediatric specialists needed to meet the region’s growing population demands. By expanding residency training opportunities and creating academic events like the symposium, organizers hope to strengthen recruitment and retention efforts throughout the state. 

“We want people nationally to see what we’re building here in Reno,” Deeter said. “When national speakers visit and learn about our programs, they share that with colleagues and trainees elsewhere. It helps increase visibility for our institution and our community.” 

This year’s symposium centered on pediatric brain health, a theme inspired by growing collaboration across multiple pediatric specialties. 

Topics included epilepsy treatment updates, adolescent brain development, autism, behavioral health, psychosocial development and pediatric neurosurgery. The symposium also highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration between neurologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, developmental pediatricians, speech therapists and other specialists. The event also welcomed a broad range of health care professionals including nurses, pharmacists, occupational therapists and physical therapists. 

“I wanted to bring together all the different specialties connected to pediatric brain health,” Deeter said. “There’s so much overlap between neurology, behavioral health, developmental pediatrics and mental health. The symposium created an opportunity for those conversations and collaborations to happen.” 

Medical students and pediatric residents also played a major role in this year’s symposium through research poster presentations and networking opportunities. Since the symposium’s first year, organizers have encouraged students conducting pediatric research or case studies to showcase their work through a poster competition at the event. Participation has increased from approximately eight posters during the inaugural symposium to more than 20 posters this year. 

During the lunch session, attendees explored the student and resident poster presentations while participants discussed their research and connected with faculty, physicians and specialists from across the region. First-year medical students and first-place winners of the poster competition, Nayana Singh, Randi Owens and Vera J. Vaz shared their experience attending the symposium.  

“From the pediatric symposium, I learned how to share research in a way that makes sense to a diverse audience, including both medical students and physicians,” Singh said. “It also helped me think more about how to explain complex ideas clearly without losing the meaning of the work.”  

Owens shared how research recognition has been a rewarding and impactful experience. “There were so many wonderful posters, and I was not expecting to have our poster recognized,” Owens explained. “We have spent a lot of time going into schools, presenting, collecting data, and then analyzing the data, so it was very rewarding to see that our research was of interest to local healthcare professionals.” 

Vaz also shared why medical students should consider attending the symposium as a way to get involved in community initiatives that have a wider impact.  

“Students should consider attending the symposium because it is a great opportunity to share their research,” Vaz expressed. “It also gives them the opportunity to network with physicians and other health care professionals and learn about current topics and advancements in pediatrics.”  

For future symposiums, Deeter hopes to see more participation from students and encourage them to contribute to Northern Nevada’s growing pediatric ecosystem. 

This year also marked the first time pediatric residents presented posters alongside medical students. Organizers additionally recognized outstanding faculty work through faculty awards. 

Awards: 

Medical student research poster winners: 

• 1st Place: “The Adolescent Knowledge-Action Gap: Assessing the Efficacy of School-Based Skin Cancer Education on Preventative Behaviors" by Nayana Singh, Randi Owens, Vera Vaz and Sruthi Srinivas 

• 2nd Place: “Pseudo-papilledema Secondary to Optic Nerve Gliotic Tufts" by Keenan Downs 

• 3rd Place: “Multifocal SDH-Deficient Pediatric Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor with Sunitinib Resistance: A Case Report” by Dallin Parker 

Resident poster winner: “A Spanish-Language Podcast to Address Pediatric Health Disparities in Latino Communities” by Jorge Castellanos Padron, M.D. 

Faculty awards: 

• Lifetime Achievement: Sonia Budhecha, M.D. 

• Best Pediatric Clinician: Christo Driscoll, M.D. 

• Best Teaching Faculty (student vote):  Alison McWilliams, D.O. 

• Best Teaching Faculty (resident vote): Lauren Sandefur, M.D. 

• Best Resident (voted on by faculty): Ginger Nguyen, D.O. 

For Deeter, one of the symposium’s greatest impacts is its ability to bring together providers and specialists who may not otherwise regularly collaborate. As the symposium continues to grow, organizers hope it will further strengthen pediatric health care, research and medical education throughout Nevada while increasing national visibility for UNR Med and its pediatric programs.