Dr. John Modlin to Head Pediatrics at Dartmouth Medical School, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic and Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital

Hanover, NH -- John Modlin, MD, a leading childhood infectious diseases expert, has been named chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Dartmouth Medical School (DMS), announced John C. Baldwin, MD, DMS dean and Dartmouth College vice president for health affairs.

He has also been appointed chair of pediatrics at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic (DHC) and Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital (MHMH), announced Thomas A. Colacchio, MD, DHC president and James W. Varnum, MHMH president.

In addition, Modlin becomes medical director of the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth (CHaD), succeeding Judith Frank, MD, who has served as acting director.

An expert in virology and viral vaccines, Modlin, DMS professor of pediatrics, has served as acting chair of pediatrics since John Brooks MD, was injured in an accident two years ago. "John Modlin is a distinguished scholar, investigator, teacher and clinician, as well as an able administrator who has served our institution with distinction and dedication. " Baldwin said. "He is a nationally and internationally recognized investigator in pediatric infectious disease who has published extensively in his field, exemplifying the commitment to scholarship and patient care that characterizes medical school leaders. His appointment assures the trajectory toward academic and clinical excellence envisioned by John Brooks."

Modlin chairs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Last year, the committee recommended a new schedule for pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (Prevenar(R)), a childhood vaccine that prevents bacterial meningitis and pneumonia, balancing both the cost of the vaccine with the value of the protection it provides. Moreover, his studies and advocacy on potential risks of polio vaccine contributed to the first major change in US poliovirus immunization policy in three decades.

Modlin expects the department to continue its service in teaching and advancing care for children. "We feel we can best serve the health needs of children in our region by a continued focus on excellence in resident and student education, by expanding our capacity to provide superb pediatric specialty care to all of New Hampshire and eastern Vermont, by enhancing our regional educational programs for physicians who provide primary care to children, and by enthusiastically supporting the research activities of our faculty."

"The Children's Hospital at Dartmouth is a remarkable institution that has grown rapidly from it's founding in 1992 to become the major provider of advanced medical and surgical services for children in our region. Much of the credit for our current success goes to our outstanding faculty, including my predecessors George Little, MD, the founder of CHaD, and John Brooks, MD, whose vision led to its exceptional growth" said Modlin.

His interest in viral diseases and childhood immunization was kindled as a medical student at Duke, where he was strongly influenced by pediatrician Samuel Katz, MD, a Dartmouth College and Medical School alumnus who also received an honorary degree from the College in 1998. Through his early studies, Modlin established a reputation as an expert on neonatal viral infections by focusing on enteroviruses, a family of prevalent viruses that cause a spectrum of both common and serious infections.

With the advent of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980's, he organized the Pediatric AIDS Service at Johns Hopkins, joined in the formation of the NIH Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group, and collaborated in the design of a seminal study, which demonstrated for the first time that maternal-to-infant transmission of HIV virus could be prevented by antiviral treatment of the mother.

Investigating the immunity induced by polio vaccines, Modlin became an early and articulate proponent to reduce the risk of vaccine-associated poliomyelitis, and helped change public policy to use killed instead of live polio vaccine. At Dartmouth he began basic studies of enterovirus receptors that have led to an understanding of how two enteroviruses (group B coxsackieviruses and echoviruses) bind to human cells, and the role of the receptors in the disease process.

He has authored more than 150 papers on development and prevention of human enterovirus infections, poliovirus immunization, public policy on immunizations and related topics. Additionally he is a member of the NIH Therapeutic Trials Data and Safety Monitoring Board, and has served as vice-chair of the Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group, and chair of the FDA Antiviral Drugs Advisory Committee.

A graduate of Duke, he received an AB in 1967 and a MD in 1971, then served an internship at the Children's Hospital Medical Center in Boston. He completed his training in pediatrics and infectious disease in Boston, after serving at St. Mary's Hospital in London from 1972-73 and with the Epidemic Intelligence Service of the CDC from 1973-75. He was a faculty member at Harvard Medical School from 1978 to 1983, then moved to Johns Hopkins where he headed the Pediatric AIDS Program before joining Dartmouth 1991. A popular teacher, he has been recognized with awards for teaching excellence in pediatrics by both Dartmouth and Johns Hopkins.

Hali Wickner

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