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Newland named inaugural Schnuck chair in pediatric infectious diseases

Pediatrician noted for research involving COVID-19

by Kristina SauerweinJuly 26, 2023

Gara Elizabeth Photography

Jason G. Newland, MD, a noted pediatrician and researcher at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been named the inaugural Schnuck Family Endowed Chair in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

The honor was bestowed by St. Louis Children’s Hospital through a gift funded by the children of Donald and Doris Schnuck, longtime supporters of St. Louis Children’s and Washington University. Like their parents, the Schnucks’ sons, daughter and spouses who bestowed the gift are deeply involved with St. Louis Children’s, the university and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Many have served on various boards at the institutions while also endowing research initiatives and facility improvements. They are: Nancy Diemer and Craig, Mark, Scott, Terry and Todd Schnuck.

Newland is a professor of pediatrics and vice chair of community health and strategic planning in the Department of Pediatrics. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he spearheaded research evaluating the rate of the virus’s transmission in schools, the impact of routine school-based SARS-CoV-2 testing, and the effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 vaccines for children. He also has led the development of national guidelines for treating children with severe COVID-19.

His research is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). His findings have been incorporated into CDC guidelines and executed by school districts nationwide.

“Dr. Newland has responded tremendously to the most pressing infectious diseases issue of our lifetimes, namely SARS-CoV-2,” said Gary A. Silverman, MD, PhD, the Harriet B. Spoehrer Professor, head of the university’s Department of Pediatrics, and pediatrician-in-chief at St. Louis Children’s. “At the same time, incredibly, he has ensured ongoing progress with his research on antimicrobials that began before the pandemic. His dedication, skills and abiding concern for children’s health make him the ideal person to hold the inaugural Schnuck endowed chair.”

Added Tesh Jewell, vice president of Ambulatory & Clinical Support Services at St. Louis Children’s: “Physician-scientists are the most important resource we have for advancing research, education, and clinical service to create healthier futures for children. Dr. Newland has demonstrated excellence in each of these areas throughout his incredible career.”

Newland is co-founder of the Sharing Antimicrobial Reports for Pediatric Stewardship Collaborative, composed of more than 70 children’s hospitals and focused on establishing best practices for the use of antimicrobials in hospitalized children.

As vice chair of community health and strategic planning, Newland aims to help strengthen collaborations with pediatricians practicing in the St. Louis region whose patients may benefit from the university’s specialized medical care and services. Newland also focuses on the continual development of collaborations between the Department of Pediatrics and St. Louis Children’s, to better serve children throughout Missouri and Illinois.

Newland earned a bachelor’s degree in pre-professional studies from the University of Notre Dame in 1996, his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma in 2000 and a master’s degree in education from the University of Cincinnati in 2011.

He completed his pediatric residency at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2003 and a pediatric infectious diseases fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in 2006. He then spent nearly a decade in pediatric infectious diseases at Children’s Mercy Hospitals & Clinics in Kansas City, Mo. He joined Washington University’s faculty in 2016.

About Washington University School of Medicine

WashU Medicine is a global leader in academic medicine, including biomedical research, patient care and educational programs with 2,800 faculty. Its National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding portfolio is the third largest among U.S. medical schools, has grown 52% in the last six years, and, together with institutional investment, WashU Medicine commits well over $1 billion annually to basic and clinical research innovation and training. Its faculty practice is consistently within the top five in the country, with more than 1,800 faculty physicians practicing at 65 locations and who are also the medical staffs of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals of BJC HealthCare. WashU Medicine has a storied history in MD/PhD training, recently dedicated $100 million to scholarships and curriculum renewal for its medical students, and is home to top-notch training programs in every medical subspecialty as well as physical therapy, occupational therapy, and audiology and communications sciences.

Kristina covers pediatrics, surgery, medical education and student life. In 2020, she received a gold Robert G. Fenley Writing Award for general staff writing from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), and in 2019, she received the silver award. Kristina is an author and former reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Los Angeles Times, where she was part of a team of journalists that won the Pulitzer Prize in 2004 for breaking news. Additionally, she covered the 2014 Ferguson unrest for TIME magazine and, for eight years, wrote a popular parenting column for BabyCenter.com.