Dixon Pediatric Fellowship

The Dixon Pediatric Fellowships were endowed in 1988 by the Edwin Dixon family of Birmingham, Alabama. The Dixon Fellowships are competitive awards to assist in the training of fellows who intend to pursue an academic career with a research emphasis in pediatric subspecialties. Recipients receive salary support and a $5,000 per year discretionary fund to support research and continuing education activities. There are five Dixon Fellow training slots, and funding for the program is shared between the Dixon Foundation and the Department of Pediatrics. Since the establishment of the fellowship, 84 awards have been given. Of the awardees, 29 remain as active faculty within the department. Among the alumni, there are ten division chiefs, seven endowed chairs, one clerkship director, nine division fellowship program directors or associate directors, three residency training program directors, one center director, one associate dean and two department chairs.

The selection of fellows is made by a committee composed of Dixon family members and five former Dixon Fellows who evaluate a formal proposal submitted by the fellows with letters from their future mentors and division directors. Awardees are announced at the end of May each year during the delivery of the Bradford Dean Dixon Memorial Lectureship. To date, 39 lectures have been presented at Grand Rounds by notable leaders in the field of pediatrics.

2021–2022 Dixon Fellows

Priyanka Ameta, M.D.
Second Year Fellow—Pediatric Nephrology
Project Title: Assess the Risk of Chronic Kidney Injury in Children Who Developed Acute Kidney Injury Secondary to Nephrotoxic Medication Exposure in Infancy During Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Hospitalization

Mentor: David Askenazi, M.D., MSPH, professor in the Division of Pediatric Nephrology

Amelia Freeman, M.D.
Third Year Fellow—Neonatology
Project Title: The Nff2 Pathway Protects against Hyperoxia-Induced Lung Injury in Murine Models of Airway Microbial Dysbiosis

Mentor: Vivek Lal, M.D., associate professor in the Division of Neonatology


Sara Claire Hutchins, M.D.
Second Year Fellow—Hematology/Oncology
Project Title: Preclinical Investigation of CDK4/6 Inhibition on Pediatric Osteosarcoma

Mentor: Elizabeth Beierle, M.D., professor in the Department of Surgery

Mary Silverberg, M.D.
Third Year Fellow—Neonatology
Project Title: Oral Nitrate Supplementation in a Murine Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia Model

Mentors: Rakesh Patel, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pathology and Samuel Gentle, M.D., assistant professor in the Division of Neonatology

Zaki Yazdi, M.D.
Second Year Fellow—Neonatology
Project Title: CPAP or Nasal Cannula Oxygen for Preterm Infants: A Randomized Controlled Trial (COCO study)

Mentor: Colm Travers, M.D., assistant professor in the Division of Neonatology

Graduating Dixon Fellows

Vivek Shukla, M.D.
Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine (Faculty at UAB)

Snehashis Hazra, M.D.
Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine (Faculty at Children’s Hospital of Michigan)

Miles Fowler, M.D.
Pediatric Pulmonology (Faculty at UAB)