Division Director - Pediatric Infectious Diseases

The Department of Pediatrics at Children’s Mercy seeks a creative and dynamic leader to serve as Division Director of Infectious Diseases at the rank of Associate Professor or above . The Division Director will lead a talented team of clinicians, researchers, and educators. Responsibilities include leading the clinical, research, educational, and quality objectives of the division. Candidates should have a vision of the future of pediatric infectious diseases, be mission driven, and possess evidence of previous leadership experience. Other desired characteristics include 1) a track record of scholarly productivity; 2) history of mentorship that includes developing postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty members; 3) clinical or research finance experience; 4) successful collaborations across subspecialties and disciplines; 5) unwavering commitment to the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion; and 6) commitment to developing a culture of innovation and team connection.

The division includes 12 MD / DO faculty members (many of whom have additional roles across the organization), 4 advanced practice providers, 3 postdoctoral fellows, 2 pharmacists, part-time PhD statistical support, and division administrative support. All pediatric residents complete an ID rotation during their 2 nd year of training or 4 th year for Med / Peds. This dynamic division provides inpatient consultations across 3 clinical services. The general ID and immunocompromised (IC) services care for children at the main Adele Hall campus, and a third service consults on patients at our community sites CM Kansas and the University of Kansas (KU). Approximately 2,000 consults are seen between the general and IC services at the main campus annually, with an additional 60 across the community sites. Ambulatory clinics include general ID, international travel, adoption, penicillin allergy delabeling, special immunology, and fellows’ clinic. As one of the first hospitals in the country to create an Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP), the ASP team has been on the forefront of innovative stewardship work clinically as well as generating new knowledge about stewardship practices.

Creating new knowledge through research is an important and large part of the work of this division with federal, foundation, and industry grants and contracts supporting basic, translational, clinical, and quality improvement research with grants totaling more than $11 million for FY25. The research interests are broad and include neonatal Escherichia coli infections, severe adverse drug reactions, school and community-based respiratory virus epidemiology, and clinical trials assessing new vaccines and medications, and epidemiology of respiratory and gastrointestinal viral infections in collaboration with the Director of Clinical Microbiology and Molecular Infectious Disease Laboratory. CM is also a hub site for the Pediatric Pandemic Network.

Ideal Qualifications and Experience

• MD / DO or MD / PhD is required
• Current academic rank of Associate Professor or Professor
• A strong record of academic achievement as evidenced by external funding and publications
• Strong interpersonal skills and a track record of partnership across subspecialties and disciplines
• Commitment to education of learners at all levels
• Demonstrated interest in advancing research as it pertains to division activities and interactions with the broader Children’s Mercy community and beyond
• A commitment to our true north pillars : quality and safety, connected experience, strategic goals, stewardship, people and culture
• Fosters and models our values : kindness, curiosity, inclusion, team and, integrity
• A deep commitment to fostering and supporting programs that address equity, inclusion and, diversity

Education

Education is a core tenet of Children’s Mercy. Children’s Mercy provides education opportunities to nursing students, medical students, residents and fellows, supporting over 1,400 learners annually. Children’s Mercy is the pediatric clerkship site for both UMKC and KU medical students and provides elective rotations and sub-internships to students at any accredited allopathic or osteopathic medical school. Children’s Mercy is highly active in Graduate Medical Education with accredited residencies in pediatrics, med / peds, child neurology, pediatric dentistry, pediatric optometry and pharmacy. Children’s Mercy offers more than 40 fellowship programs across numerous areas, developing the next generation of subspecialists.

Research

Children’s Mercy is dedicated to becoming a leader in pediatric research. A directed strategic planning initiative established the Children’s Mercy Research Institute (CMRI) to focus on research and research infrastructure. Through the generosity of two philanthropic gifts totaling $150 million, the hospital constructed a nine story, 375,000 square foot research facility to provide scientists with state-of-the-art technology. In addition, these generous gifts help support funding for scientific programs and recruitment. Research conducted today includes basic, translational, and clinical research in numerous areas including pharmacology, cancer, cardiology, genetic diseases and health outcomes.