Episode 3: Stopping Lyme at the Source: The Science Transforming Tick-Borne Disease Prevention

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Pediatrics Now Podcast 2026-27 Ep. 3: Stopping Lyme at the Source: The Science Transforming Tick-Borne Disease Prevention

FACULTY:

OVERVIEW:

What if we could stop Lyme disease before an infected tick ever reaches a child or family?

For nearly 30 years, Dr. Janakiram Seshu has pursued a bold vision: instead of relying solely on people to avoid infected ticks, could scientists interrupt Lyme disease in nature—before the bacteria ever have the chance to reach us?

Now, that vision is showing extremely promising results.

In this episode of Pediatrics Now, host and executive producer Holly Wayment, MSJ, talks with Dr. Seshu, a UT San Antonio researcher whose team has developed an oral vaccination strategy designed to target Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, in the wildlife that serves as its natural reservoir.

Using specially designed bait pellets, the approach aims to prevent ticks from acquiring the Lyme disease bacterium when they feed on wildlife - breaking the chain of transmission before those ticks can pass the infection to people or pets.

Dr. Seshu shares the science behind the breakthrough, the results his team is seeing, and how a vision decades in the making could ultimately reshape the prevention of Lyme disease. He says they’re already working on the potential beyond Lyme, offering a new way to target other tick-borne pathogens.

He also explains the work that remains before technology could move from successful research to something we use in lawns, fields and forests soon.

It’s a remarkable story of persistence, prevention and a fundamentally different way of preventing tick-borne disease: stop the pathogen at its source before the bite ever happens.

OVERALL LEARNING OBJECTIVE:

DISCLOSURE TO LEARNERS:

Speaker: Janakiram Seshu, BVSc, PhD, has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose.     

The Pediatrics Now Podcast Planning Committee members: Steven Seidner, MD, and Holly Wayment have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose.

The University of Texas at San Antonio and Steven Seidner, MD course director and content reviewer for the activity, have reviewed all financial disclosure information for all speakers, facilitators, and planning committee members; and determined and resolved all conflicts of interests.

CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION STATEMENTS:

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Shaping the Standard: A Cranial Remolding Pioneer on Diagnosis, Treatment & Coverage

In this episode host Holly Wayment talks with Jim Brookshire, Clinical Director of the Cranial Remolding Program at UTHealth San Antonio, about diagnosing and treating infant head shape abnormalities.

They cover common conditions like plagiocephaly and brachycephaly, how to distinguish positional deformity from craniosynostosis, the ideal four-to-six month treatment window for helmet therapy, imaging options, adherence tips, and emerging technologies such as 3D scanning, 3D printing, and AI — plus recent Medicaid coverage changes.

Inside the OR: A Life-Changing Cleft Lip & Palate Repair

Link for CME Credit Coming Soon

Host Holly Wayment brings you this special episode from outside the OR on the surgical unit at University Hospital. Dr. Richard Thomson performs a bilateral cleft lip repair and leads a team debrief afterward. The episode explains the staged timing of lip and palate surgeries, the role of the multidisciplinary cleft team, and why early palate repair supports better speech and hearing outcomes.

Listeners learn about feeding and hearing management, long-term follow-up from infancy through adolescence, support programs like Fresh Start and Austin Smiles, and the emotional and functional impact of cleft care on families and children.

Link for CME credit coming soon!

Host Holly Wayment brings you: grand rounds!

Dr. Woodson Scott Jones revisits Ignaz Semmelweis’s story to show why evidence alone rarely changes practice and how humility, trust, collaboration, and systems thinking drive lasting improvements.

He connects the evolution of hand hygiene and central line safety to clinical learning environments, organizational culture, and the careful adoption of AI, urging educators and clinicians to shape safer care and better-trained physicians.

Episode 30: From Foodborne Outbreaks to Rabies: What Pediatricians Need to Know

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FACULTY:

OVERVIEW:

Dr. Deena Sutter joins Pediatrics Now to explain the current cyclospora outbreak, how testing and PCR panels detect cases, and practical food-safety steps for families – especially for young or immunocompromised children. She reviews the limits of washing produce, differences between prepackaged and whole-head lettuce, and the recommended treatment (trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole) when infection is confirmed.

The episode also covers rising local rabies concerns in Bexar County, high-risk animals (bats, skunks, foxes), when bites or exposures warrant post-exposure prophylaxis, and the importance of timely public-health reporting and vaccination. Practical advice for pediatricians and families on prevention, testing, and when to seek care is provided throughout.

OVERALL LEARNING OBJECTIVE:

DISCLOSURE TO LEARNERS:

Speaker: Deena Sutter, MD has no financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose.     

The Pediatrics Now Podcast Planning Committee members: Steven Seidner, MD, and Holly Wayment have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose.

The University of Texas at San Antonio and Steven Seidner, MD course director and content reviewer for the activity, have reviewed all financial disclosure information for all speakers, facilitators, and planning committee members; and determined and resolved all conflicts of interests.

CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION STATEMENTS:

CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE:

EXPIRATION DATE:

Episode 29: Treating Teen Obesity: A National Leader in Bariatric Surgery on GLP-1 vs. Surgery

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FACULTY:

OVERVIEW:

Host Holly Wayment sits down with Dr. Richard Peterson to unpack the shifting landscape of pediatric obesity care. Dr. Peterson explains why GLP-1 medications have driven down bariatric surgery volumes — and why surgery still offers the most durable outcomes for obesity and its complications. He walks through updated pediatric referral criteria, compares results across medication and surgical pathways, and outlines when a combined or individualized approach makes the most sense.

For pediatricians, the takeaways are practical: recognize obesity as a disease, partner with obesity specialists, navigate insurance and access barriers, and intervene early to improve long-term outcomes for adolescents and their families.

The American Academy of Pediatrics released updated obesity guidelines in 2023 that moved away from the old “watchful waiting” approach. Under the new guidance, providers should offer weight-loss medications to patients age 12 and older with obesity, alongside lifestyle treatment, and patients 13 and older with severe obesity should be evaluated for bariatric surgery. Severe obesity is defined as a BMI at or above 120% of the 95th percentile for age and sex. Medication isn’t meant to be a first-line or standalone treatment — the AAP still supports intensive health behavior and lifestyle treatment as the initial step in pediatric weight management. In a follow-up policy statement, the AAP called severe pediatric obesity an “epidemic within an epidemic” and urged that insurance cover surgery and follow-up care at high-quality multidisciplinary centers.

OVERALL LEARNING OBJECTIVE:

DISCLOSURE TO LEARNERS:

Speaker: Richard Peterson, MD has disclosed he is a consultant for Teleflex/Standard Bariatrics, Medtronic, and Intuitive. The relevant financial relationships noted for Dr. Peterson have been mitigated.     

The Pediatrics Now Podcast Planning Committee members: Steven Seidner, MD, and Holly Wayment have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose.

The University of Texas at San Antonio and Steven Seidner, MD course director and content reviewer for the activity, have reviewed all financial disclosure information for all speakers, facilitators, and planning committee members; and determined and resolved all conflicts of interests.

CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION STATEMENTS:

CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE:

EXPIRATION DATE:

Episode 28: When to Quarantine: Criteria, Cases & Containment Strategies

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FACULTY:

OVERVIEW:

Host Holly Wayment brings you Grand Rounds. Dr. Ted Cieslak, a retired U.S. Army pediatric infectious disease physician and biosecurity expert, reviews the history and practice of quarantine, isolation, and biocontainment — covering BSL laboratory levels, the evolution from military to civilian containment units, transport isolation, criteria for admission, real activations (Ebola, early COVID-19 repatriations, Andes virus), and key legal, ethical, and pediatric considerations for managing highly hazardous communicable diseases.

OVERALL LEARNING OBJECTIVE:

DISCLOSURE TO LEARNERS:

Speaker: Ted Cieslak, MD has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose.

The Pediatrics Now Podcast Planning Committee members: Steven Seidner, MD, and Holly Wayment have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose.

The University of Texas at San Antonio and Steven Seidner, MD course director and content reviewer for the activity, have reviewed all financial disclosure information for all speakers, facilitators, and planning committee members; and determined and resolved all conflicts of interests.

CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION STATEMENTS:

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the activity, with individual assessments of the participant and feedback to the participant, enables the participant to earn 1.00 MOC point in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purposes of granting ABP MOC credit.

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Energy Drinks Can Damage a Healthy Heart; Plus When Anxiety Symptoms Are Really Cardiac

Link for CME Credit Coming Soon!

A recent case involving a teenage cheerleader’s death has prompted a closer look at energy drinks and cardiovascular risks in young people. Host Holly Wayment and pediatric cardiologist Dr. Elaine Maldonado discuss how high-caffeine and stimulant drinks—often marketed to teens and available in school vending machines or coffee bars—can trigger palpitations, chest pain, high blood pressure, and dangerous heart rhythms.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no role for caffeine in children; parents and pediatricians should watch for red flags (persistent rapid heartbeat, unexplained chest pain, fainting during exertion), counsel on sleep, hydration, and exercise, and offer safer alternatives to energy drinks.

Link for CME credit coming soon!

The conversation also highlights that some local high schools sell energy drinks in vending machines and even offer coffee bars on campus, making these products widely accessible to adolescents. Practical takeaways include lifestyle alternatives, red flags warranting urgent care (persistent fast heart rate, chest pain, passing out with exertion), and advice for pediatricians and families on counseling teens about caffeine use.

Episode 26: Neurosurgery Update: Plagiocephaly vs. Craniosynostosis - When to Refer

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FACULTY:

OVERVIEW:

Host Holly Wayment talks with pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Izabela Tarasiewicz as she explains the difference between positional plagiocephaly (flat head) and craniosynostosis (premature suture fusion), and why early detection matters.

The episode covers the critical early treatment window (ideally by 3–4 months) to allow minimally invasive surgery, when helmet therapy is helpful, and why pediatricians should refer rather than order X-rays.

Practical takeaways: trust parental concern, refer early to a head-shape or craniofacial clinic, and know that prompt evaluation can prevent larger surgeries and improve developmental outcomes.

University Health Craniofacial Program

Claudia Galaviz, Cleft & Craniofacial Coordinator

(210)-743-1402

Referral Fax: (210)-358-8576

UT Health Cranial Remolding Program

Referrals can be sent to evaluate all head shape abnormalities

Phone:  (210) 450-9064

Fax: (210) 450-2150

OVERALL LEARNING OBJECTIVE:

DISCLOSURE TO LEARNERS:

Speaker: Izabela Tarasiewicz, MD has disclosed she is a consultant for Aesculap, and Alafair. The relevant financial relationships noted for Dr. Tarasiewicz have been mitigated.     

The Pediatrics Now Podcast Planning Committee members:Steven Seidner, MD, and Holly Wayment have no financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose.

The University of Texas at San Antonio and Steven Seidner, MD course director and content reviewer for the activity, have reviewed all financial disclosure information for all speakers, facilitators, and planning committee members; and determined and resolved all conflicts of interests.

CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION STATEMENTS:

CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE:

EXPIRATION DATE: