Edwin Trevathan

Edwin Trevathan, M.D., M.P.H.[1] is a U.S. physician, a child neurologist and pediatrician, who is currently the Dean of the Saint Louis University School of Public Health, where he is also a Professor of Community Health (Epidemiology). Prior to his move to his Dean position in September, 2010, he was Director of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities [2] at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta Georgia. Prior to his appointment as a national center director at the CDC in 2007, Dr. Trevathan was Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics, and Director of the Division of Pediatric & Developmental Neurology at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine[3], and was Neurologist-in-Chief at St. Louis Children's Hospital.[4][1]

Contents

Education and Training

• B.S., 1977, Lipscomb University (chemistry & mathematics), Salutatorian

• M.D., 1982, Emory University School of Medicine, elected to Alpha Omega Alpha

• M.P.H., 1982, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University

• Resident in Pediatrics, 1982–84, Yale-New Haven Hospital, Yale University School of Medicine

• Resident in Neurology & Child Neurology, 1984–87, Massachusetts General Hospital

• Fellow in Neurophysiology & Epilepsy, 1986–87, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School

• Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer, 1987–89, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Early career

As an Epidemic Intelligence Service IEIS) officer at CDC in the late 1980s, Dr. Trevathan chaired an international committee of experts in child neurology, genetics, and developmental pediatrics who defined the diagnostic criteria for a then new neurogenetic disorder, Rett syndrome.[2] In his early years at CDC he also helped develop public health surveillance systems for epilepsy and for developmental disabilities.[3] After his training and service as an EIS officer, Dr. Trevathan entered private practice child neurology and was a founding partner in Child Neurology Associates in Atlanta, where he established and directed a comprehensive children's epilepsy center at Scottish Rite Children's Hospital - now part of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

In 1995 Dr. Trevathan returned to academic medicine as the director of the comprehensive epilepsy program and the Associate Director of the Neurology Service at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. In 1998 he was recruited to Washington University School of Medicine and to St. Louis Children's Hospital where he was a professor and directed the Pediatric Epilepsy Center, which grew to become one of the largest epilepsy centers dedicated to the care of children in the United States.[4] In 2004 Dr. Trevathan was appointed Director of the Division of Pediatric and Developmental Neurology at Washington University School of Medicine, and Neurologist-in-Chief at St. Louis Children's Hospital. During Trevathan's tenure the child neurology training program at Washington University and St. Louis Children's Hospital grew to be one of the largest in the U.S, and the number of child neurology faculty grew to 22 full-time child neurologists.

As Director of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD)[5] at the CDC, Dr. Trevathan supervised many of the CDC's activities related to infant and child health, genetics, neurodevelopmental disorders, disabilities, and blood disorders. NCBDDD's programs include public health surveillance, research, and prevention activities related congenital heart defects, nervous system malformations (e.g., spina bifida and hydrocephalus), hemophilia, sickle cell anemia, deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, cerebral palsy, autism, health promotion among adults with disability, and early diagnosis of genetic, metabolic and developmental disorders.[5]

Professional Activities

Trevathan has served in a variety of leadership roles in the fields of pediatrics, child neurology and public health. He represented CDC on several national committees such as the National Children's Study Federal Advisory Committee member [6],[6] the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee [7], and the Muscular Dystrophy Coordinating Committee [8]. He has served as a Counselor of the Professors of Child Neurology, and serves on the editorial boards of major journals such as Neurology[9], Disability and Health Journal[10], and the Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease [11]. In 2009, Dr. Trevathan served as the CDC strategic lead for the pediatric response to the novel H1N1 influenza pandemic.[7]

Prior to assuming his leadership role at CDC, Trevathan was an active clinical investigator and served as the principal investigator for several clinical trials of treatments for epilepsy.[8][9][10][11] He is a frequent lecturer at national and international meetings in child health, pediatrics, and child neurology.

References

  1. ^ http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/AboutUs/biographies/Trevathan.html
  2. ^ The Rett Syndrome Diagnostic Criteria Workgroup. Diagnostic Criteria for Rett syndrome. Annals of Neurology 1988;23(4):425-8.
  3. ^ Murphy CC, Trevathan E, Yeargin-Allsopp M. Prevalence of epilepsy and epileptic seizures in 10-year-old children: results from the Metropolitan Atlanta Developmental Disabilities Study. Epilepsia 1995;36(9):866-72.
  4. ^ http://neuro.wustl.edu/patientcare/clinicalservices/pediatricepilepsycenter/
  5. ^ http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/index.html
  6. ^ http://www.nationalchildrensstudy.gov/about/organization/advisorycommittee/roster/Pages/e_trevathan.aspx
  7. ^ CDC assembles experts to address pediatric issues in H1N1 outbreak. AAP News (Official Newsmagazine of the American Academy of Pediatrics) Vol. 30, No. 6. June, 2009 at www.aapnews.org
  8. ^ Motte J, Trevathan E, Arvidsson JF, Barera MN, Mullens EL, Manasco P. Lamotrigine for generalized seizures associated with the Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Lamictal Lennox-Gastaut Study Group. New England Journal of Medicine 1997;337(25):1807-12.
  9. ^ Cerebhino JJ, Mitchell WG, Murphy J, Kriel RL, Rosenfeld WE, Trevathan E. Treating repetitive seizures with a rectal diazepam formulation: a randomized study. The North American Diastat Study Group. Neurology 1998;51(5):1274-82.
  10. ^ Vining EP, Freeman JM, Ballaban-Gil K, Camfield CS, CAmfield PR, Holmes GL, Shinnar S, Shuman R, Trevathan E, Wheless JW. A multicenter study of the efficacy of the ketogenic diet. Arch Neurology 1998;55(11):1433-7.
  11. ^ Trevathan E, Kerls SP, Hammer AE, Vuong A, Messenheimer JA. Lamotrigine adjunctive therapy among children and adolescents with primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Pediatrics 2006;118(2):e371-8.