Two distinguished pediatric faculty members were recently selected to fill two endowed chairs jointly sponsored by the University of South Florida and All Children’s Hospital.

Michael J. Shamblott, PhD, has been named to the Walmart/Sam’s Club Chair in Pediatric Oncology.  Dr. Shamblott will join the USF College of Medicine as an assistant professor next year from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he is assistant professor of neurology and a research scientist at the Hugo W. Moser Research Institute at Kennedy Krieger International Center for Spinal Cord Injury.

Eric Storch, Ph.D, has been named to the All Children’s Hospital Guild Endowed Chair.  Dr. Storch, an associate professor of clinical psychology in pediatrics and psychiatry, focuses his research on childhood neuro-developmental conditions. 

“Both faculty members already are recognized as leaders in their fields,” said Stephen K. Klasko, MD, MBA, CEO for USF Health and dean of the College of Mediciine. “Naming them to these chairs promises to advance their research interests, our footprint for pediatric excellence in St. Petersburg, and will allow us to work with All Children’s in an increasingly complex hospital-university relationship.

“Most importantly,” Dr. Klasko said, “because of Dr. Shamblott and Dr. Storch, as well as the generosity of our donors at All Children’s and the state of Florida that made these gifts possible, children in St. Petersburg and around the world face a brighter future.”

Dr. Shamblott led a small team of Johns Hopkins researchers who in 1998 published a seminal paper on human pluripotent stem cells.  This work contributed to a growing body of evidence that embryonic stem cells can play a role in modern medicine.  Dr. Shamblott has received the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Alfred Blalock Research Award, the Mary Tyler Moore & S. Robert Levine Clinical Career Development Award from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and the Giles W. and Elise G. Mead Foundation Award. 

Dr. Shamblott’s research focuses on how recognition of stem cells in cancer and type 1 diabetes could lead to new treatments.  He plans to build upon USF’s recognized expertise in Type 1 diabetes research.

Eric Storch, PhD

Dr. Storch has developed a research program that evaluates and disseminates evidence-based behavioral interventions for childhood obsessive-compulsive disorder and related conditions, autism, and anxiety; understanding mechanisms through which children are at risk for negative adjustment and poor well-being; and ultimately, improving treatment outcomes for anxious youth.

Dr. Storch has been active in improving treatment accessibility among youth with anxiety disorders through grants examining telehealth behavioral treatment of pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder and telehealth treatment of non-adherence in youth with type 1 diabetes.  He has a strong track record of NIH funding for his work on behavioral and multi-modal treatment of OCD; behavioral treatment for anxiety in autism; and services and treatment in childhood Tourette’s syndrome. 

In addition to his funding record, Dr. Storch has published over 190 peer-reviewed articles and 20 chapters, is lead editor on five published or forthcoming texts pertaining to childhood anxiety and treatment, and on the editorial board for seven journals.

Dr. Shamblott and Dr. Storch will complement the work of existing USF-All Children’s endowed chairs in St. Petersburg — filled by Gary Litman, PhD, (Ann and Andrew Hines chair) whose molecular genetics team is based at the Children’s Research Institute, and Tanya Murphy, MD, (Maurice and Thelma Rothman chair) whose team works out of the Rothman Center for Pediatric Psychiatry.

Story by Lisa Greene, USF Health Communications