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Office
101 Manning Dr
CB # 7225
Chapel Hill, NC 27514Phone+1 919-966-2504Fax+1 919-966-3852
Summary
- I am a pediatrician who works the Transition, Complex Care and Diagnostic Clinics at UNC and have training in epidemiology and nephrology. I founded and direct the UNC Self-management and Transition to adulthood with Rx=treatment (STARx) Program. The nearly 2000 adolescents and young adults with chronic health conditions, their parents, and our interdisciplinary volunteer team, have developed tools to measure and monitor the process of HCT, such as: the patient/parent versions of (1) The STARx Questionnaire (a self-administered tool); (2) the UNC TRxANSITION Scale (a provider administered tool) and (3) The TRxANSITION Medical Passport.
Our patient education curricula are (1) The Kidney Guru and (2) “A.L.L. Y.O.U. N.E.E.D. I.S. L.O.V.E.” These web-based tools are being validated in a number of programs across the USA, Mexico and Colombia.
Our longitudinal registry is measuring predictors and outcomes of HCT such as literacy, treatment adherence, mood, health services utilization, self-activation/self-direction and health-related quality of life. While our program started in nephrology, our tools and work cross several medical conditions. Our premise is that while the medical conditions and patients we serve are different, the vital skills for better health self-management and patient outcomes are the same.
In 2009, I co-founded the International Health Care Transition Research Consortium (following our North Carolina statewide collaboration), to promote evidence-based, literacy-appropriate, and culturally sensitive HCT programs. This consortium has monthly webinars and semi-annual meetings.
Education & Training
- University of Texas School of Public HealthPh.D., Epidemiology, 2006
- University of California (San Diego) Medical CenterFellowship, Pediatric Nephrology, 1988 - 1991
- Driscoll Children's Hospital/Texas A&M College of MedicineResidency, Pediatrics, 1985 - 1988
- University of Texas School of Public HealthM.P.H., Maternal Infant Health, 1986
- Universidad Nacional Autonoma de MexicoClass of 1983, MD
- National Autonomous University of MexicoNo degree, Social Medicine, 1983
- United States EmbassyNo degree, English Language, 1976 - 1979
- UTSPHMPH, Maternal child health
- UTSPHPhD, Epidemiology
Certifications & Licensure
- CA State Medical License 1989 - Present
- NC State Medical License 2000 - 2025
- TX State Medical License 1988 - 2003
- American Board of Pediatrics Pediatrics
Awards, Honors, & Recognition
- Research Mentor of the year UNC at Chapel Hill, 2019
- Faculty Clinician of the Year Walter Tunnessen Award UNC Pediatrics Department, 2015-2016
- Research Mentor UNC Academy of Educators, 2011
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Publications & Presentations
PubMed
- 23 citationsThe global pediatric nephrology workforce: a survey of the International Pediatric Nephrology AssociationDorey A. Glenn, Sophie Ocegueda, Meaghan Nazareth, Yi Zhong, Adam Weinstein
BMC Nephrology. 2016-07-15 - 53 citationsEstimating Time to ESRD in Children With CKD.Susan L. Furth, Christopher B. Pierce, Wun Fung Hui, Colin A. White, Craig S. Wong
American Journal of Kidney Diseases. 2018-06-01 - 263 citationsThe Transition Readiness Assessment Questionnaire (TRAQ): its factor structure, reliability, and validity.Darien Wood, Gregory S. Sawicki, M. David Miller, Carmen Smotherman, Katryne Lukens-Bull
Academic Pediatrics. 2014-07-01
Journal Articles
- Lack of Knowledge and Low Readiness for Healthcare Transition in Eosinophilic Esophagitis and Eosinophilic GastroenteritisEluri S, Book WM, Kodroff E, Strobel MJ, Gebhart JH, Jones PD, Menard-Katcher P, Ferris ME, Dellon ES, Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr, 1/1/2017
- Self-Management and Transition to Adult Health Care in Adolescents/Young Adults: A Team ProcessMahan J, Betz C, Okumura M and Ferris M, Pediatr Rev, 1/1/2017
- Global Pediatric Nephrology Workforce: A Survey of International Pediatric Nephrology Association MembersGlenn D, Ocegueda S, Nazareth M, Zhong Y, Weinstein A, Primack W, Ferris M, Pediatric Nephrology BMC Nephrol, 1/15/2016
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Books/Book Chapters
Abstracts/Posters
- Sex-Specific Differences associated with Sociocultural Attributes in Dialysis Patients: A National Cohort AnalysisRosen S, Ferris ME, Eneanya N, Van Zandt C, Preciado P, Larkin J, Usvyat L, Maddux F, Maddux D, Reviriego-Mendoza M, American Society of Nephrology, San Diego, CA, 1/1/2018
- Association of creatinine levels and hypertension in an international cross-sectional database of pediatric patients on chronic hemodialysis: The PICCOLO MONDO InitiativeRicardo Guerrero-Kanan, Alice Topping, Ana Catalina Alvarez- Elias, Mara Medeiros, Jochen Raimann, Peter Kotanko, and Maria Ferris on behalf of the MONDO Consortium, IPNA Epi Meeting, Madrid, Spain, 1/1/2017
- Health care transition outcomes: A delphi stage 3 surveyFair F, Javalkar K, Betz C, Okumura M, Wood D, Ferris R and Ferris M on behalf of the HCTRC, The Intl. Health Care Transition Research Consortium Mtg, 1/1/2014
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Lectures
- Lessons from the field on Healthcare Transition in youth with CKDDominican Republic - 1/1/2018
- Transition in Pediatric Nephrology PatientsMexico City, Mexico - 1/1/2018
- Pediatric Grand Rounds on Healthcare transition toolsUS Armed forces Medical School - 1/1/2018
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Other Languages
- Spanish
External Links
- Transition Program at UNChttp://med.unc.edu/trasition
- International Pediatric Nephrology Fellowshttp://med.sites.unc.edu/pedskidneyfellows
- Healthcare Transition Research Consortiumhttps://sites.google.com/site/healthcaretransition/
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