Keynote speakers of the Spring 2024 Progress in Pediatrics meeting will provide expert insights on pressing issues such as Mental Health for Adolescents, Gun Violence Prevention, Asthma, and Practical Nutrition Recommendations for Low-Income Families.
Lora Edwards, MSEd, RD, LD, CSSD
Session Speaker: Nutrition
Lora Edwards MSEd, RD, LD, CSSD is a clinical nutrition specialist at Children’s Mercy. Lora is the weight management lead for nutrition at Children’s Mercy. She is a team member at PHIT Kids Weight Management Clinic, Special Needs Weight Management Clinic, Metabolic Bariatric Surgery Clinic, and Nutrition Clinic. Lora holds a board certification in sports dietetics and certification in adult and pediatric weight management. She earned her master’s degree from the University of Kansas Medical Center and is licensed in Kansas and Missouri. She is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Weight Management Dietetic Practice group.
Lora specializes in the pediatric population. She has over thirty years of experience in nutrition and fitness, is a certified personal trainer, and has a degree in exercise science. Lora owned fitness clubs for fifteen years, has been a group exercise instructor for thirty years, and holds various certifications including yoga, pilates, sports performance, and indoor cycling. She was also a past director for a destination spa and has worked on a military base assisting service men with nutrition counseling and fitness programs.
Ann Genovese, MD
Session Speaker: Anxiety
Dr. Ann Genovese is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology with sub certifications in addiction psychiatry and child psychiatry. She completed a fellowship at the University of Missouri at Columbia. She earned her medical degree from the University of Missouri School of Medicine and completed her residency at the University of Missouri Columbia Medical Center.
Marissa Love, MD
Session Moderator: Asthma
Dr. Marissa Love is certified by the American Board of Allergy and Immunology and the American Board of Pediatrics. She completed a fellowship in allergy, asthma, and clinical immunology at the University of Kansas Medical Center. She earned her medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine and completed her residency at the University of Kansas Medical Center. She is trained to treat the whole spectrum of pediatric and adult allergy, asthma, and immunology-related diseases. She was a recipient of the highly regarded Chrysalis Project sponsored by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology in 2015. She is also an active member of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
As an allergist and immunologist, she sees pediatric patients at the Prairie Village office and adult patients at the Medical Pavilion in Kansas City, Kansas. She looks forward to speaking with you about treating all aspects of allergic, asthmatic, and immunological diseases and providing patient-centered care plans for all ages, from infancy to adulthood.
Sandra McKay, MD, FAAP
Session Moderator: Gun Violence Prevention
Sandra McKay, MD FAAP is a general pediatrician and an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). She graduated medical school from the University of Missouri-Columbia and completed her residency at Saint Louis University (SLU)/Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. Dr McKay is the Vice Chair for Advocacy, the Director of Population Health for the Department of Pediatrics, and the principal investigator for the Injury Free Coalition for Kids Houston site. Dr McKay is also the Huffington fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Dr McKay has served as a strong advocate for children and is a past president of the Missouri Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
She is active in the Texas Pediatric Society and serves as the co-chair of the Executive Legislative Committee. Her research interests include firearm injury prevention and addressing social determinants of health. She has innovated undergraduate and graduate medical education advocacy curricula relating to poverty and firearm secure storage counseling within the clinical encounter as well as working with firearm retailers to create coalitions to reduce injury in her state.
George C. Phillips, MD, MBA, FAAP
Session Moderator: Hot Topics
Dr. Phillips is an attending physician at Children’s Mercy Kansas City, where he is also a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Medicine and the University of Kansas Medical Center. Dr. Phillips works in the Teen Primary Care Clinic, a medical home for patients ages 12-21 that also focuses on reproductive health and mental health services. He received his undergraduate degree from Duke University and his medical degree from the University of South Carolina. He completed pediatric residency training and a primary care sports medicine fellowship at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Phillips graduated with distinction from the executive M.B.A. program at the University of Iowa.
Dr. Phillips is a member of the Board of Directors for the Kansas Chapter of the AAP and the Kansas Pediatric Foundation. He is also the Medical Advisor for Safe Kids Kansas and serves on the KAAP Public Policy and Legislation Committee, Finance Committee, and CME Planning Committee
