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Genetic and Metabolic Disease Clinic 3901 Beaubien Street Detroit MI 48201 2196 313 745 4513 Phone 313 745 4827 Fax May 6 2004 Dear Families The physicians nutritionists and other team members have been specially
trained in the management of metabolic conditions and have been taking care of
children and adults with these conditions at the Detroit Medical Center and
other medical centers for over 25 years. Many of you are probably not aware that
the only recognized medical specialty in the United States for diagnosing and
managing patients with inherited metabolic diseases is through the American
Board of Medical Genetics and our institution is the only one in Michigan with a
Board certified physician in Clinical Biochemical Genetics. As the state
increases the number of diseases detectable by newborn screening we must
position ourselves to be able to care for these infants as well as the patients
with previously diagnosed metabolic disorders. Our group is ready for that
challenge and we have been working hard to make the transition as smooth as
possible. We realize of course that there will be bumps in the road and we hope
that you are as patient with us as you have been with your previous medical
caretakers 1
I am currently an Associate Professor of Pediatrics Molecular Medicine and Genetics and Pathology and am the Director of Clinical Genetic Services at Wayne State University School of Medicine Detroit Medical Center. I have been involved in the care of children with metabolic diseases since I began my graduate work in human genetics in 1975. My PhD involved the preliminary work to discover biotinidase deficiency and my thesis advisor was the person who later actually discovered biotinidase deficiency and was responsible for developing newborn screening for this disorder in many states. I am a born and bred Hoosier, for all you Wolverines and Spartans please don't hold that against me. I received my PhD and MD from the Medical College of Virginia and then did my Pediatric Residency and Genetics Fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine. My mentors at Baylor were some of the leading specialists in the care of children with metabolic diseases including many of the diseases we will soon be screening for in Michigan. It was there that I received special training in Biochemical and Molecular Genetics and subsequently became Board certified in that subspecialty. My career in Michigan started in the Department of Medical Genetics at Henry Ford Hospital in 1990. I moved to Wayne State University in 1999. Much of my efforts have focused on the care and management of patients with genetic diseases at the local state and national levels and to the education and training of new physicians and genetic counselors in this field. I have been a member of the Michigan Department of Community Health's Newborn Screening Committee for over 10 years and am also a member of the American College of Medical Genetics Quality Assurance Laboratory Practice Committee which is responsible for developing the standards and guidelines for all Biochemical Genetics laboratories in the United States. I am married and have 2 sons ages 15 and 11. I hope you will be able to meet them soon.
Dr Era Bawle is the Director of the Division of Genetics and Metabolic Disorders at Children's Hospital of Michigan and a consulting physician at St John's Hospital. She is a professor of Pediatrics and the Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics. Dr Bawle obtained her MD from Grant Medical College at the University of Bombay and completed a pediatric residency at both the University of Bombay and Children's Hospital of Michigan. She has been at Children's Hospital since 1979. She is Board certified in Pediatrics and Clinical Genetics and has many years of experience in clinical genetics and managing patients with inherited metabolic disorders. Dr Bawle is married and has 2 children ages 29 and 28.
Dr Ayesha Ahmad is the newest member of the Division of Genetic and Metabolic Disorders having joined us just this year. Her interest and training in Biochemical Genetics was one of the primary reasons why she was recruited to join our group and she will be one of the key members of our newly developing program. Dr Ahmad received her MD from the Aga Khan University in Karachi and did her Pediatric Residency at the University of Florida. She did her Medical Genetics Residency and Biochemical Genetics fellowship at Duke University where she trained with many of the country's experts on newborn screening and metabolic disorders. Dr Ahmad is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and is the newest member of the Michigan Department of Community Health's Newborn Screening Committee. Dr Ahmad is married and has 1 son age 3. Additional members of the team will be introduced to you over the next few months including nutritionists, genetic counselors, social workers, neurologists, both pediatric and adult specialists, maternal fetal medicine specialists to help manage our adult female patients who become pregnant, nurses and office staff. Our clinic will be located in newly renovated space at the Detroit Medical Center dedicated to patients with genetic disorders. We hope to eventually develop metabolic disease satellite clinics in other parts of the state. We realize of course that a few of you are concerned about this transition to our medical center but again I would like to reassure you that taking care of patients with metabolic disorders is what we are trained to do. Our Chairman of Pediatrics, Dr Bonnie Stanton and the Dean of Wayne State University School of Medicine, Dr John Crissman have committed many resources to allow this program to succeed. We look forward to meeting all of you over the next year or so. Please feel free to contact any of us if you have questions. Our contact information is listed below. Sincerely
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Sandy LaPrad
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