The Burr Lecture is named in honor of Ian M. Burr, MD, PhD, an accomplished physician, scholar, and leader in academic pediatrics.

Burr is a native of Tallangatta, Victoria, Australia. He graduated from the University of Melbourne Medical School in 1959, and received his PhD in physiology from Monash University in 1969. Burr was a resident at Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, and continued as a Research Fellow and Clinical Assistant in the Diabetic and Metabolic Unit at Alfred Hospital, Melbourne. In 1966, Burr came to the U.S. for an NIH postdoctoral fellowship, where he performed both research and clinical care in pediatric endocrinology at University of California, San Francisco. He received an appointment as Chargé de Recherche at the University of Geneva from 1968-1970 in the Institute of Clinical Biochemistry headed by Albert Renold. The Institute hosted a stream of visiting scientists, including several Nobel Laureates, who fostered a highly active research environment and period of exceptional productivity in Burr’s career. He returned to the United States to join the faculty at Vanderbilt in 1971 as associate professor of pediatrics, investigator in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and director of the division of pediatric endocrinology.

Dr. Burr remained director of pediatric endocrinology, and rose to the rank of professor, prior to his departure from Vanderbilt in 1986 to chair the department of pediatrics at the University of Florida, College of Medicine. He returned to Vanderbilt in 1988 as James C. Overall Professor and the 5th chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt. Burr lead considerable expansion in the department over his tenure as chair until 1999 and was instrumental in establishing the free-standing children’s hospital that distinguishes the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital. He continued as Associate Vice Chancellor of Children’s Health Services after his service as department chair to ensure this dream coming to fruition.

Dr. Burr is a renowned pediatric endocrinologist who made fundamental contributions to the physiology of insulin secretion, metabolic control of glycogen storage disease type I, and measurement of glycopeptide hormones by radioimmunoassay. These contributions are appreciated through his more than 130 publications, with a series of highly visible reports in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, New England Journal of Medicine, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. For these efforts, Dr. Burr was recognized by election to the Society for Pediatric Research and American Pediatric Society, and he has played additional leadership roles in the Lawson-Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society and Advisory Boards for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and Barbara Davis Diabetes Foundation.

The Christie Lecture is named in honor of Dr. Amos U. Christie. 

Amos Uriah Christie was born in Eureka, California in 1902. His father was a lumberman who died when Christie was very young. He was raised by his mother Edna who worked as a cook at the Union Labor Hospital in Eureka where Christie grew up until he left for college in 1920. He attended the University of Washington on a football scholarship, playing twice in the Rose Bowl. He obtained his M.D. from the University of California, San Francisco and received residency training in pediatrics at Babies Hospital, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He eventually returned to the University of California, where he advanced to the position of interim head of the Department of Pediatrics. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Christie accepted a position with the American Red Cross in Washington, leading the development of a blood products program for the armed forces.

In October 1943, Christie arrived at Vanderbilt to begin a twenty-five year tenure as Chair of the Department of Pediatrics. He quickly developed the Department into a nationally recognized program in education, patient care and research. Over time, Christie became an outstanding teacher at Vanderbilt and a respected humanitarian in Nashville. Under his leadership, Vanderbilt educated the largest number of Department Chairs of Pediatrics of any program in the United States. Christie’s own research focused on defining the natural history of histoplasmosis, a problem that attracted his attention after noticing many children with clinical signs of tuberculosis who reacted negatively to skin testing. In the late 1940s, well before the civil rights era and acting on his own principles, Christie integrated the pediatric ward at Vanderbilt University Hospital with the objective of providing the best of care to every patient.

Internationally known as a pediatrician, teacher, academic leader, researcher, and humanitarian, Christie received many honors including the prestigious John Howland Award of the American Pediatric Society, the Jacobi Award of the American Medical Association and the John Philips Memorial Award of the American College of Physicians. In 1965 he was named the first Branscomb Distinguished Professor at Vanderbilt and in 1971 he received the Chancellor's Cup. For his efforts to advance the socioeconomic conditions of the Nashville community, Christie received the Edward Potter Jr. Leadership Award and in 1983 he was named Physician of the Year by the Tennessee Medical Association.

The Robert Churchwell Sr. Lecture was established in 2009 to honor the life of a remarkable man and highlight the importance of actualizing and integrating the principles of inclusion and diversity into the culture of medicine. Mr. Robert Churchwell Sr. was a pioneer in the field of journalism and one of the first African-American journalists to integrate a prominent Southern newspaper. This lectureship is a tribute to the strength of character and highest moral integrity Mr. Churchwell exemplified and to inspire all of us to continue his fight for equality and justice.

Mr. Churchwell was born on September 9, 1917 in Clifton, Tennessee. He served four years in the U.S. Army during World War II and afterwards received his B.A. in English from Fisk University. In 1950, he was hired at The Nashville Banner, and became one of the first African-Americans to work full-time as a reporter at a prominent Southern newspaper. As highlighted in the book, The Children by David Halberstam, editorially the Banner was known for its conservatism and defense of racial segregation. Mr. Churchwell began his career reporting on the local black community and later focused on educational issues.

At first, Mr. Churchwell was not allowed to work in the newsroom and for five years wrote his stories from home. Later, when he was given a desk in the newsroom, according to Churchwell, few of his white colleagues would speak to him. Mr. Churchwell worked for the Banner for 31 years and retired in 1981. In 1965, Mr. Churchwell was the first African American member of the Middle Tennessee Chapter of Sigma Delta Chi (now known as the Society of Professional Journalists) and served as chapter vice president in 1969. After retirement, Churchwell worked for Tennessee State University in its Bureau of Public Relations and served as interim director in 1982. In 1994, Mr. Churchwell was named a charter member of the National Association of Black Journalists and inducted into the association's region VI Hall of Fame. Posthumously in 2009, the Society of Professional Journalists bestowed its Helen Thomas Award for Lifetime Achievement on the late Robert Churchwell.

On February 1, 2009, Mr. Churchwell passed away at the age of 91. Mr. Churchwell is survived by his wife, Mary Elizabeth Churchwell and their five children. 2009 is the inaugural year for the Churchwell Visiting Professorship which was established to honor the life of a pioneer in the fight for equality and to highlight the importance of actualizing and integrating the principles of inclusion and diversity into the culture of medicine. The Department of Pediatrics and the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt aim to create and sustain an environment where all individuals in its diverse patient population and workforce are valued and individuals are supported and empowered to contribute their knowledge, ideas, and creativity for the betterment of patient care and service, medical education, and discovery at the local, national, and international levels.

The Robert B. Cotton Lecture was established in 2015 as a tribute to honor the contributions that Dr. Cotton made in the Department of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University from 1975 to 2014.

Robert “Bob” Cotton, MD, earned his bachelor and medical degrees from the University of Virginia. He completed an internship in Pediatrics at Vanderbilt in 1966, and finished his residency at the University of Virginia, where he also served as chief resident. In 1968-1972, Dr. Cotton studied in Indonesia, where he served as a research internist for the U.S. Army Medical R&D Command and the SEATO Medical Research Lab in Bangkok, Thailand. In 1972, he returned to Vanderbilt as a fellow under Dr. Mildred Stahlman and joined the faculty in 1975. He succeeded Dr. Stahlman to become Vanderbilt’s second Chief of Neonatology from 1989-2003.

Over his distinguished, four-decades long career at Vanderbilt, he served as a devoted leader, mentor and scientist, laying the foundation for groundbreaking research on premature infants and the consequences of preterm birth. He co-authored more than 60 publications and delivered more than 100 lectures and presentations nationally and internationally. He was director of the clinical research arm of Vanderbilt’s NIH SCOR in neonatal lung disease from 1980-2000 and held continuous NIH funding from 1975-2001. He was an inspiring mentor to generations of students, residents, fellows and faculty, including trainees from Sweden, Norway, England, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Canada, and South Africa.

Dr. Cotton’s research on patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is frequently cited. He reported one of the only trials to prospectively evaluate early surgical ligation to prevent the consequences of prolonged exposure to PDA, as well as sentinel papers on the adverse effects of indomethacin, pharmacokinetic-guided indomethacin therapy, optimization of medical management strategies for PDA, and single-dose prophylaxis to prevent symptomatic PDA. His expertise also included foundational studies on cardiac function in premature infants and the effects of respiratory disease and ventilatory support on cardiac status. In addition to key research on pulmonary mechanics, Dr. Cotton’s oversight of early clinical trials of surfactant, high frequency ventilation, and other interventions also addressed the critical need for novel therapies in neonatal pulmonary medicine. He is remembered by friends and colleagues for his friendly and supportive attitude, his enthusiasm as a teacher and for his leadership in many roles, including the fourteen years he served as Director of Neonatology.

Dr. Cotton's passion for research and discovery inspired a generation of neonatologists and perinatal investigators from around the globe. This endowed lectureship was established to honor the memory of his efforts to improve the lives of the newborns and families we serve.

Thomas A. Hazinski, MD will be remembered for many things in life, but two stand out above all others – a thriving career at Vanderbilt University Medical Center that embraced patients, doctors, researchers, nurses, and staff; and a deep devotion to his family.

Dr. Hazinski built Vanderbilt's Division of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine from scratch and served as Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs. He was also Professor of Pediatrics and Medical Education and Administration, Associate Chair of the Department of Pediatrics, and Director of the Division of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine.

Dr. Hazinski was a native of South Bend, Indiana. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1971 and his medical degree from St. Louis University in 1975. He joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 1984.

His career at Vanderbilt was multi-faceted. In addition to directing the Division of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine, he conceptualized and implemented Vanderbilt's Master of Science in Clinical Investigation program with Nancy J. Brown, MD. He was a member of a number of professional organizations, including The Society of Pediatric Research, of which he was past president; the American Pediatric Society, the American Physiological Society, and the Perinatal Research Society. He had been included in the Best Doctors in America medical referral guide since 1998.

In 2004, Dr. Hazinski assumed the newly created position of Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, where he monitored issues relating to faculty promotion and tenure and conflict of interest, helped identify and eliminate obstacles to faculty productivity, and otherwise supported the faculty through mentoring, personal counseling, and professional development programs.

Dr. Richard M. Heller is currently Professor Emeritus of Radiology and Radiological Sciences and of Pediatrics at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. After coming to Vanderbilt in 1975 to found the Department of Pediatric Radiology, he also served as Program Director of the Radiology Residency Program for 20 years from 1975-1995. He also established the Pediatric Radiology Fellowship, training our first fellow in Pediatric Radiology in 1980. His love, devotion and dedication to teaching are the reasons this Lectureship is sponsored in his honor. It is Dr. Heller’s enduring wish that this lecture continue to educate others in the specialty of pediatric radiology for years to come.

Dr. Heller graduated from Carleton College in 1959 and obtained his medical degree from Northwestern Medical School in 1963. After his one year internship at the University of Minnesota Hospital, he joined the United States Air Force and became Captain at the Outpatient Department in USAF Hospital, Izmir, Turkey. When he returned in 1966, Dr Heller began his residency in radiology at Harvard’s Massachusetts General Hospital and concluded with a fellowship in pediatric radiology at Harvard’s Boston Children’s Hospital. In 1970, Heller joined the faculty of Johns Hopkins and became Assistant Professor of Radiology and of Pediatrics.

In the decades when he served as Chief of Pediatric Radiology, Dr. Heller was distinguished by his academic excellence and his very close relationship to the faculty and housestaff of the Department of Pediatrics, receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Department of Pediatrics in 1999. He has authored or co-authored over 100 articles, six textbooks, multiple international presentations, as well as serving as an expert witness and lecturer on child abuse. He was a member or Board member of multiple academic organizations, including Chair of the Medical Imaging Committee of the Children’s Cancer Study Group, a Radiology Consultant for the Hospital for Sick Children, London, and Clinical Consultant for the March of Dimes.

In addition to being an exemplary academician, Dr. Heller is also a Renaissance man, excelling at multiple external interests touching upon and beyond Medicine. He has been consultant to the Minister of Health of Bahrain and Kuwait University for Medical Education in Radiology. He was a member of the Council of Foreign Relations, and Foreign Policy Association for many years, as well as Consultant to the International Pediatric Association of the WHO, and holds two patents.

In 1990, he was granted the honor of Knight, Chevalier Class Royal Order of Dannebrog, by Her Majesty Queen Margrethe of Denmark and elevated to Knight, First Class in 1999, serving as the Danish consul for Tennessee for many years.

Dr. Heller stepped down as the Director of Pediatric Radiology in 2003 and retired in 2014, being honored with the title of Professor Emeritus.

In 2009, Dr Schulman worked with the University, the Children’s Hospital and the graduates of the Vanderbilt Radiology Residency Program which Dr. Heller had so successfully led for so many years, in order to fund the naming of the Heller Education Center Classroom (VCH 1503) in our Pediatric Radiology Department in his honor. The classroom was funded by 125 young physicians trained by Dr. Heller, and by his colleagues.

His wife, Toni, after whom this Lectureship is also named, is highly accomplished and a graduate of Vanderbilt Divinity School. His daughter Jamie is an attorney in Nashville and his son, Richard, followed in his footsteps, becoming a renowned pediatric radiologist in his own right, and former Heller Lecturer.

David T. Karzon, M.D. was Professor of Pediatrics and served as Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine from 1968 – 1986. He completed his undergraduate education and also received Masters of Science degree from Ohio State University. Dr. Karzon went on to receive his M.D. at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD. He did residency training at the Sydenam Hospital in Contagious Diseases and a research fellowship in Virology at Johns Hopkins. He was later a resident in the Department of Pediatrics, New York Hospital, Cornell Medical Center in New York. Prior to being named the third Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 1968, Dr. Karzon held dual academic appointments as Professor in Virology, Department of Bacteriology and Immunology and Professor in Pediatrics at State University of New York (SUNY) Buffalo. He also serviced as Acting Chairman of their Department of Pediatrics prior to his move to Nashville. Dr. Karzon’s research career was distinguished by numerous fundamental contributions in virology and viral immunology.

At Vanderbilt, Dr. Karzon departed from his predecessor, Dr. Amos Christie, by incorporating a dimension of basic science and clinical research into the Department of Pediatrics. During his tenure, he established 12 subspecialty divisions. During this unparallel growth period, Dr. Karzon developed and brought to fruition the concept that the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital would be “a hospital within a hospital”. This concept attracted national attention and has been duplicated throughout the United States as a model in the delivery of inpatient healthcare services for children.

David Karzon was an impressive leader in the Nashville community. In 1981, Dr. Karzon persuaded the Board of the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital to relocate Nashville’s Junior League’s Home to a section of the Vanderbilt Hospital. This accomplishment stimulated the formation of the “Friends of the Children’s Hospital”, which has proven to be an effective fund-raising organization and a vital partner for service and advocacy to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

In May 2000, Dr. Karzon was elected into the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars. He additionally was the recipient of the FDA Commissioner’s Award, and, the Branscomb Distinguished Professor Award at Vanderbilt University.

Dr. Karzon had a profound impact on the scientists who designed and executed the COVID mRNA vaccine studies during the pandemic. His mentee Dr. Barney Graham designed the Moderna mRNA vaccine and his former junior faculty member Dr. William Gruber led the international vaccine efforts to evaluate the Pfizer vaccine, and Dr. Karzon hired Dr. Denison who has been a leader in coronavirus research for many years. His legacy lives on in his drive to answer fundamental research questions that impact human health.

Lily was diagnosed with Pre-B cell Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) on December 1, 2008. Her doctor explained that leukemia cells were like weeds that crowd out the good flowers in a garden. Chemotherapy was the weed killer that would let the flowers grow again – the lilies. For the next two and a half years, Lily underwent a regimen of chemotherapy to kill all the weeds so that only healthy and beautiful flowers would now grow in "Lily's Garden."

Lily had a bigger vision. She wanted to raise money to find a cure so that no other children would endure what she was going through and Lily’s Garden Foundation was formed.

Lily’s story became more poignant on September 22, 2016, when her ALL returned. She is again in. Lily was treated on a Children’s Oncology Group study which provided access to a novel immune based agent for ALL. With this successful outcome, Lily is now studying to become a pediatric oncologist.

Lily's Garden Foundation

In addition to this lecture, the Lily’s Garden Discovery Grant and Lily’s Garden Research Fund at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt have been established by Lily’s mother, Larisa Featherstone, and grandparents, Ron and Carol Johnston. In 2018, the family continued their amazing philanthropy and established the Lily’s Garden Fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. In 2019, Lily was recognized with the Hands On Nashville’s Mary Catherine Strobel Capacity Building Volunteer Award for her efforts in bringing awareness and advocacy to childhood cancer. Lily and her family are committed to making a positive impact in childhood cancer - causes, treatments and cures. With Lily’s relapse and second remission, the fight is more personal for Lily and her family than ever.

James C. Overall was a pioneer in pediatrics and allergy medicine. He earned his medical degree from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, and did post-graduate work in Berlin in 1929. He began his practice in 1930 and was one of the first physicians to be certified in both pediatrics and allergy medicine. From 1938 to 1953, Dr. Overall was attending pediatrician in chief at St. Thomas Hospital. From 1940 to 1960, he served as a clinical professor of pediatrics at Vanderbilt. From 1958-1959 he was President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and later worked on the Pediatric Residency Review Committee. In 1971, Dr. Overall was appointed an emeritus professor of pediatrics.

In 1981, the University School of Medicine honored Dr. Overall again by endowing the James C. Overall Chair of Pediatrics. Dr. Overall was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society, and was also president and of the Tennessee Pediatric Society. He was remembered for a career of selfless commitment to the health of children and his community, and served as an inspiration and mentor for three generations of students and colleagues.

The Arnold W. Strauss Lecture was established in 2009 as a tribute to honor the contributions Dr. Strauss made while Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine from 2000-2007. His efforts fostered the establishment of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital as a free-standing facility that provides unparalleled pediatric care to the region and scholarship of the highest caliber nationally.

A respected scientist, Dr. Strauss' research focused on understanding the molecular basis of disorders of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation and the genetic causes of congenital heart disease and cardiomyopathies.

He is the recipient of three of the most prestigious awards in research. In 1991, he received the E. Mead Johnson Award for Excellence in Pediatric Research. In November 2006, he was awarded the American Heart Association's Basic Science Research Award for groundbreaking work that led to finding genetic defects that can cause heart failure and sudden death in infants and children. In 2007, he was elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Strauss joined Cincinnati Children's in April 2007 as chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, chief medical officer of Cincinnati Children's and director of the Cincinnati Children's Research Foundation. He remained at Cincinnati Children’s as Professor of Pediatrics and Associate Director for External Relation and Strategic Projects for the Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation until his retirement in 2021.