Meet the 2026 Awardees: Kristina M. Gaietto, MD, MPH & Samuel Gentle, MD
Kristina Gaietto, MD, MPH, is a pediatric pulmonologist physician scientist and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh. She earned her BS in Zoology and BA in Political Science from Miami University, her MD from University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and her MPH from the University of Pittsburgh. She completed her pediatric residency and pediatric pulmonology fellowship at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. During her pulmonology fellowship, she was on a T32 training grant under the outstanding mentorship of Juan C. Celedón, MD, DrPH, which piqued her interest in research and inspired her to pursue a career as a physician scientist. She was subsequently on a K12 grant, and she was recently awarded a K08 Career Development Award through the NHLBI to study pathogenic mechanisms of T-helper 2-low asthma endotypes in children and test potential omics diagnostic methods for these poorly understood endotypes. Her pediatric Severe Asthma Clinic patients inspire and motivate her research, and she is extremely grateful for her incredible mentors and colleagues, without whom none of her research would be possible. Dr. Gaietto is an active member of the ATS Peds Assembly Web Committee, Program Committee, and the Severe Pediatric Asthma Consortium. She is so thankful for the amazing connections she’s made through ATS and encourages trainees and early career faculty to take advantage of the wealth of opportunities that the ATS offers.
Samuel J. Gentle, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine. He was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama and later attended medical school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Following completion of his pediatric residency at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, he returned to UAB for fellowship and his first faculty appointment in neonatal-perinatal medicine. He has since joined the faculty at Yale School of Medicine to continue his pursuit of a career as a physician scientist.
Dr. Gentle’s work as a physician–scientist has focused on improving outcomes for extremely preterm infants by optimizing cardiopulmonary and supportive care during critical periods of lung and brain development. His research integrates multicenter randomized clinical trials, advanced observational analyses, physiologic signal processing, and quality improvement to address clinically actionable questions in neonatal-perinatal medicine. Through sustained involvement in national collaboratives, including the NICHD Neonatal Research Network, he has contributed to trials, observational investigations and secondary analyses evaluating respiratory strategies, nitric oxide bioavailability, postnatal corticosteroids, and patent ductus arteriosus management upon respiratory outcomes in vulnerable infants.
Building on these foundations, his current research leverages contemporary approaches to observational data and translates findings into prospective interventions and clinical support systems. His recent work identified lower oxygen saturation achievement and more prolonged intermittent hypoxemia in infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia associated pulmonary hypertension (BPD-PH). Together with preclinical data, these findings directly informed an ongoing multicenter randomized crossover trial in infants with BPD-PH testing higher versus standard SpO₂ targets (95–98% vs 92–95%), exemplifying a translational pathway from observation to intervention.
Dr. Gentle’s work presented at the ATS International Conference extends his research into clinical application by leveraging early postnatal fluid data in extremely preterm infants. He developed a machine learning model that identifies the daily fluid prescription most likely to minimize adverse pulmonary outcomes in extremely preterm infants, forming the basis of a clinical decision support system designed to recommend fluid targets. This work advances a precision medicine framework by integrating patient-specific physiologic data to deliver individualized care based on an infant’s evolving risk profile.
Collectively, Dr. Gentle’s research program aims to redefine neonatal care by translating observations into testable, precision-targeted interventions to improve survival and long-term pulmonary outcomes in the most vulnerable infants.
Description
The Assembly on Pediatrics will be presenting its Lifetime Contributions to the Pediatric Respiratory Medicine Award. This award is given to a candidate at the Professor or Professor Emeritus level who is recognized for achievement in teaching, clinical care, research, advocacy, or scholarship over the course of their entire career. The individual should be known for dedicating their life to the advancement of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine. This award will honor the individual’s contributions which significantly enhanced child lung health. Candidates in Pediatric Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Neonatal Medicine will be considered.
Criteria
- The nominee is a member of the ATS.
- One letter of support outlining the candidate’s contributions to the science, education, practice, and/or advocacy in Pediatric Respiratory Medicine. There may be co-signatories, but only one letter will be accepted.
- The nominee’s curriculum vitae.
- Copies of 3 seminal manuscripts published by the candidate (please consolidate manuscripts into one document before uploading).
- Candidates with more than 25 years of active participation in the specialty, and those with active contributions to the Pediatric Assembly, the ATS, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, or similar institutions, will be viewed favorably.