Author: [AUTHOR] Published on 10/1/2023 12:00:00 AM
Kevin Watt, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Utah Department of Pediatrics, Salt Lake City, UT
What professional accomplishment are you most proud of?
I am proud of growing the Utah Pediatric Clinic Fellowship Program. When I came to Utah in 2019 to lead the Division of Clinical Pharmacology, one of my top priorities was to grow the fellowship program and create a team of PhD, PharmD, and MD-trained junior investigators. Since then, we have recruited eight (8) fellows – four (4) clinical fellows and four (4) postdocs. Our fellows work on a wide array of projects from dosing of drugs in critically ill children to determining the extent of our drug passage into breastmilk. Under the mentorship of the Division faculty, these fellows have been extremely successful, successfully competing for NIH and foundation grants, publishing numerous manuscripts, and most importantly, improving child health.
Who has inspired you in your career?
My early mentors were Danny Benjamin, Micky Cohen-Wolkowiez, and Kim Brouwer. When I started my pediatric ICU fellowship, I would have been hard-pressed to tell you the difference between pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Their mentorship and example inspired me to pursue clinical pharmacology research. A PhD and lots of exciting research later, I am fortunate to now be leading a division of clinical pharmacology and helping to train the next generation of pediatric clinical pharmacologists.
Do you have a favorite tip or trick for clinical practice or research that you want to share with fellow members?
Keep your eyes open for those unexpected opportunities that come along. One of my areas of research is breastmilk pharmacology. How did a pediatric ICU doc get involved in breastmilk research? I was at a meeting at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and during lunch sat next to Lynn Yao who leads the FDA's Division of Pediatric and Maternal Health. Lynn said to me, “I want you to take the opportunistic study design that the Pediatric Trials Network has so successfully employed to study drugs in children and apply that approach to study drugs in breastmilk.” It was a brilliant suggestion, and 7 years later we have enrolled almost 1,000 mothers and infants in the PTN-sponsored cuddle study.
When you aren't working, how do you spend your free time?
Anything outdoors. One of the great things about Utah is the access to so much amazing outdoor space – from alpine meadows to red rock desert. I can bike out my backdoor and be on amazing mountain bike trails. Some of the best skiing in the world is 45 minutes from my house (we got 900 inches of snow this past year!). We regularly backpack and camp as a family. The work we do is challenging and exciting, and it is nice to be able to turn off and spend time outside.
Dr. Watt has been a member of ASCPT since 2018.
