Pediatrics

Pediatric gastroenterology – it is the specialty practiced by Dr. Rabea Alhosh, an assistant professor in the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV Department of Pediatrics.

Because parents are often concerned and anxious when they bring their child to see a gastroenterologist, a physician specializing on the digestive system, Dr. Alhosh says he spends a lot of time helping parents understand their child’s diagnosis and treatment options.

Dr. David Di John, a professor of pediatrics at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV, Interim Chair of Pediatrics, and the program director of the UNLV Health Maternal-HIV program. 

He has more than 30 years of experience in research and treatment of pediatric infectious diseases, including clinical care for women, infants, children and youth with HIV/AIDS. 

James Jabile, MD, FAAP, is an assistant professor in the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics. Growing up in the Philippines with many cousins and children around, Dr. Jabile always knew he wanted to be a pediatrician. He studied at and graduated from the premier medical university in the Philippines – the University of the Philippines Manila College of Medicine. After completing medical school, he came to the states and did his pediatrics residency at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.

Lyanna Joy LaFredo, MD, who has practiced medicine for 16 years, mostly seeing the healthcare needs of underserved children, is an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV.

A graduate of the University of Philippines College of Medicine, Dr. LaFredo, who studied embryology at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand, did her graduate medical education residency training at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Dr. David Parks, a pediatric pulmonologist and associate professor in the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV Department of Pediatrics, believes that patient education and establishing rapport with patients and their families are essential to the art of medicine.

For asthma patients, he developed a two-page “asthma action plan” that details what they should do while living with asthma, how to use an inhaler, and the actions to take when different symptoms arise.

Ashley Reyes was born in Yonkers, New York, and grew up in a large family. She relocated to Las Vegas during her school years and attended West Career and Technical Academy, where she began her journey into nursing through their pre-nursing magnet program.

Dr. Rebecca Scherr, an associate professor of pediatrics at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV, is the division chief of pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition. 

She is also vice chief of pediatrics at University Medical Center Children’s Hospital of Nevada. 

Dr. Scherr treats patients with general GI concerns as well as complex issues including inflammatory bowel disease, liver disease and patients requiring nutritional support.

Josephine Sun, MD, is originally from Salt Lake City, UT and spent half of her childhood in Taiwan. She received her undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of Utah. During medical school, she was involved in many volunteer activities including the Somali Refugee Program and health fairs for the underserved community.

Dr. Rebecca Scherr believes in creating better environments through healthier school lunches, smoke- and vape-free parks, and areas around the city that offer physical activities.

Clark County School District students and their siblings can get access to health care at no cost at two new UNLV Health clinics.

The school-based health centers inside the district’s Family Support Center and Bailey Middle School in Las Vegas serve those ages 3 to 21.

The free clinics aim to improve access to medical care for youth and minimize the amount of time they’re missing school.

“We are really excited that our students aren’t having to miss much instructional time,” Bailey Middle School Principal Danielle Duterte said.

Dr. David Di John, professor and section chief for pediatric infectious diseases at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine, is the director of the UNLV Health Maternal Child Wellness Program

 In the 1980s and 90s, when David Di John, MD, worked at and later headed an AIDS clinic in New York City, an outbreak of HIV and AIDs swept across the United States and the rest of the world. He remembers it, in part, as a time when there were numerous instances of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, which led to children dying young.

Dianne Galgana focuses on well-child care and management of common pediatric acute illnesses.

You look at a photograph of UNLV Medicine pediatric nurse practitioner Dianne Galgana and her daughter, Penelope, both dressed in red graduation regalia, and you can’t help but be reminded that a single image can carry a lot of power.

There’s pure joy in the photos. Pride of accomplishment. Love for each other. Love for life.