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Richard A. Saladino, MD

  • Senior Associate Vice Chair for Faculty Development
  • Professor of Pediatrics

Richard A. Saladino, MD is Professor of Pediatrics and Associate Vice Chair of Faculty Development in the Department of Pediatrics. Saladino’s primary roles in the Office of Faculty Development include curating the leadership excellence program for the faculty in the Department of Pediatrics, provision of career coaching for faculty at all levels of experience and responsibility, and support and guidance for faculty navigating the academic promotion process. 

Saladino was recruited from Boston, where he had been on the faculty at Harvard Medical School and an attending physician at Boston Children's Hospital from 1988 through 2000. He received his medical degree in 1985 from the University of Missouri School of Medicine. His post-graduate work includes residency training in pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and fellowship training in pediatric emergency medicine at Boston Children's Hospital.

Saladino joined the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh as Chief of the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine in 2000. During Saladino’s tenure as medical director through 2018, the clinical service of the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Emergency Department grew from 45,000 to more than 80,000 annual visits. Saladino led the planning and design of current 35,000 square foot emergency department that opened with the new hospital in 2009. 

As a researcher, Saladino's work with animal models of infection contributed to the development of a vaccine widely used to protect children from the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria. He is the author of more than 100 published articles, book chapters, reviews, and invited papers. He is a member of Society for Pediatric Research, the American Pediatric Society, the Academic Pediatric Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Professional and Scientific Society Memberships

  • Society for Pediatric Research, 1998-Present
  • American Academy of Pediatrics, 2002-Present
  • Academy of Distinguished Medical Educators, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 2006-Present
  • Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education; Panel Member: Board of Appeals for Pediatric Emergency Medicine, 2008-2015
  • American Pediatric Association, 2019-Present

Education & Training

  • BS, University of Notre Dame, 1980
  • MD, University of Missouri School of Medicine, 1985
  • Internship in Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 1985-1986
  • Residency in Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 1986-1988
  • Fellow in Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, 1988-1990

Selected Publications

Stack AM, Malley R, Thompson CM, Kobzik L, Siber GR, Saladino RA. Minimum protective serum concentrations of pneumococcal anti-capsular antibodies in infant rats. J Infect Dis 1998;177:986-990. PMID: 9534972 

Malley R, Stack AM, Husson RN, Thompson CM, Fleisher GR, Saladino RA. Development of a model of focal pneumococcal pneumonia in young rats. J Immune Based Therap Vaccines 2004 Jan 23;2(1):2. PMID: 14741053 

Sarnaik S, Saladino RA, Manole M, Pitetti RD, Kuch BA, Arora G, Orr RA and Felmet KA. Diastolic hypotension is an unrecognized risk factor for beta agonist-associated myocardial injury in children with asthma. Pediatr Crit Care Med 2013; Jul;14(6):e273-9. doi: 10.1097/PCC.0b013e31828a7677. PMID: 23823208 

Krishnamurti L, Smith-Packard B, Gupta A, Campbell M, Gunawardena S, Saladino RA. Impact of individualized pain plan on the emergency management of children with sickle cell disease. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2014 Oct;61(10):1747-53. doi: 10.1002/pbc.25024. Epub 2014 Jun 24. PMID: 24962217 

Johnson TJ, Winger DG, Hickey RW, Switzer GE, Miller E, Nguyen MB, Saladino RA, Hausmann LRM. Comparison of physician implicit racial bias towards adults versus children. Academic Pediatrics 2016, doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2016.08.010. PMID: 27620844 

Berger RP, Fromkin J, Herman B, Pierce MC, Saladino RA, Flom L, Tyler-Kabara EC, McGinn T, Richichi R, Kochanek PM. Validation of the Pittsburgh infant brain injury score for abusive head trauma. Pediatrics 2016 Jul;138(1). pii: e20153756. doi: 10.1542/peds.2015-3756. Epub 2016 Jun 23. PMID: 27338699 

Berger RP, Pak BJ, Kolesnikova MD, Fromkin J, Saladino RA, Herman BE, Pierce MC, Englert D, Smith PT, Kochanek PM. Derivation and validation of a serum biomarker panel to identify infants with acute intracranial hemorrhage.  JAMA Pediatr. 2017 Jun 5;171(6):e170429. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2017.0429. Epub 2017 Jun 5. PMID: 28395008 

Leeper CM, Yazer MH, Saladino RA, Triulzi D, Cladis R, Gaines B. The first described use of uncrossmatched cold-stored whole blood in injured children with hemorrhagic shock. JAMA Pediatr 2018 May 1;172(5):491-492. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2017.5238. PMID: 29554175  

Berger RP, Saladino RA, Fromkin J, Heineman E, Suresh S, McGinn T. Development of an electronic medical record-based child physical abuse alert system.  J Am Med Inform Assoc J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2018 Feb 1;25(2):142-149. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocx063. PMID: 28641385 

Suresh S, Saladino RA, Fromkin J, Heineman E, McGinn, Richichi R, Berger RP. Integration of physical abuse clinical decision support into the electronic health record at a tertiary care children’s hospital.  J Amer Med Informatics Assoc.  2018 Jul 1;25(7):833-840. doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocy025. PMID: 29659856 

Leeper CM, Yazer MH, Cladis FP, Saladino RA, Triulzi DJ, Gaines BA. Cold-stored whole blood platelet function is preserved in injured children with hemorrhagic shock. J Trauma Acute Care Surg.  2019 Jul;87(1):49-53. doi: 10.1097/TA.0000000000002340. PMID: 31033893 

Ramgopal S, Button SE, Owusu-Ansah S, Manole MD, Saladino RA, Guyette FX, Martin-Gill C. Success of Pediatric Intubations Performed by a Critical Care Transport Service. Prehosp Emerg Care. 2020 Sep-Oct;24(5):683-692. doi: 10.1080/10903127.2019.1699212. Epub 2020 Jan 9. PMID: 31800336 

Schmucker, KA, Zucherbraun NS, Vitale M, Hickey RW; Callaway CW, Pitetti RD, Saladino RA, Manole MD. Increased fellow scholarly publication rate after implementation of a comprehensive research curriculum and milestone-based research timeline for pediatric emergency medicine fellows. Pediatr Emerg Care. 2023 Jan 1;39(1):e11-e14. doi: 10.1097/PEC.0000000000002715. Epub 2022 Apr 27. PMID: 35477926  

Irgebay Z, Glenney AE, Beiriger JW, Smetona J, Dixon A, Kass NM, Mocharnuk JW, Anstadt E, Dvoracek LA, Saladino RA, Losee JE, Goldstein JA. Pediatric Facial Fractures: Demographics, Injury Patterns, and Associated Injuries in 3334 Patients. J Craniofac Surg. 2024 May 9. doi: 10.1097/SCS.0000000000010236. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38722332. 

Full Publication List via NIH PubMed »

Academic and Research Interests

  • Evaluation and management of acute illness and injury in children
  • Septic shock in children – particularly screening tools and early identification
  • Inflicted trauma in children – particularly screening tools and early identification 
  • Scholarly approaches to leadership training for faculty
  • Scholarly curriculum development: establishing trust in young children

CV

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